He didn’t let her go but hauled her up against his chest, let out a huge sigh of relief, and held her so tight she couldn’t breathe.
What is going on with him?
He sucked in a breath and held her like he’d never let go. He pressed his cheek to her hair. “I’m so sorry, kid. You’ve got a good heart and guys can be assholes. I don’t ever want to see you hurt. I don’t want anyone to ever break your heart.”
She leaned back in his arms and stared up at him, so he could see her annoyance. “I’m not a kid anymore. It can’t have escaped your attention that I’m all grown up. You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I can take care of myself.”
“I will always protect you.”
“Things have changed, Cody. I’m my own woman now.”
“What does that mean?”
“I decide what I want and who I want to be with and when. And if I can’t have the one I want, then I guess I’ll have to find a dimmer version of happiness with someone else.”
“No.” The thought of her with someone else made him want to rage.
She belonged to him.
He wanted her to have everything her heart desired.
That’s me.
He wanted her to be the happiest person on the planet.
God, I shouldn’t want this, but I do.
She tilted her head. “No?”
“No.” He got lost in her adoring eyes for a moment as he drew her in. She felt so right, so perfect in his arms and pressed along his body. The wave of heat and passion that swept through him didn’t match up with the tameness of the embrace, telling him what they shared was something profound. Special. Raw. Too powerful to ignore or give up.
He forgot about everything and everyone—and maybe lost his mind a little bit—and kissed her.
The second his lips pressed to hers, it felt like everything out of line inside him clicked into place.
It felt like coming home.
It turned out to be so much more than he expected or anticipated.
He couldn’t deny he’d thought about this. The reality was so much better.
His lips touched her pillow-soft ones and he was lost in her sweet flavor. Uniquely Brooke. His new favorite tempting treat.
The axis-tipping moment caught him off guard. So did the fact that he craved a deeper, more intimate kiss. And more. Much, much more.
What the fuck are you doing?
Thrown off-kilter, he needed to think before he did something that ruined everything.
You just did!
He hoped not. Reining in his desires, he covered his intense reaction to her with, “You’re special, Brooke.” He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Don’t ever settle for a guy that treats you otherwise.”
He was just beginning to see how special she was to him.
After his father’s death, he’d clung to the routine of his life to keep him on track and take care of all his father had left behind. Brooke had kept him sane. She was the constant in his life that grounded him.
Tonight showed him how much had changed since she went away to college and how much he hated it. This Brooke wasn’t the one he remembered.
