Page 47 of Unraveled Love

“Fuck.” He pulled back, and with both of us gasping for breath, he held me so tight to him no atoms or molecules could find their way between us. His hands curled from my neck to my cheeks, and he held me in such a reverent way, staring down at me as my pulse skipped a beat and shot straight to the apex of my thighs where his hardness was pressed to my lower stomach. “Fuck, I love you.”

A single thread of that earlier giddiness returned, and my lips twitched. “You’ve already said that.”

“I’m going to say it to you so damn often you’ll get sick of hearing it.”

“I doubt that.” I rolled onto my toes and brushed my lips over his, another promise sealed. No way would I ever get tired of hearing it. “We should eat.”

“Right.”

“So you can ruin my day.”

He huffed a laugh and grabbed the plates. “Kitchen table. And thanks for your faith in me.”

“I trust you with all that I am and everything in me.”

He froze, stunned. Who wouldn’t be? I didn’t even know where the words came from, but I meant every one.

“And I will do everything in my power to ensure you always do.”

“I know.” And I did. Which was why I loved him.

The weight of our promises thickened the air, swirled. Our eyes held, his blue irises so vibrant they were stunning, and then he broke it by setting our breakfast down at the table and coming back to grab silverware.

“Do you need more coffee?” I asked, turning to the pot where a fresh mug sat next to a half-empty one.

“Please, honey.”

His request was so soft, and that swarm of butterflies took flight, flooding my skin with delightful, hopeful little shivers.

I loved a man who would always be good to me. We could get through anything…Daniel and my father and everything else that entailed.

He stood at the table until I brought our coffees, and once I took a seat across from him at the small, round table that could only seat four, he took his own seat like a gentleman.

“This looks delicious. I should probably eat it before my appetite gets ruined with whatever the day is going to bring.” In my recent experience, we’d had a lot of mayhem. I doubted us getting ready to leave would be a peaceful experience. There’d been too much insanity lately.

“You should stop being so smart,” he teased, but it fell flat because we both knew I was telling the truth. He cleared his throat and pointed at my untouched plate with his fork. “Eat.”

I did as I was told, even though I detested the command and the worry that infused it. With a knotted bundle of nerves tightening my stomach, I expected my favorite breakfast to drop like a lead weight.

Instead, I hummed around the first bite. It was delicious, better than I’d had at any restaurant I could remember. I closed my eyes, savoring the taste of it, and when I opened them, I found Shawn’s heated gaze on me.

“It’s so good,” I mumbled, covering my mouth with my hand.

“Thanks, but those sounds don’t make me think of you eating. They make me think of what you sound like whenI’meating.”

Heat burned my cheeks and down my throat. “Shawn…”

It came out pleading and whiny, a little bit begging.

God, what was with us? The innuendo ran hot and heavy, and I’d never been like this with anyone I’d ever dated.

A laugh burst out of him, and even knowing my day was likely to be filled with stress and tears and worry, I figured it hadn’t started off too bad after all.

As his laugh quieted, his phone rang. All humor fled his expression as he glanced down at it. “It’s Charlie,” he told me as he answered the phone, putting it on speaker. “Charlie?”

“Turn on your television. Now.”

“What is it?”

---