“Which part?”
He leans down, brushing his lips over mine. “You know which part.”
I press my lips together, taking a shallow breath. He’s so close. The warmth of him surrounds me. His hands cradle my face, and there’s no hesitation in his touch right now, only hope. And when I look into his eyes, he sees me.
Everything good and bad exposed.
But he hasn’t stormed out or left. He’s standing in front of me. He’s choosing me.
“I love you,” I whisper.
The words have barely left my mouth when Dean lowers his lips to mine, and he kisses me for the first time.
23
Chaos
I can’t remember ifI’ve ever kissed a woman. Maybe when I was so high and fucked out of my mind that I wasn’t thinking straight. But I’ve never done it on purpose. Never wanted that kind of intimacy.
Fucking is fucking. It’s fun. It’s fine.
But my lips land on Willa’s, and the man I am ends.
She tastes like tears.
Like salt and regret.
She exhales, and it lightens her touch.
Lifting her hips, I wrap her legs around me and carry her into my bedroom.
I’m not fucking her anywhere but between my sheets right now. In my bed. Willa lets me do whatever I want with her. She draws out every kink I have. But right now, all I want to do is be as close to her as possible. I want to make her feel good.
All this time, I had no idea the weight she was carrying around. Trying to protect my family’s legacy, trying to keep her family together. She was buried in guilt over her mother because her father made her think it was her fault when it wasn’t. It was an accident, and she’s been beating herself up for years, unable to see it.
Now that I know why she pushed me away, I’m going to make her father regret standing between us. I’ll make him pay for everything he put her through.
But right now, there’s only one thing I can think about.
Willa loves me.
Me.
The fuckup.
The troublemaker.
I’ve never given a shit about love. The only person I let myself admit I cared about died, and after that, my stepdad made sure I knew I wasn’t worth giving a shit about. Even watching my brothers fall head over heels for their old ladies this past year, I never got it. Not until those words left Willa’s lips. It didn’t matter if she’d made some bad decisions. It didn’t matter if I’d done the same. Years of mistakes faded into nothing.
We were done hiding. The truth was out, and our walls were down.
I sink a knee onto the bed as she sprawls out across it. She’s wearing nothing more than one of my T-shirts, and it’s riding up her legs. Her slick pussy is on display when I spread her knees wider. There’s never been a more beautiful sight.
Willa’s dark hair fans across the sheets. Her eyes are still a little red from crying, but they’re bright. Hesitation puts a leash on her smile like she’s nervous.
Or maybe she’s surprised.
There’s still so much I’m learning about her.
