Page 45 of Unraveled Love

She was willing to do anything.

I took her hand, helped her clean the rest of me off her, and slowly brought my foot back to the floor, holding her leg that still quivered at my touch and from her climax until she was standing steady on her own.

“That was nice,” she whispered as I leaned in and stole a soft kiss.

“Better than.”

“Mmm, yeah, but you just screwed all the words out of me, so that was the best I could come up with.”

I laughed against her mouth, spun us so her back was to the spray, and ran my hands through her hair. “I’m going to go start on breakfast. You good to finish up?”

Not that she needed help.

Her chuckle proved it. “I’ve been showering since I was five. I think I can manage.”

I slapped her ass playfully. “Smartass. Come down when you’re ready.”

Her head fell back and she groaned. “Please don’t use your doom-and-gloom voice so early in the morning. I haven’t even had coffee.”

My doom-and-gloom voice. She’d said it the day before when I hadn’t thought any of this was funny. I still didn’t, but I did like Addi’s ability to seemingly roll with everything that was happening to her, because of her, so quickly after shedding her emotions over it.

That was her, though: sweet mixed with strength that had been born of fire and grit despite seemingly being handed everything in her life.

“I’ll get you caffeinated before I break out the gloom then.”

“Appreciated,” she grumbled and pressed her hand to my chest. She gave me a playful shove away from her and closed her eyes, running her hands through her hair. “Now leave me alone before I force you to spend the rest of the day repeating what you just did and we ignore the world around us.”

Well, that certainly sounded like a better idea to me.

One of her eyes peeked open. “You’re not leaving.”

“I’m debating.”

She kicked me in the shin and laughed. “Go, you sex fiend. I’ll need coffee and food for more of that anyway.”

Right.

Feed her. Fuel her. Fuck her.

Best way to spend the day in my mind.

Someday I’d make sure that was how we spent one.

16

Addi

The scent of eggs and ham drifted upstairs, making me inhale the sweet aroma mixed with coffee as I made my way down the stairs.

Waking up without Shawn that morning had felt like I was missing a limb. Maybe I should have been more concerned with how attached I was to him, but I’d quickly kicked that thought out of my mind once I heard the shower water running.

I might have only known him for a few weeks, but with what we’d already been through, I knew the kind of man he was.

He was a protector. A caregiver. He was strong and brave and yet kind and respectful. He was arrogant only when teasing or necessary. He didn’t think women should fall at his feet even though I’d seen more than one or twelve swoon in his presence.

Shawn was the kind you fell in love with in a heartbeat and spent forever keeping that love alive with.

My feet stalled on the stairs and my hand tightened on the banister. The cool wood beneath my palm did nothing to settle the sudden racing of my ears, heating my blood, making it thrum.

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