I keep going, walking until I’m standing between his knees. My fingers find the button located between my breasts and get to work, until every last button is undone. The shirt falls open, and Brady’s eyes rake over my skin, his gaze burning into me.
“You’re beautiful, Addison,” he says, dragging his stare up to my face.
I place one bent leg on either side of him and sink down onto his lap. “Give me more to talk about at girl’s night, Brady.”
In reality, I’d never share private, intimate moments, but it’s fun to pretend.
Brady kisses me, his lips hungry and searching. And then he does just what I’ve asked of him.
Skilled hands give me a story to tell.
Lips and tongues make certain the tale is scorching.
And somewhere in the tangle of limbs and toe-curling pleasure, our hearts collide, setting us up for something that will either deliver what we want most, or leave us more broken than when we arrived.
* * *
Before I open my eyes,I know where I am. It takes a few seconds to orient myself but I’m aware of him beside me. The heat of his skin warms me, and his scent tickles my nose. At some point we made it back to his bedroom, and after all the exertion we fell asleep.
Eyes still closed, I allow my mind to wander. What happened after our run was hot and intense, not awkward and fumbling. We were experts in a field for which we’d never studied. Our bodies fit perfectly, our movements practiced as if we’d been in that position a hundred times, and at one point I thoughtwhy is this so easy for us?
My sample size isn’t large, so I don’t have a lot to draw on, but with Warren—
Warren.
Shame licks its way through me, lapping at the bubbles of happiness I feel inside.
I didn’t think about Warren even once. Shouldn’t he have been on my mind? A fleeting thought, at the very least?
I know it’s over. The accident was like the blade of a guillotine, its effect swift and eternal.
Guilt is a fucked up thing. I would have felt it if I thought of Warren while I was with Brady. And right now, I feel it because Ididn’t.Damned from all angles.
I tense as something touches my face, then relax as the finger continues, brushing hair from my cheek.
I open one eye first, then the second.
Brady. Messy hair, from both the rain and our time. A lazy smile creeps across his face.
“I can think of a lot worse ways to wake up.” His husky, sleepy voice curls over me, disappearing beneath the sheets and awakening the part of me that took control after our run.
“Me too,” I say, curling myself into his body, pressing myself against him. I grin slyly and look up.
He chuckles. “There’s no hiding how I feel right now.”
My tongue moistens my lips as my heart beats faster. “How I feel isn’t worn on the outside of my body. Instead, I’ll have to show you.”
Once again, everything is smooth and effortless, no hesitance or bashfulness.
Maybe, after all the pain we’ve endured, we are more than ready to be seen.
* * *
“Farewell,”I say dramatically, placing the back of my hand against my forehead and pretending to swoon.
“I’ll write,” Brady jokes, leaning on the front door of his cabin.
He’s still rumpled from our nap, and, well… other things.
