Page 32

Slowly, I fucked her as I did earlier. Then I increased my pace, watching her eyes nearly roll to the back of her head. She moaned feverishly, gasping, her chest rising and falling. When I came, she took every last drop and swallowed. Looking up at me, she smiled. I was a goner.

Then the next hour had us back in her bed where I sat with my back against the headboard, and she gently eased herself over me. We both moaned at the contact, her fingers gripping her shoulders. Her hips moved, seductively, a dance I was very familiar with except with her because everything was somehow new and my undoing.

And fuck, Wren knew exactly what she was doing. She teased and fucked me slowly, and I appreciated her by letting her go at the pace she wanted until we both came undone by my thrust.

Hours later, we lay together on the bed, the duvet spread out over us. I should leave. I knew I should have gone as soon as it was over, but like the first time, I'd reached for her until she was snuggled against me. Now, she was sleeping soundly, her chest rising and falling softly.

She looked so peaceful. Watching her sleep was as easy as breathing. Some parts of her hair were glued to her face, and I gently brushed them away, careful not to wake her. I should be sleeping. I knew I should close my eyes and sleep, but all I could think about was how much I appreciated this.

The realization that I hadn't had this. I never had this. The house was my sanctuary. Any affair I deemed worthy to have stayed far away from this place. She was the first woman I'd touched, and for what? Because she'd batted her lashes and asked me to kiss her?

Because you love her.

The traitorous thought almost made me slide off the bed. My jaw dropped. Love? I'd never loved a woman in my life. I could do unsentimental sex ... but even as I considered it, I realized I was already far gone. After all, I was lying on her bed well after I should be in my own room now sleeping.

She stirred in her sleep, muttering gibberish that made my lips stretch as she snuggled closer to me, her right leg over my left. Fuck, she was so adorable. How could I have stopped myself from wanting her? From ... loving her?

The thought made my chest constrict but not in a painful way. In a way it never had before. The startling realization that there was somebody else I cared about more now. A lot more than I cared about myself. It scared me shitless and made me want to run as she'd done earlier, but it also made me want to stay. To be the person who stayed for—

“You're not sleeping.”

I blinked, and there she was, staring at me. Somewhere along my musings, she'd peeled her eyes open and found me watching. Instantly, the urge to lean down and kiss her lips overwhelmed me. I killed the urge. This should be just sex, right?

“I couldn't sleep.”

She started to get up, but I stopped her with a hand on her thighs. Jesus. Was I getting a hard-on because I was touching her fucking thigh?

“Is something wrong?” she whispered, then bit her lips worriedly. “You're not starting to regret this, are you?”

“No,” I said quickly. Watching her now, I asked, “Are you?”

She gripped my arm, watching me with gentle eyes. “Never.”

I lay back, satisfied. There was a smile threatening to appear on my face, and the more I fought it, the more it gained the upper hand. When I let it go, I found that Wren was already watching me, waiting to see it too.

“I always want to see your smiles, Knox. Don't hide them from me.”

“Okay.”

We were silent now, watching the crackling fireplace. It'd rained after our rendezvous earlier, and I'd set the room to cozy so she could stay warm. Besides, she loved the fireplace. I'd caught her sitting there reading so many times.

“Knox?” she called.

“Hmm?”

“Will you tell me about your sister, please?” She peered up at me, begging.

I wanted to tell her that she didn't have to. Because even though it was uncomfortable for me, I would still share it with her. She basically had me wrapped around her finger now. Rosa wasn't lying.

I cleared my throat. “Her name was Naomi. I called her Nay.”

Wren shifted to sit up and look at my face. It made me feel safe that she was paying attention, listening to me. That I was important enough to her to want to try.

“She was from my mother's second marriage,” I stated, detached. “My mother, she had a rough one with my father. She wasn't happy, and my father didn't know how to keep her happy. So, she left with me. Until she decided I was too much and brought me back to live with my father. The Sons accepted me the same way they'd accepted my father. But something was still missing. I learned to live without it, though.”

Wren squeezed my hand in encouragement. Unable to stop myself now, I leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips. She welcomed me with a gentle head caress.

“I didn't learn about Naomi until she was thirteen. And even then, there was only so much I could do to bridge the distance between us. I made time to see her every holiday, sent her cards, and tried to stay in her life as much as our mother would allow. Her new husband wasn't as accepting of me as my sister.” My voice was clogged with emotion. “Eventually, Naomi moved across the country after graduation, and I didn't see her as much. She got hitched to a man she'd met there. She didn't tell me, and I knew something was wrong, but every time I tried to pry, she would get angry and remind me that she was an adult.”