She sits cross-legged on the couch beside me. “So, tell me about when you first met. Is there a cute story?”
I indicate for Devon to tell her, and before I know it, two hours have passed while we sit and talk and laugh. He seems to have charmed his way into Mom’s good graces—she’s been catching my eye every now and then to share a woman-to-woman communication that says things like “good job!”, “he’s great!”, and “hold onto him.” But the killer moment comes when it’s time to clean up and the three of us take our dishes to the kitchen. Mom tries to turn the faucet on and curses when it doesn’t do anything.
“Let me take a look,” Devon offers. While Mom and I watch, he checks out the plumbing, then requests a wrench, and within a few short minutes, the faucet works like it should.
As he tests it out, Mom leans closer and whispers to me, “He’s lovely. Don’t let him go.”
My heart is full to bursting, and I can’t look away from him. The sleeves of the button-down shirt he insisted on wearing to make a good impression are rolled up, exposing strong forearms dusted with hair, and a tiny bit of tongue pokes out the corner of his mouth as he concentrates. He’s so gorgeous it almost hurts to look at him, but that isn’t what’s choking me up. All of the feelings I’ve been denying have slammed into me with the force of a brick wall, knocking me off balance and stealing the air from my lungs.
I love him.
I do.
It’s like there’s been this sensation deep inside me, fighting to get to the surface and it’s finally broken through.
Devon is a guy who fixes things without being asked. Who’s honest and open about everything—far more than I’ve ever been. Who’s playful and trustworthy. He isn’t going to hurt me because he’s someone worth loving.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Devon
Harley stretches out next to me in the double bed her mother assigned us for the night. Her hand wanders up my torso, her gentle touch awakening parts of me I’ve tried to put to sleep.
“Are you sure you don’t want to?” she asks. “She probably assumes we are, anyway.”
“I’m sure.” Taking her hand, I curl mine around it to stop its journey over my sensitive skin. “I can’t face Mae tomorrow morning if I spend the night banging her daughter. You’ll have to rein in your libido for one night. I know it’ll be a struggle,” I tease, “when you’ve got all this sexy goodness in bed with you, but you’ll manage.”
She nips my shoulder. “Oh, I’ll manage. You’re the one who can’t go a night without sex.”
I stifle a laugh because we both know we’re equally insatiable. She loves the physical side of our relationship as much as I do. Unfortunately, I don’t have much experience with meeting the parents of women I’m dating—because I don’t usually see them more than a few times—and it just seems like good etiquette to keep my dick out of Harley while under Mae Isles’s roof. Not to mention that I like Mae, and I want her to like me too.
Smoothing a hand over Harley’s hair, I kiss the top of her head, and then twirl a loose strand around my finger. “What were your dreams?” I ask softly. “When you were a kid, where did you want your life to go?”
“That’s a deep question for when I’m half asleep.” She’s quiet for several seconds, and I wonder if that’s all she’s going to say on the matter, but then she continues. “Promise you won’t think this is corny?”
“Promise.” I have no idea what she’s about to say, but I’m eager to learn more about the girl she was when she lived in this big, welcoming house.
She sighs, and her breath tickles my chest. “I wanted to find a place to belong. That was it. I didn’t have any big ambitions, I just wanted to fit in somewhere and be liked and accepted for who I was.”
My heart expands, threatening to burst out of my ribcage because her dream so closely mirrors my own. I never realized quite how much I felt like I didn’t fit until I found somewhere I did.
“Oh, baby.” I drop another kiss on her forehead. “And did you?”
“I thought I did.” Her voice is so quiet I can hardly hear her. “But Thaklaew ruined that.”
If I ever meet this Thaklaew guy, I’m going to punch him in the face. It’s better than he deserves. “What about at Crown MMA?”
Her chin angles up, and in the dark, I can barely see the shining of her eyes. “Maybe one day.”
“It used to be my place to belong,” I confess. “I hope it will be again, but like I’ve said, it’s not the end of the world if it isn’t. I didn’t have such a hard time growing up as you, but I felt out of place in my own family, even though I never doubted they loved me. Seth has built a tightknit community, and I felt like part of it. Yeah, the guys think I’m a little crazy, but they see me, flaws and all, and they call me their brother anyway.”
At least, they used to—and hopefully still do.
I’ve seen Jase and Gabe a few times recently, and our friendship doesn’t seem damaged by my change of circumstances. Honestly, I do love those guys, and I’m grateful every day that I found my way to them.
“That’s really beautiful,” she says, and snuggles closer. “I’m sure you’ll have it again once Seth’s finished being an ass. What was your dream when you were growing up?”
I grin. “To be a stunt double in action movies.”
