Page 62 of Resist

He followed her over, not bothering to drag it out, as was his usual style. “Fuck, Ainsley,” he gasped, his jaw clenched as his own climax raced through him. “I missed you.”

He’d said those words several times, but this time, she let herself hear them.

And more than that, she let them soak in.

CHAPTEREIGHT

Coulton wokebefore Ainsley the next morning. Pushing himself to his elbow, he studied her face as she continued to sleep. This was the only time he saw Ainsley with her guard down. Her face was peaceful, her lips curved in an almost smile.

He swore his heart had cracked in half the night she’d told him she didn’t let herself dream. While he had replayed their first date countless times in his mind over the last four days, cursing every single minute he was on the road and away from her, it was that conversation about her lack of dreams that kept coming back to him.

He lightly ran his hand over her hair, careful not to wake her. He’d expected her anger last night. God, he had cursed a blue streak when he broke his phone and realized he couldn’t call her. He’d driven his teammates insane with his constant bitching and climbing the walls, aware of exactly how Ainsley would interpret his silence.

He’d made her write her number down on a piece of paper on their ride to his place from the tavern last night. That slip of paper was now a permanent resident in his wallet.

She’d definitely intended to send him packing when he first arrived at the bar, and while he’d felt the slightest bit of trepidation about that, he also couldn’t help but be thrilled by her ire. Because it meant she was starting to care about him too.

Every step forward with Ainsley was followed by two steps back, but he didn’t mind. He meant what he’d said to her. She was incredible and worth the effort. The time away had only solidified his belief that there was something truly special between them. Something worth fighting for. So Coulton was determined to stay the course, to win her trust…and, God willing, her heart.

Ainsley stirred, her eyes opening slowly. She stretched her arms above her head, the action shifting the sheet low enough that he could see her tits. She wasn’t shy about her body, so she made no effort to cover herself.

Instead, she gave him a smirk. “Are you watching me sleep, perv?”

Coulton laughed. “Yep.” He bent down to kiss her, but Ainsley turned her head at the last second, covering her mouth.

“Morning breath.”

Coulton pulled her hand away. “Don’t care.” He kissed her, then forced her lips apart, showing her just how little he minded.

Ainsley sank into the kiss easily, her hands wrapping around his shoulders. “You’re so big,” she murmured when their lips parted.

“Maybe you’re tiny.”

She laughed softly. “Tiny is just a nice word for too skinny.”

He liked this early morning version of Ainsley. Apparently, she needed a cup of coffee in her before she managed to re-erect her walls.

Coulton ran his hand along her side, aware of how thin she was, just as he suspected the ribs he felt were a product of hunger, not dieting or genetics. He looked forward to feeding her breakfast, because shit—there was nothing hotter than listening to Ainsley moan after each bite of food. He’d been hard enough to drive nails into concrete that night on the yacht, as she closed her eyes in bliss during each course.

“What are your plans for the day?” he asked.

Ainsley frowned, and those walls that didn’t exist when she was asleep flew back up. “Why?”

“Because I want you to meet my Little Brother.”

“Thought you said you were an only child,” she joked.

“I mean Slade.”

“Jerome’s cousin?”

Coulton nodded, recalling Jerome and Ainsley’s friendship. “Do you already know him?”

Ainsley shook her head. “No. Jerome and I just had friends in common back in school, so we weren’t super close. When we hung out together, it was usually somewhere around school or at someone else’s house.”

“And where exactly did you go when you skipped algebra to get stoned?” he asked, with a shit-eating grin.

“Jerome has a big mouth,” Ainsley grumbled, though he could tell she didn’t care. “You ever get high?”

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