Colette narrowed her gaze on him as she crawled back into the bed.
“Pretty good? I’m insulted,” she said with a harumph.
“Sorry, I mean earth-shattering, mind-altering dessert.” He cupped her face in his hand as she spoke and brought her lips to his. “Life changing.”
“You’re forgiven,” Colette said as she pulled the ribbon on the box, and it slipped off. She revealed the profiteroles, covered in chocolate. Leaning over to toss the ribbon on the nightstand, Marshall stopped her.
He pointed to a spot on her back. “What’s that?”
“It’s a surgery scar,” she said softly. Her scars were something she didn’t often think about, because didn’t see them. Two taut stripes running along her left shoulder. “I had a heart defect, and they operated on it when I was little.”
A small intake of breath was his response. “Should I have been more careful?” he asked as he ran his finger along the scars. This was exactly why she didn’t talk about it. The way he worried was adorable, but unnecessary.
Colette shivered and snorted. “Why? Do you think your cock touched my heart? I mean, you’re big, but not that big.”
He chuckled, pulling the profiteroles from her hand. “Just for that snarky comment, you’re not getting any dessert.” He shook his head as he clutched the box to his chest. “I meant, do you have to be careful when you do things that elevate your heart rate? You know, strenuous physical activity.” He smirked and raised his brows suggestively.
She pressed a hand to his scruffy cheek, loving the feel of him in her palm. “No. I just get regular checkups with a cardiologist and keep going with my life. I guess you could say I was cured once I had the surgery. I take blood pressure meds and that’s it.”
“That’s a relief,” Marshall sighed, leaning back on the headboard with the box of profiteroles resting on his stomach. They ate dessert in bed, and Colette was reminded of how messy profiteroles were. Marshall insisted on kissing away every drop of chocolate or streak of Chantilly cream off her lips, leading to another round of seeing how fast he could make her heart race.
CHAPTER 29
Sunlight drifted into the window as Marshall’s eyes squinted to adjust to the brightness. He didn’t recognize the soft white curtains at the window or the crisp duvet surrounding him.
Where was he exactly?
Oh yes.
His body remembered. A seeking hand drifted the short distance to the other side of the bed. How many times had he slept all night with a woman?
Never, that he could remember.
Last night would be forever imprinted on his mind. His fingers tingled as they reached their target, drifting along the surface of Colette’s hand, winding themselves into the place where they belonged. His gaze flicked to her face, a warm smile teasing her lips.
His heart stuttered in his chest as a visceral realization flowed through him.
Colette was precious to him. Though they had reached heights of pleasure he could never have dreamed of last night, there was more. There was a new sensation squeezing his heart. No longer the simple pumping of blood through his veins, he was gripped with an emotion completely foreign andunexpected. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he pulled her close, inhaling the floral scent of her hair, slightly tinged with sweat. As the heat of her body pressed against his, memories of pleasure stirred his other parts, but he ignored them. This moment was sacred. He wanted to memorize how her curves nestled into his perfectly. How she giggled breathily when he nuzzled her neck. Marshall inhaled the essence of Colette as his eyes drifted closed.
He was grateful Evan had agreed to take over his morning duties, allowing him to have a late start to the morning. It had been so long since he had had a reason to linger, a reason to savor a moment and rest. Her breath quieted under his hand, her belly lifting and falling with each sleepy inhale. Tempted to allow his hand to drift lower on her body and see if she was filled with the same sensations coursing through his body, he sighed.
There would be time for that later.
For now, he would relish the feel of her in his arms, quieting all thought or desire. He would let the movement of her breath and the delicate flutter of her heartbeat lull him back to sleep. This would not be the last time they were together, if he had anything to do with it.
Last night was the beginning of something. As terrifying as the sensations he was experiencing were, he wanted to walk into that unknown, not run from it. As long as Colette was waiting for him there with an outstretched hand, he would follow wherever she went. That much he knew after last night. Apparently, he was a cuddler too. That was new.
Evan would have a field day.
First, Marshall made all those rules to keep the other guys from making moves on Colette. Then, he brushed aside his own objections so easily and surrendered. Chuckling softly, he nestled his head deeper into the pillow. What kind of man did that make him?
Maybe he was a devil after all.
To be taking as much as he could from Colette to fill his tank, for those mornings when he wouldn’t be waking up to her. For a moment, Marshall could almost imagine what love would feel like. How one could soften under its touch and dissolve into a puddle of unmitigated happiness.
These thought patterns were concerning.
Where the fuck was all this coming from?
