body turns to jelly beneath me, and I allow myself to drop my weight on top of her for a few seconds. When I move to roll off of her, she shocks me by wrapping me up in her legs and arms. Even her head comes off the pillow to nuzzle my neck.
“I knew it would be beautiful with you,” I whisper against her hair. “Had no idea it would be that beautiful though.”
She drops back to the bed with a sated smile that I feel in my chest. “If I had any idea things would be this good between us, I would’ve told you how I felt about you sooner.”
I blink and roll to her side. “Wait. You’ve had feelings for me? Since when?”
“Since I asked you to the Valentine’s Day Dance.” She covers her face with a hand. “Why is this embarrassing?”
I pull her hand away. “I thought you asked me because we were friends.”
“That too, but I guess I was hoping for more.”
A flicker of annoyance dowses my post-orgasm haze. “Why didn’t you tell me?” To think how much time we wasted, how many assholes I had to stand by and watch work their way through her.
“After that night, Stewart showing up and”—she sucks in a shuttering breath and then lets it out—“all that, I wasn’t in the best place emotionally. By the time I finally got around to considering dating, I realized you treated me differently. You were, I don’t know, more friendly, almost parental.”
I wrinkle my nose at the imagery. From friend to parent. No wonder nothing has ever happened between us.
“I assumed you saw me the way I see myself: broken, messed up, desperate. You’re so together, Killian. You deserve someone more…like you.”
I study the wall across the room for a second then look down at her. “Stewart is an unforgivable asshole. What you went through… I wanted to protect you from ever having to go through that again. I guess in looking out for you I may have lost focus when it came to dating you. But I never saw you, and still don’t see you, as the person you’re describing.”
She plays with the hair at my nape. “Don’t get me wrong. I know you cared about me, but after that night, it’s like something died between us.”
“What do you think that was?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs. “Hope maybe?”
“You gotta know that was one-sided, Ax. I never gave up hope in us. I’ll take responsibility for backing off you a bit, but after that night, you were so weak. I would’ve been an asshole to pursue more than friendship with you. I should’ve spoken up sooner, but I’m still not sure you’re ready for what I want with you. I’m so afraid that, now that my feelings are on the table, you’ll find your piece of this life, grab on with two hands, and have no need for me. I knew that if I wanted a chance with you, if I really wanted a shot at making you happy, I’d have to time it perfectly.”
“So I guess Valentine’s Day exactly four years later was the perfect time.”
“Is it?” I dip down and kiss her. “I want this night to be the start of making new memories, replacing the old. But only if you’re ready.”
Her dark brows pinch together. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
My muscles tense. “Up until a few hours ago, you were with someone else, Ax.”
Her body tenses. “I don’t love him. I never did love him. With you, it’s different.”
How I hope she’s right.
“Mmm.” I breathe in the scent of her skin while kissing her collarbone.
She yawns long and hard then snuggles deep into my chest. “This is going to be great, okay? Us? We’re going to be amazing.”
I squeeze her close. “Or die trying.” I drop a kiss on the top of her head, thinking that nothing has ever felt more right than holding her naked against me while she finds rest. “Go to bed, baby.”
She yawns. “I love you, Kill.”
I grin into the dark, so big and wide it hurts my cheeks. “Love you too, Ax.”
Fifteen
Axelle
The sun reaches through the window, stirring me awake. I’m warm and sunk deeply into the biggest comforter ever when I hear the sound of breathing at my back.
I roll over to find Killian, completely naked, and flat on his back. He managed to push the covers down so they only come up to mid-thigh. I grin and greedily take in his muscled frame, wide