Page 83 of Breakaway Goal

After his orgasm wrings him dry, he sinks against me. Our heartbeats throb against each other’s chests while I hold him close.

Pure happiness sings through me. I feel closer to Rhys than I ever have to anyone in my life.

After Rhys grabs a towel and cleans us off, he slides next to me, pulls a blanket over us, and gathers me in his arms to hold me close to him.

As the rise and fall of his chest lulls me to sleep, and I feel my consciousness slipping under, I let myself dream that Rhys and I can be so much more than just an arrangement.

42

RHYS

The first sensation I register is the feeling of Maddie’s silky soft hair feathered over my chest.

I crack my eyes open, and the sight of her raven-black strands strewn across the wide plane of my chest fills me with a deep, mellow satisfaction. Maddie is warm against me, one of her breasts pressed to the side of my chest, her bare thigh crooked on top of my leg under the covers.

Light streams through her window, the rising sun angled perfectly to cast the room in an ethereal, golden amber hue. Above the covers, the air is crisp, while underneath, our body heat creates a warm cocoon that I never want to get out of.

For so many years, I’ve dreamed of waking up in the same bed as Maddie. Just lying still with her tucked against me as her chest swells with the soft and peaceful breaths of sleep.

My heart sings in my chest. Happiness suffuses through me. This is the purest satisfaction I’ve ever known. I close my eyes, not to go back to sleep, but just to try and snatch this moment out of time, brand every feeling and sensation and emotion into my brain so I’ll never forget it.

I don’t know how much time passes while I lie with my eyes closed, marinating in the bliss of the moment. All I know is it isn’t long enough.

When I open my eyes again, my heart squeezes in my chest, because when I look down at Maddie, hers are open, too, and our gazes meet.

I drown in the deep pools of her pristine blue eyes, and as mine tether with hers for a long stretch of time, it feels like the thread connecting our hearts vibrates.

“Morning.” She’s the first to break the silence. A sweet smile pulls at the edges of her mouth after the word leaves it.

“Morning.”

She buries her face in my chest, pulling in a breath. The movement sends her silky hair fanning further over my torso.

“I don’t want to get up,” she says.

“Then let’s not.” I don’t think there’s a limit to how long I could lie here with her. Even if I started to starve, the bliss of being with Maddie like this would overpower the pangs of hunger.

A sigh from her mouth warms the skin on my chest. “We have to get up at some point.”

“No, we don’t.”

She shakes against me with laughter. “I think Jasmine might protest having an extra roommate. Especially one who’s naked in my bed and never lets me go anywhere else. Plus, I’ll start failing my classes. And what happens when I have to pee?”

I make atisksound with my tongue on the roof of my mouth. “You just have to be the realist, don’t you?”

“You know me, Miss Practical. You can tell how realistic I am by the way I switched from a business major to an art major.”

My chest rumbles, and my lips tug up. After a moment of reflection, I say, “Did I ever tell you how fucking brave I think you are for doing that?”

Her cheeks flush, and I can see her eyes rolling. “Brave. Yeah, right.”

I tilt her chin with my index finger so she’s looking at me. “I mean it. You were planning on studying business and getting an MBA since elementary school. Your parents were pushing you to do it. Everyone expected it of you. You stopped on a dime and decided to do the thing you love, the risky thing, rather than the safe and guaranteed thing that made you miserable. Not a lot of people would do that.”

Her eyes shift up. “Well, I never would have done it if you hadn’t encouraged and supported me.”

Satisfaction floods my chest. “Just promise you won’t forget your lowly hockey player friends when you’re a world-famous painter.”

She huffs a laugh, swatting my finger away from her chin to rest her head against me. “You’re ridiculous.”

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