“Absolutely,” Tessa answered.
Brick picked up the pace, settling on a rhythm which suited them both.He drove in and out of her, until both of them were panting, needy animals.Each time Brick entered her it felt like a fragment of his scarred soul reached out to brush against her sweet and pure one.
At his last push, Tessa arched her back, gasping.Brick grinned, aiming for her sweet spot repeatedly until Tessa cried out.She came, screaming out his name.His balls felt tight against his body and the sound of his name on her lips felt like music to his ears.It wasn’t long before he climaxed.Brick panted softly, pulling out of her.
Brick grabbed a couple of wet wipes nearby.He cleaned them both up, before sliding next to Tessa in bed.Tessa curled against his chest.She looked so soft, trusting, and content.
****
Brick stared at theceiling, wide awake, one arm wrapped around her waist like he couldn’t let go.
Her back was warm against his chest, tucked neatly into him like she’d been carved to fit there.Every steady rise and fall of her breathing skimmed across the surface of his self–control, smoothing out edges he hadn’t realized were jagged.
Brick had never planned on having an old lady.Not for lack of offers.Women liked the dangerous ones, the quiet ones with scars and reputations that walked into the room first.But he’d always shut that talk down.
He’d seen too many men lose their minds when the club came calling and the women they loved became targets.He’d sworn he’d never risk someone like that.Sworn he’d keep his life simple, clean, unattached.
But Tessa blew a hole straight through every promise he ever made himself.
She shifted slightly in her sleep, pressing closer, a tiny, unconscious sound leaving her throat.Brick felt it punch right through him.This wasn’t a woman trying to stake a claim or tame him.This wasn’t expectation or demand.This was a small, soft body curling instinctively toward him because she felt safe with him.
He tightened his arm around her, slow and almost reverent, pulling her firmly against him and lowering his face to her shoulder.Her skin still held the faintest leftover heat and sweat from their earlier frenzy.
If he closed his eyes, he could still feel her hands gripping him, her breath whispering against his mouth, the way she’d screamed out his name.
Brick wasn’t a man who believed in fate.He didn’t believe in cosmic signs or destined paths or any of that bullshit.
But here, with Tessa breathing softly against him, her heartbeat pressed to his like they shared one rhythm, Brick knew one thing with absolute certainty.She was made for him, meant for him and he wasn’t ever going to let her go.
Chapter Eight
Tessa knew somethingwas wrong the moment Dillon didn’t show up for their check-in.He was late sometimes.Fifteen minutes, maybe twenty, when his anxiety got the better of him or his guardian dragged him into another pointless argument.
In the end, Dillon always came.Apart from the two nights when he’d been missing, Tessa made the kid promise to send her a text or leave a note.Dillon now didn’t disappear without warning.
By the time an hour passed, unease had crawled its way up her spine and wrapped tight around her ribs.
