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Eris blinked, completely taken aback.
“You’re so quick to think the worst of me that you go flying off the handle but let me tell you something – the thoughts in my head are a lot different than what you are imagining. I just wish you could see beyond our past and look at the guy who’s sitting right here trying desperately to be a better person for you both.”
Colton’s voice sounded so quiet, so hurt, and that also surprised her. She could have handled him getting upset or snapping at her so much easier than for him to bear his soul or sound upset. That sent shockwaves through her like a boulder dropped in the middle of a shallow pond – water went everywhere, and the ripples were nearly tsunamis against the shore of her mind.
He stood up almost immediately and gathered up the leftover pizza, not meeting her eyes as she stared at him helplessly. She couldn’t help but stare because this was truly the first time that she was aware that he was still interested in her. She had thought he’d taken her in out of obligation and pity – but this wasn’t the case, obviously.
He was always so quiet, so hard to read sometimes — but that statement? That was nearly a declaration he was keen on rekindling things between them someday. She rose from her seat and followed him into the kitchen, only for him to turn and glance at her before looking away.
“Whatever you’re going to say – don’t,” he said quietly. “I shouldn’t have said anything, and I’ve got to be at work early tomorrow. Now isn’t the time to hash out the past, reopen wounds, or talk about whatever is on your mind or mine.”
He had been right, she thought, sighing heavily and stretching, slowly waking up… only to feel something warm curled up against her back. Her eyes shot wide open, seeing Zane’s sleepy face beside hers – which meant that the warm body sleeping curled along her back was Colton!
She blinked several times, unsure what to say or do, or if she could climb out of the bed without waking him. Why was he on this side of the bed – and how had she not noticed?
And heard him groan softly before tense against her – and cursing under his breath. Apparently, he had just realized that he was in the wrong place as well.
“Hey,” she whispered and looked over her shoulder, holding a finger to her lips and pointing at Zane. Colton nodded, his wary eyes watching her, but he didn’t move. Instead, he lay there beside her, not looking away.
He was so truly beautiful in a masculine way and always had been. His dark hazel eyes watched hers; his eyebrows looked heavy with slight circles beneath his eyes, telling her he hadn’t slept well for some reason – and his lips?
Men should not have lips like that. Full, yet firm and gentle. She remembered those kisses, his smiles, the way he used to laugh when they were together, and the way he would lose control. His lips would part and…
“Eris, stop looking at me like that,” he said hoarsely.
“What are we doing?” she murmured, the question torn from her very soul as her eyes searched his.
“Getting a second chance if we are brave enough to take it.”
“What if this is a mistake?”
“What if we are finally going to get things right?”
Those words hung between them in the silence… only to have Colton lean toward her, tenderly brushing his nose against hers. The sweetness of it, the unexpected gentleness, and the way his arm tightened around her was making her melt – especially as he moved slightly to whisper in her ear. Her neck arched, her body against him, responding in the ways that her mind normally wouldn’t allow.
“I’ve got to go to work,” he murmured regretfully in her ear, “And I don’t want to push you for anything that you aren’t ready for. I would wait forever for a chance to make things right between us.” His words were driving her crazy like cannons taking out the battlements of a castle around her soul.
“I’m in no rush,” he breathed against her skin. “I want to make you laugh, do things as a family, and have you look at me differently. I don’t want you scared of me… or this. I want to see things in your eyes that tell me you don’t regret this - us. Your eyes haunt my dreams,” his voice faded as he kissed her earlobe, making her toes curl.
“I’m willing to wait for it all because when we finally take that step, Eris,” his voice was achingly tender as he spoke in a hushed manner like he had a megaphone shouting to the deepest darkest corners she kept hidden in her soul. “When we take that step, I’m going to pin you against a wall, babe…”
She made a noise in her throat, swallowing, as her brain shut down and her hand blindly made contact with his arm, his bicep, clutching at him where he was holding her close against him.
“Not because I want to have a little fun… and oh, it’s really fun,” he chuckled intimately, before nipping gently at her ear again and caressing it with his nose, breathing against her hair. “But because getting to know you, having lost you, and then having you reappear in my life has shown me what I once had… a priceless piece of art. Everything about you draws me in; it speaks to me, and babe – works of art should definitely be pinned to a wall…” he said huskily.
He was calling her a work of art?!
She whimpered, closing her eyes.
“G’morning,” Zane said sleepily beside them, reaching over and patting her on the shoulder. “G’morning, Mama… hungry?”
“Hey, buddy,” Colton said, drawing back slightly from her, his intense eyes not leaving hers. “I’ve gotta go to work, but if you are hungry, I’ll make you something so your mama can rest a few minutes longer.”
“I’m up,” she volunteered and saw Colton’s arrogant smile as his eyes took on a lazy, self-satisfied look to them.
“Should I comment on that?” he invited huskily – and she knew he was referring to something else.
“Probably not.”
