Page 130 of Losing Faith

I shut her up with a firm kiss.

She pulls away first this time and gets comfortable before toying with the buttons on my shirt. “Can we turn this into a strip confession? Lose a piece of clothes for everything I say?”

I steal a kiss while her eyes are on my shirt. “No, baby.”

A smile lights up on her face as her eyes dart up to mine. “Don’t call me that.”

My brows furrow before I catch what I called her. “Why not?”

“Because it’s too intimate.”

“Andloveisn’t?” I mindlessly brush a hair off her face as I focus on her long lashes.

“Love is hot. Baby is intimate, personal,boyfriend.”

“God forbid I become that.”

“Glad we’re on the same page.” She taps my chest twice before trying to move, but I pull her back down and pin her in place with my hips between her legs.

“Was your mom the same or isshegreat and named you after her?”

Her eyes dim as she goes back to playing with the buttons on my shirt. “That night I came here was the first time I saw her in over ten years.”

I watch her throat bob as she swallows.

“She was so mean to me.” Her eyes water and it crushes me. “I nearly drove off the road three times on my way to my AA center…”

I go still as I study her. She keeps her eyes on my shirt and I hate her mother for making her believe she’s anything less than perfect. Leaning forward, I capture my lips with hers, kissing her with enough love for the both of us.

When I pull away, a somber smile grows on her face. “She hit me… a lot, and she used a lot of drugs when she was pregnant with me, so I was born already dependent on drugs.” She shakes her head at her words like she hates herself. “She set me up for failure.”

I tilt her chin up before catching her lips with mine. “You didn’t fail though. You’re doing great.”

A smirk grows on her face as she rubs her fingers on my beard. “Say that last part again, but whisper it in my ear.”

I bite back a laugh as I bury my face in her neck. I kiss her gently before biting her ear and she squirms under me.

Holding her tight, I plant a soft kiss on her cheek. “You were really upset after seeing her.”

She lets out a scoff. “That’s an understatement.”

I nod to myself as I focus on her. “The overdose… was it an accident?”

Her eyes cut up to mine. She studies me before nodding. “I told you I didn’t have the will to fight anymore, and that was true, but I didn’t try to overdose last week. I wouldn’t leave without saying bye to my baby sister.”

I thought her answer would make me feel better, but it doesn’t since she doesn’t add how she no longer wants to die. Before I can push for more, she goes on with a teasing smile.

“I guess the sleeping with older men thing can count as a trauma dump.” She shrugs mindlessly before pointing at her lips, and I kiss her gently.

When I pull away to look at her, she gazes at me before cupping my face in both hands and rubbing my beard. Her eyes travel down to whatever she’s doing with my facial hair and I keep my eyes fixed on her as I count her lashes.

I noticed her beauty a long time ago, but as she’s this close, I realize so many small details on her face I missed before. The scar above her eyebrow, the beauty mark on her eyelid and chin. My eyes scan the rest of her face, trying to memorize every inch of her.

“Do you care about how many men I’ve slept with?”

“No, sweetheart,” I answer mindlessly, my eyes on her brows now.

“Really?” Her brows furrow and I kiss the crease in them.

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