“No,” she says, and at the sound of the word, my spine goes rigid; my hands shake slightly when I draw back from her but without letting go, searching her face.
“I don’t want you to go.” Her fingers curl into the fabric of my shirt. “I want you to stay.”
“Are you sure? After everything… you don’t have to decide right now.”
She just looks at me, fingers locked in my shirt when she says, “I’m sure. I want you.” Her eyes search mine. “You. I just wantyou.”
I lean down and kiss her gently, holding my lips to hers as long as I dare before picking her up, carrying her over to my bed, and laying down with Briar on top of me. She’s exhausted, she needs sleep, but I don’t want to let her go. So I hold her, running my fingers through her hair until her breaths come even and her grip on my shirt loosens.
“I’m yours, baby,I’m all yours.”
83
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
KOEN
Leaning against the door frame,I watch Briar sleep. She needed it; it’s been a long twenty-four hours. I’ve only been watching for about ten minutes before she stirs, as if sensing my presence.
Her eyes blink slowly open. I enjoy the little snapshot of peace on her face before it’s gone. Briar shoots up, her hand going to the other side of the bed—the empty side. Panicked, she looks around, freezing when she meets my gaze.
“Where’s Remi?”
“She’s fine. She woke up a couple of hours ago and went wandering into the kitchen, hungry for breakfast. Liam took her to the rink for a tour of the Breakers’ locker room before the game tonight.”
She exhales, having held her breath while I talked, her shoulders relaxing.
“What time is it?” Briar rubs her face, trying to push off the heaviness of sleep that still clings to her.
“It’s past ten.”
“What?” Her hands drop and she gapes at me. “Why did you let me sleep so late?”
“You needed it,” I tell her honestly, and for a moment we just stare at each other before she lets out a short laugh.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” And then my words from earlier hit her. “Wait, did you say there’s a Breakers game tonight?”
“Aye. And we’re going.”
“We?” She blinks at me.
“We,” I confirm, unable to suppress the half smile on my face. “You, me, and Remi; Aidan and Liam hooked us up with tickets for tonight’s game, and Rory’ll be cheering.”
“Oh, wow!” Briar exclaims. “Remi—Remi’s going to love that,”she says softly.
“I hope so,” I say. “I have a lot of making up to do. With Remi and with you.”
Another long moment passes between us, the silence in the loft becoming very apparent.
“Where is everyone?” she asks.
“Out,” is my only response, and my eyes track her hard swallow.
Hoping to break the tension, Briar moves to get out of the bed.
“Oh no, darling, you stay right where you are.” She stills, the hand holding the blanket hovering mid-air. “You need to eat.”
“I can do that in the kitchen,” she replies, but I shake my head.
