Page 48 of My Rose

I worried down on my lip, thinking back to his previous commands—getting in his car late at night, letting him drive me home, taking me away from parties, and taking away my phone when I was going to call someone he hated. Someone who turned out to be a really shitty person. I released my lip and rolled my eyes. “Fine. I guess you do have valid reasons. But I didn’t have a reason to not listen to you just now. Where was I going to go, wander your house without you?”

I expected him to laugh or smile, but he exhaled deeply and pressed his palms flat to the top of the footboard, a look of vulnerability donning his perfectly formed face that was so new to me, it was startling. “No. I figured you’d come to your senses and leave.”

“You thought I would leave?”

“Yes,” he replied pointedly like I was the insane one for questioning it.

“Why would I do that?”

The tip of his tongue darted over his bottom lip. “I’m not a lucky man, Rose. Being with you—it’s probably the luckiest I’ve ever been.” That vulnerability he was lying bare to me was still there. My stomach knotted.

Compelled to right it all, I lifted on my knees and moved to the edge of the bed, meeting him as he stiffened beside one of the posts. He sucked in a breath through his teeth as I touched the curve ofhis jaw. “I want to scream at whoever made you feel like you have to haveluckto get anything you want.”

A crease formed between his brows briefly, and then his eyes lit up as he smiled. “I do love it when you scream.”

If my cheeks weren’t on fire before, they certainly were now. I gently smacked his cheek, and his smile widened. “Stop joking so much, I’m serious. I’ll even make you a deal. I won’t apologize anymore, and you will stop thinking you deserve any less, that you areno good for me.I’ve seen what no good is and had the harsh reality of it slapped in my face, but you? You’re one of the good ones, Briggs.”

His touch was warm as he cupped my neck, his full lips brushing over mine into a soft kiss. It didn’t matter what amount of pressure he applied to my lips—every kiss sent electrical zaps throughout my body.

“You slap me but then call me ‘good.’ What do I get if I’m bad?”

I narrowed my eyes and landed another subtle slap. “A harder slap,” I answered, burying the urge to ask what I’d get for beinggoodlike he called me earlier. I pressed my thighs together at the thought—that heat settling low, making me ache for him. He glanced down to where my knees were clamped shut, and I cleared my throat. “How are you feeling?” My fingers trailed down to his side, finding the bruise and stroking as delicately as I could.

He groaned deeply. “Better,” he said, taking my hair between his fingers at the nape of my neck. “Much better.” A rough tug tipped my head back, giving Briggs access to kiss in a calculated, slow line down my neck. My legs shook, the ability to keep my knees andthighs pressed together becoming harder. Briggs stopped along the curve of my neck and shoulder, where his lips and tongue worked to lick and suck in an area that made me feel weightless.

I gasped. “Briggs, you’re going to leave a mark.” I couldn’t stop the moan that left my lips as he demanded more, his tongue lapping along my skin between the sharp stings from his teeth.

He paused long enough to answer with a sound that reminded me of an animal—a masculine groan erupting from deep within his chest. “Good,” he supplied, then went back to the same spot as I let my body fall apart in his hands. His mouth—fuck, his mouth was incredible. I wanted him to do that everywhere—to lick, and suck, and tease me until I melted into an indeterminate puddle at his feet. If this was anything like what sex with him would be like, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to leave. I’d live in his bed until the end of time.

When he finally pulled back, and I came back down from the heavens, I wasn’t sure what to do with my humming body. My limbs no longer existed as I sagged back onto my heels.

“Fucking beautiful.” Briggs shook his head as he turned to walk back to the en-suite. As I snapped out of my daze, I had to cover my mouth to hide a gasp before he fully stepped into the en-suite and closed the door. Besides the fact that his back looked like he’d just been attacked by some feral animal, I was more stunned at the tattoo that sprawled his entire back. I’d only seen pieces of it at the gas station through the open sides of his shirt, and beyond knowing one existed there, I hadn’t taken a look at what it actually was. I stared down at my fingernails, my heart sinking as fast as it had reached pure bliss because across Briggs’ back was a tattoo of the Greek titanAtlas, posed bending forward painfully as he supported the weight of the very world on top of his shoulders, just as he was forced to do by the gods themselves.

A knock sounded a few minutes after Briggs went back into the bathroom. I paused, unsure if I should be the one to answer, but the knock came again—this time, more rhythmic. A practiced knock Briggs would more than likely understand, yet I remained clueless.

I walked to the door and pulled it wide open.

“Sorry, I was looking for—”

“Rhonda?” Briggs was beside me in seconds. His brows furrowed as he looked back at her. “Is everything okay?” The worry in his voice made me melt a little more for him. His dad might not have taught him kindness, but he learned it all the same. Better than most.

“Everything is fine.” Briggs stepped past her to look down the hall. “He’s not going to be home for a while longer. They have advised not to be on the roads for now,” Rhonda added.

“What—” My thoughts abandoned me as I rushed to my phone.

“It’s the snow, isn’t it?” Briggs asked while walking over to the window. He shifted the curtain to the side as Rhonda nodded while looking at me and where I stood beside the bed. I had one lengthy text from my grandparents, letting me know they were worried at first, but then they saw my location and assumed I was with theheir apparentand was safe.

I really needed to start watching the news, or at least the fucking weather report.

“There was a storm last night?” I asked.

Rhonda nodded again. “Yes. At least seven inches of snow fell overnight. They are saying it will be twelve inches by tonight.” I turned to look at Briggs, surprised to find a sense of relief in his posture. “I also have breakfast ready for you both downstairs.”

“Thank you, Rhonda. We’ll be down soon.” She nodded again and reached for the knob, pulling the door closed.

“I didn’t know there was a storm coming.” I sat on the edge of his bed, tapping my fingers on the back of my phone that rested on my thigh. The mattress dipped beside me, Briggs no more than an inch from me.

He was quiet for a moment before he asked, “Will you be okay staying here?”Staying?I fell back on his bed, and not two seconds later, he was lying beside me, propped up on his elbow as he looked down at me.

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