At me.
His grip tightens, and he lifts his hips, giving me the friction I’m desperate for. I gasp, and it draws a low groan from his throat.
He rolls me to my back, his elbows framing my face. “I love you so much, Alley.”
For so long, I made everything about Jensen. About the addiction. About life being unfair. About my dad, andhisdisease.
I let myself drown in all of it. And somewhere along the way, I lostme.
“I promise, if you let me, I’ll spend every day becoming the man you need. The man you deserve.”
But this isn’t about Jensen anymore. He’s his own person. He’ll make his own choices.
This right here, right now…
This is about me.
Myhealing.Myjourney. WhatIwant.
Jensen’s done the work. He’s changed.
Have I?
He messed up. Badly. He broke my trust in him.
And I let it break me.
All this time, I’ve been mad at him. At life. Drinking, wallowing, trying to make sense of it all. When really, I should’ve been doing what Jensen was doing.
Becoming better.
His hand glides down my stomach, slow and deliberate, gaze locked on the trail he’s leaving behind. Sparks fire through me, the ache turning sharp. He pauses at my pubic bone, veers to the side, and grips my hip, fingers digging in just enough to make me shiver. Then his eyes drag back to mine.
Like he’s asking.
Waiting.
Lettingmedecide.
My chest tightens, breath shallow under the weight of his stare, those blue eyes burning into me, full of restraint and hope and want.
And God, I want this.
I want him.
I want to trust him again. To stop running. To let him love me.
To believe we still have a chance at happy.
He presses a kiss to my forehead, then his gaze meets mine.
“Okay,” I whisper. “I want to try. I want to make this work. You and me.”
I nod slowly, grounding myself in it. “I’m all in.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
JENSEN
