shoulders, thick arms, and a powerful chest that tapers to his six-pack abdomen and narrow hips. My eyes widen when I study what’s between those hips. I blink, amazed at how gorgeous he is and marveling at what happened between us.
He loves me.
This intelligent, kind, and gorgeous man loves me.
I suppose I should’ve seen it sooner. He’s been on the front lines of every major event in my life, which is exactly why I thought he’d never be interested in me. I’ve broken down and shown him my ugly side more times than I can count. He’s let me cry and curse him to hell and back, accepting the punishment for all the people who’ve truly deserved it.
My stomach sinks with guilt, and for a moment, it feels wrong being in his arms. Like I’m taking so much more than I deserve.
I turn away from him and bite my lip to keep from crying. Great, Axelle. In case you haven’t already proved it, drive home your psycho by crying in his bed.
He shifts behind me, like he’s stretching, and then freezes for a second. I hold my breath, terrified of what he might be thinking and how he’ll respond now that all our confessions lie bare in the light of day.
Then he moves.
The heat of his body pushes up flush to my back, and his arm snakes around my waist. He presses kisses as soft as butterfly wings to my jaw and whispers, “So it wasn’t a dream.”
My chest cramps at the awe in his voice. I squeeze my eyes closed.
He drops his head back to the pillow and makes a sound of contentment. “Where are you at?”
I cover his hand that’s splayed over my belly with my own. “I’m right here; thought that was pretty obvious.”
He kisses the top of my head. “That’s not what I meant. Where are you at with us?”
I roll over to face him, tangling my bare legs with his. His eyes shine with wonder and curiosity. Framed with thick black lashes, the view practically stops my heart. “I’m right here, Kill. I’m not going anywhere.”
His lips twitch as if he’s fighting a smile, and soon he loses the battle and flashes his brilliant white teeth. “Yeah?”
I laugh and bury my face into his chest. “Yeah, it’s crazy, right? It’s like this is where we’re supposed to be.” However unworthy I feel.
His arms come around me and pull me flush to him. His hard-on wedges between my thighs, but he doesn’t make a move to do more than simply hold me. “I wish I could lie like this with you all day. Shut out the world and keep you as my naked hostage.”
“Mmm, that sounds nice.”
“How about this weekend? We could rent movies and stay in bed all day.”
I peer up at him and imagine spending two whole days naked with Killian and nod frantically.
He laughs low and throaty, the vibration of it against my skin awakening my desire. “Good. Now, I have an econ quiz in an hour and fifteen minutes, so as much as I’d love to move this morning along slowly, I’m afraid I can’t.”
I sigh and press my cheek to his chest. “I have to get my car and get home too. I have a ten-thirty class.”
His hands run up and down my back in lazy strokes. “I’ll hop in the shower; you get dressed. I’ll drop you at your car on my way to class.”
I run my lips along his pec, the feel like velvet over steel against my mouth. “Deal.”
“We break on three. One…” He squeezes me tighter. “Two…” He kisses my head. “Three!” He slaps my ass, and I yelp as he jumps out of bed and dashes to the bathroom.
It suddenly hits me that I’m going to be seeing him between classes today, and the excitement of being seen together makes my stomach flip. I roll to my back and press my palm to my belly. “Calm down, Axelle,” I whisper to myself. “This is nothing to make yourself sick over.”
The shower turns on, and I contemplate heading in there to offer Killian some assistance, but decide that would only make us both late for class. As seriously as he takes his studies, it would be bitchy of me to interfere with his perfect GPA.
So I drag my ass out of bed and pull on the UFL shirt of Kill’s I wore last night before he stripped it off me. I bite my lip as memories flood