There’s no denying I’m a completely different woman than I was a week ago.
But this version of me, while not who I thought I would be, is strong and resilient. She’s faced problems instead of letting them destroy her. And she’s flushed head to toe with the glow of endless, mind-blowing sex.
The only thing I don’t think I can look at any longer is the rat’s nest of hair atop my head.
That’s a problem for later.
Slipping into a pair of Cormac’s boxers and a t-shirt that most definitely doesnotcover my ass like the movies taught me it would, I rejoin him in the bedroom, finding him sitting at the foot of the bed, fully dressed, waiting for me.
When I get close, he hums in satisfaction, wrapping his hands around my thighs and pulling me to stand between his legs.
“Will you be dressed just like this when I get home?” he asks, toying with the hem of the shirt sitting at my thigh crease.
Home.
It’s such a simple word, but the way he says it feels so heavy.
As if it’s not just his home, but ours.
“I don’t have anything clean to wear soooo,” I shrug nervously, “I’ll be here.”
It’s not an acception of him calling this place home.
Maybe I’m just overthinking it. Thisishis home. Why wouldn’t he call it that?
“You’re so beautiful, Brigit,” he murmurs, somewhere between aconfession and an attempt at distracting me from my tumultuous thoughts.
Tentatively, I reach out, tracing the tattoo across his neck, lost in the dark beauty of it and the man wearing it. “I’m glad you didn’t pursue me before,” I say quietly, half to myself.
His head tilts, “Why?”
“I wasn’t ready to be wanted the way you want me,” I shrug, shying away from the heavy emotion clogging my throat. “I didn’t… I don’t think I could have accepted that there was even a chance someone could genuinely like me without me needing toearnit.”
Sighing, he places a hand against my pulse on my neck, grounding us both. “You deserve nothing less than absolute devotion, Brigit. Not because you’re smart, or you’re hard-working, or kind, which you are. And not because you’re the most beautiful creature to ever exist, whichyou are. And especially not because you are the most resilient, bravest woman I’ve ever known, which you fucking are. But just because. I consider it a privilege to be the one to show you that you’re worthy of it all, even if the ways I do it are…” he grimaces. “Unconventional.”
The urge to laugh sits on my throat, but something in his eyes stops me.
“I need to tell you something,” he pushes out the words in one breath, as if any pause would mean keeping them from escaping. “But there’s no time to explain it now.”
“Then why the fuck would you bring it up now?”
A sad chuckle slips through his lips, “Because now that you know there’ssomething, you won’t stop until you find it. And I don’t trust myself not to be a coward and back out later.”
“So now I get to sit here with the anxiety of whatever it is all night?” I ask, folding my arms angrily. Though the motion certainly doesn’t convey the seriousness of my mood, since without a fucking bra on, I have to struggle with whether I’m folding them over or under my tits.
“We’ll both be equally anxious about it all night,” he assures me. “But I promise you, it’s only further proof of the absolute madness you drive me to. Since the second we met, Brig, there’s never beenanyoneelse for me.”
I stare at him, not sure how to respond to such a confession.
Does he mean just this time around or even before?
With great reluctance, he stands, wrapping me in his arms and pressing a kiss to my forehead. “The bank code on the fridge is really the keycode to the hidden room behind the safe.” His hands cradle my jaw, bringing our gazes together, mine most likely anxious, his darkly serious. “There are things in that room that will haunt you, Brigit. Things I wish I could unsee. But ifanythinghappens, you’ll be safe there.”
His words give me pause, but I nod anyway.
“There’s plenty of food in the fridge,” he continues. “And I will have notifications on my phone for the security system. Which means I’ll be watching you, so be good for me, yeah?”
“Yeah,” I mumble.
