comforter over us and settles in.
“Very excited. She couldn’t wait to tell the teacher she brought peanut butter crackers for the letter P.”
“Good,” he mumbles into my hair before inhaling.
“Did you just whiff my hair?”
“Mmhmm. It’s one of my favorite scents. Now that it’s on my pillow, maybe I’ll be able to sleep.”
“You haven’t slept?” I ask, turning in his arms and facing him.
He shrugs and closes his eyes. “A little. Busy night last night, and I got home late. Then, I couldn’t sleep, so I turned on music, but even that didn’t help. I missed you. I don’t like sleeping without you,” he whispers, his blue eyes locked on mine.
“What are you saying?” My throat feels suddenly too tight.
He shrugs. “Just that. I hate nights when you’re not in my arms, Mal. That’s a fact.”
I swallow over the lump in my throat. “I don’t sleep the best when you’re not in my bed either,” I confess.
“Hmmm,” he murmurs, pulling me into his chest and kissing the crown of my head. “So, I sleep better when you’re in my arms, and you sleep better when I’m there, so maybe we should sleep in the same bed more often.”
Smiling, I reply, “More than about four nights a week?”
“More,” he states.
I sweep my lips over his collarbone. “I like more.”
“Mmm, don’t I know it,” he teases, flipping me onto my back and hovering over me. “You’re sort of insatiable,” he adds, nipping at my neck with his teeth and making me sigh.
“Me?” I argue with a giggle.
“You,” he reiterates, sliding his hips between my legs and pressing his erection into the apex of my legs.
Hitching my ankles over his waist, I reply, “I have a feeling I’m not the only one.”
“Oh, you’re definitely right there, sweetheart,” he says, claiming my lips in a possessive, bruising kiss.
That kiss is only the beginning…
***
“I had this girlfriend in college. It wasn’t too serious, or at least it wasn’t to me. We dated on and off. She was a great girl, but it felt more like a relationship of convenience than a relationship of passion, if you know what I mean,” he says, my naked back pressed to his equally clothesless front.
“Senior year, she changed. Got all serious. Wanted a ring. I wasn’t ready for that, so I broke it off for good.” I can feel his breath against my ear as he holds me tightly against him.
“She accused me of leading her on, of using her,” he adds, sighing. “Maybe I did, but that wasn’t my intention. I thought we were both in the same place, but we clearly were not. I hurt her, and I hate that—still do, because she was a nice girl. That’s why I don’t get serious, Mal. That’s why I keep women at a distance, refusing to let them get close. I’ve always thought it was because I didn’t want that, but I think there’s another reason.”
I glance over my shoulder, meeting his eyes. “What’s the reason?”
“You.”
I can’t help but smile.
“I wasn’t sure what this was when it started, but I know now.”
“Yeah? What is it?” I ask, my heart firmly lodged in my throat while I wait for his answer.
“It’s love, Mal. I’ve fallen in love with you.”
I wasn’t prepared for his words, nor the tears leaking from my eyes.
“Why are you crying?” he asks, turning me so we’re facing each other again. He slides his thumbs under my eyes, erasing the wetness.
“No one has ever said that to me before,” I whisper, overcome with emotion. They’re totally different than the ones I felt when Devon betrayed me. I thought I was in love with him, but maybe I wasn’t. Because as badly as it hurt at the time, it was never as all-consuming and right as it feels right now.
But I can’t help but recall how wrong I was when it came to my ex. What if I’m wrong now too? I know Devon and Walker are night and day different, but I can’t stop wondering, what if…
“I didn’t tell you that so you’d say it back, Mal. I said it because it felt right, but I don’t want to pressure you.”
I open my mouth to say the words I know he wants to hear, but nothing comes out.
He gives me a small smile and kisses my lips. “It’s okay, Mal. You’ll say it when you’re ready.” He tucks me against his chest and sighs in contentment.
“I want to say it.”
“I know, beautiful. And you will. In your