He laughs and lies back down, wrapping his arm around me and holding me close to his chest. “It’s okay. You can say it. You have a crush on me.”
“You’re annoying.”
“Annoyingly attractive.”
Yup, exactly why I didn’t want to say anything.
“It’s the lip ring, isn’t it?”
Yes.
“Or my eyes—I’ve heard they’re mesmerizing.”
Also those.
“Or my strapping body that I spend countless hours training in the gym?”
That doesn’t hurt.
“Or is it the fact that you’re questioning whether I’m pierced anywhere else?”
Also, dying to know such things.
“Nope,” I say. “It’s your chin. It’s well structured.”
“My chin?” he asks in such a comical way that it almost makes me laugh.
“Yes, your chin. So…great job growing it. Okay, going to bed now.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“That’s your choice,” I say and snuggle against the pillow. “Night, Wilder.”
He’s silent for a second, and then his hand moves slightly under the hem of my shirt, inching over my heated skin. Immediately, a dull throb erupts between my legs as his palm connects with my stomach. And then he leans in, and, in a sultry, deep voice, he asks, “Are you sure it’s just my chin?”
Dear God.
No, it’s not.
It’s the whole package.
It’s how kind you are to me.
How you make me feel special.
The way you look at me with those eyes, like I matter. Like I’m of importance.
It’s the way you walk, the way you talk, the way you have no problem sticking up for me.
It’s everything. At first glance, I wouldn’t have thought he was my type. And even now, given how good he is, I still wouldn’t have thought he was my type. But I’m starting to learn what I deserve in a man, and Wilder somehow ticks all those boxes.
Wetting my lips, I nod as his thumb strokes my skin. God, I might burn up right here on the spot. “Yeah, your chin,” I say, barely getting the words out.
“Hmm, shame, I thought it was so much more.” And then he lies back down but keeps his hand under my shirt. I swear it’s a test. Like he’s waiting for me to tell him to remove himself. Like he’s seeing where my head is at.
And the thing is, I don’t want him to move. I want him to hold me like this. I want to feel his skin against mine, because it’s been so long. Because it’s comforting. Because deep down inside, I’m starting to figure out that I wouldn’t mind just a little more from him.
“Well, we all learn something new every day.”
