“It felt fuckinggoodto have you in my arms again.”
His eyes bored into mine, sending my stomach into a tizzy.
“I stopped us before anything went too far because I needed to know you were in thiswithme. I was miserable without you, but if we took that step, I didn’t know if I’d recover. I couldn’t unknow what it felt like to be inside you, how you tasted. You would have ruined me.”
I could barely think of anything beyond the incessant pounding between my legs.
IwantedNathan Sharpe to ruin me.
“Nathan?” I hadn’t ever heard my voice sound like this, desperate and needy. “I need…”
He turned toward me, his gaze focused on my parted lips. “Yeah?”
I licked my lips, relishing the way his eyes followed the movement. He’d kiss me if I let him. I wanted him to overwhelm me, so I couldn’t think beyond his lips, his body, his attention.
And oh the ways I knew he’d make me feel. My body vibrated with anticipation, every single cell craving his touch.
Except one.
I couldn’t ignore the voice in the back of my mind—not this time. I’d grown since I was that stupid in-love kid, desperate for any scrap he’d give me.
I’d only acceptallof him now.
“I need a time-out,” I sputtered, scrambling from the bed to the bathroom.
29
NATHAN
Now
Brenna shut the doorof the bathroom and clicked the lock.
I’d been mere seconds away from breaking her no-touching rule by kissing her so senselessly, she’d forget all about it. I closed my eyes, listening to the running water, hoping it would calmallof me. Thank God for flexible waistbands. The last thing Brenna needed was to see the physical manifestation of how much I wanted her after she asked for distance.
The door inched open, and she stepped through, staring at the floor as she tiptoed back to bed. She gave me a small smile after laying on her back beneath the covers.
I was flooded with gratitude for this snowstorm trapping us here. Alone with her was where I wanted to be, more than anywhere else in the world.
I’d been a coward to book the flight to Houston this weekend. Especially when what I needed was to tell hereverything,to play all my cards and hope it’d be enough to bring her back to me. However long it took, I’d be patient. She was worth the wait.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said, tucking hair behind her right ear. “I, uh, just needed a second.”
“I’m sorry I got carried away.” I shoved my hand into the pocket of my sweatpants to keep from reaching for her. “I want you to feel comfortable. I can go to your room—”
She grabbed for my hand, and her lunge pressed her body to my side.
“You’re breaking your own rules,” I whispered.
“You make me want to break them.”
I studied her face—the freckle on her cheek, those hot-chocolate eyes, her button nose.So beautiful it hurt.
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
“It’s like gravity. Not good, not bad. It just is.” She released my hand and fell onto her back. Her gaze darted to me while she took a steadying breath. “When you found me here… back in high school… I thought I was dreaming. It wouldn’t have been the first time I dreamed you came home. No one told me you were coming back.”
