Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,104

boyfriends’ pasts?”

My eyes expanded while my stomach summersaulted. “You’re my boyfriend?”

His eyes snapped open. “I sure hope so. I don’t go around telling just anyone I love them.”

I couldn’t fight off my smile, though I kept my lips tight for fear of laughing aloud like an idiot. “And you love me?”

He smiled, those amazing dimples sinking in. “Now you’re just fishing.”

I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer. “Damn straight I am.”

Hayden leaned in and kissed me, intoxicating me with his possessiveness. His tongue licked across the seam of my lips and dipped inside, sweeping and circling. His lips were so soft. So moist. So hungry. It made all the kisses before pale in comparison. This one carried the feelings associated with what was happening between us. The trust. The love. The future.

I pulled back, catching my breath while he nibbled down my neck. “You were my first, you know.”

He stopped his attack, nodding into the crook of my neck.

I gasped. “It was that bad?” He’d slept with tons of girls—women. How could I ever compare?

He rolled onto his side, resting his head in his palm and staring down at me with apologetic eyes. “I know it’s impossible, but if I could, I’d erase everything I did before we met. Those girls, they didn’t mean anything to me. Being with you…” His thumb traced my bottom lip. “It meant everything to me. It still does. And you trusting me to be your first was such a damn turn on, I can’t even begin to explain it.”

I reached up and ran my nails through the back of his head. “A turn on, huh?”

He brushed his lips to mine, speaking against them. “Big time.”

“Well, what do you say we pretend it’s the first time all over again?”

His mouth sealing over mine was the only response I got.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

ALEX

Waking up naked in my childhood bed with Hayden twisted around me like a pretzel was something I almost couldn’t comprehend. A few months ago, the only future I envisioned had Preston in it. Life without him seemed impossible.

Until Hayden.

Being with Hayden felt right. Like the stars aligned to bring us together. I knew he wasn’t perfect. Far from it. But neither was I. We were two people trying to maneuver through life after the crummy hands we’d been dealt. And we were surviving.

I tried to slide out from under his warm body, but he held on tighter. “Hayden. I need to shower.”

“No,” he grunted into my neck.

“We’ve been in bed for almost an entire day. I’m sweaty.”

“I like you sweaty."

I eyed the container of honey on my nightstand. “And sticky.”

He dragged his tongue up my neck, ensuring he hadn't left any honey on my skin. "Mmm. I love you sticky."

“You can come with me.”

His eyes snapped open. “Seriously?”

I nodded, biting my lip in anticipation.

Hayden jumped out of bed in all his naked glory. A magnificent sight I could go on and on about. But why bother? It was what it was. And it was all mine.

I wrapped the sheet around my body and padded to my bathroom. He followed closely behind, not even attempting to tug the sheet off like other guys would have. But then again, Hayden wasn’t like other guys.

I reached inside the two-person shower and flipped the knobs. Through the glass, Hayden’s eyes took in the four powerful jets shooting out from various angles.

I dropped the sheet to my feet and stepped inside. Hayden followed, pressing his naked front to my back. I leaned my head against his shoulder, feeling every hard inch of him as the water soaked the front of my body. He wrapped his arms around my waist, caressing my stomach with tantalizingly delicious circles, while he pressed open-mouthed kisses down the side of my neck.

I couldn’t stop the rumbling in the back of my throat as my head fell to the side, giving him easier access. He grabbed a bar of soap and lathered up my body as his lips continued their assault.

When I was nothing more than a useless pile of mush, and the throbbing between my thighs was almost too much to bear, Hayden spun me around so my front pressed into his chest. I slipped my arms around his neck as the shower jets soaked the back of my head.

He stepped forward, causing me to step back. The warm water rained over our faces. Hayden licked his way up the side of my neck, making his way to my lips. When I opened to