Page 96 of I Choose You

I was too tired. Too comfortable. Leaving was the last thing I wanted to do, but in the back of my mind, it was the very first thing that I thought I should do.

I had nowhere to go. I had nowhere to run. I gave in to him and lay in his arms. As I drew in a deep, long breath of satisfaction, I tuned out the nagging thoughts. He nestled closer, pressing his face into my hair. His chest pushed against me as he inhaled deeply too, and I smiled, knowing he was a weirdo to sniff my hair.

I was happy in his arms. I hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Not even after the best hot yoga sessions did I feel this loose and content.

But with that realization, I felt out of control. Being so sated and at ease with him, I didn’t have any sense of self-preservation. He’d knocked down my walls. He’d gotten under my skin. As he hugged me close and caused a head-to-toe warmth to blanket me inside out, I knew that I was in big trouble.

I wasn’t supposed to fall for him. I wasn’t supposed to experience this deep of a connection with him. Of all men I could have met and hit it off with, it wasn’t supposed to be him.

Kaden and Kody left me with so many scars. Scars and residual aches that still stung me after all those years. They’d wounded me in high school, but that was twelve years ago. The suffering I’d felt from their treatment lasted in a bone-deep way that I’d worked hard to overcome.

What if he hurt me again? What if this time, even with all the things adulthood had taught me, I was hurt again? I knew better. I wasn’t a naïve teenager who didn’t have a clue how to handle the headaches and mind games that came with love.

Whoa. No.

Not love. I frowned, closing my eyes. That word wasn’t happening. I felt like I was sinking under the spell of something, but not that. I couldn’t fall for a guy who had the power to hurt me so much, and had before.

If he hurt me again, I would be ruined beyond repair.

His lips brushed against the top of my head, and he sighed. I’d made him feel like that. We’d connected and fit together well, and I didn’t bother hiding a smile. He couldn’t see it anyway. I could revel in the happiness that I had such an effect on him.

How can something so dangerous feel so good? I couldn’t understand how I could feel so safe with him. Like I belonged in his arms and never wanted to leave.

But it wasn’t too late. Don’t be stupid, Brooke. I knew better than to trust him with something as gullible as my heart. I’d keep my head on my shoulder and be smart about this.

Love? Yeah, no. That wasn’t happening. I could enjoy him, though. There was no reason to put an end to this now.

Where was the harm in letting this continue? So long as I remembered that it was all fake.

Easy.

I only had to forget about this nonsense, this chance I could ever love him.

33

KADEN

When I woke up the next morning I almost panicked. Before I was fully with it to know I was in my own bed, in my room, and at my house like I should be, I scrambled to make sense of the things that didn’t make sense.

What the fuck?

I squinted, seeking out the source of the alarms. As I moved, I realized the second thing that wasn’t the norm.

A woman in my arms. Not any woman—Brooke. The incessant beeping came from her watch. She slept through them all, and I smiled as I wondered why she might have rested so deeply.

I couldn’t recall the last time I’d had such a mind-blowing orgasm. The entire night felt like a long, sensual delay of letting us have what we wanted, and it was true. Good things came to those who waited.

I carefully pressed the screen to silence the four—no, five—clocks that she’d missed. She could sleep in for a few minutes. If she felt half as hungover from sex as I did, she needed it.

My style was direct. To the point. Without toys—and I was as vanilla as they came—why drag it out? I’d held myself back, determined to see to her happiness and pleasure before I considered mine. But that had been half the fun. Holding back and waiting set me up for a hell of an anticipation. I was surprised I hadn’t lost my load in my pants when I ate her pussy. And those sweet, sassy lips.

I licked mine, staring at her as she slept.

When she sucked me off, I felt like I’d go insane to keep myself in check. But I knew how good it felt to come inside her. I’d thought about it often since the garden. And it was well worth the effort. I came so hard that it overwhelmed me.

So it made sense that we’d needed a good long sleep.

I kissed her shoulder, leaving my lips pressed against her smooth skin. Leaning on my elbow, I watched her doze until it felt creepy. I lowered my gaze, admiring the intricate swirls and designs of so many tattoos mixed together on the tantalizing canvas that was her soft flesh.