Page 37 of Made for You
“It’ll change things, Nik. I’m not a man who’s going to pretend I don’t want you after this, especially if I taste you now.”
I sucked in a breath, everything in me fluttering and so very, very interested in everything he’d just said. “Okay. That’s okay.”
Even if part of me attempted to shout that this was a terrible idea and falling for my next-door neighbor slash boss who was ten thousand galaxies out of my universe was not smart, I tipped my chin up in welcome.
And Bruce, as he’d proven every time since I’d first spotted him, didn’t disappoint. One of those big, warm hands rose and slid along my neck, his thumb gliding over my throat and his fingers curling against the side before his whole hand slipped around back and drew me into him. Complete control.
Complete and utter bliss as he bent and his lips touched mine. A light press, then a break. A pause to look in my eyes, and then Bruce Camden broke my brain. He made every synapse pause on its journey except those registering pleasure and joy and need and heat and something foreign, something almost terrifying that I’d never felt.
Something told me this kisswouldchange everything. Just like he’d said. Spaces on a crossword in my mind quickly filled, clues and answers dancing, and it almost felt like he’d known just how much this kiss would mean. How utterly consequential these seconds, now minutes, would be.
When he pulled back—and make no mistake, it was his self-control and not mine that ended the kiss—his gaze held something I’d never seen or imagined. Clear, no regret to read, but such an intense expression, I sucked in a breath and forgot where to go with it.
I expected him to say something, but instead, he just stared. Like I was the answer, the missing piece, and I had absolutely no idea what to do with myself now. Not when his fingers gently tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear, then he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek and stepped back.
My palm slid against his as I held onto him and stepped down from the truck, then plodded behind him on wooden legs. If he hadn’t worked his ridiculous magic on me that halted all logical thought, I would’ve had questions. But I couldn’t think of anything exceptBruce Camden just kissed meandHe’s right. This changes everything.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Sleep well, Nik.”
I slid my key into the lock and stepped inside, then let my eyes linger on him as I closed the door before I sank against it. My thoughts a jumble as usual, a smile crept over my face and I touched the pad of my index finger to the bow of my upper lip.
Yes, that changed things.
CHAPTERSEVENTEEN
Bruce
Cliché though it might’ve been, I walked home on clouds.
Kissing her had been… it’d been—
“Are you and Nikki dating?”
Kiley’s voice startled me enough that I fumbled my keys, and after juggling them between my hands, finally caught them and dropped them onto the counter. A juvenile impulse made me want to pretend I had no idea what she was talking about and skulk to my room, but the adult, the guardian in me, spoke louder, even in the wake of recent events.
“You okay? I thought you were sleeping over at Janie’s?” I eyed her slouchy sweatpants and baggy shirt, her face scrubbed of makeup and her hair pulled away from her face. None of this was particularly unusual, and yet her being here sort of did send up an alarm.
If she needed me and I hadn’t been here because I was out at the pub with friends or even taking Nikki home, I’d make it up to her.
“I’m good. I just wasn’t feeling great, so I came home.”
Alarm spiked again, and I crossed the kitchen in three easy strides, then squinted at her. She might be a little pale, though her cheeks were red now, and maybe increasingly so. She hugged herself around the waist and had a little hunch in her back like she hurt. Without thinking, I put a hand on her forehead to feel for a fever, but she shoved it away.
“I’m not sick, Boo.”
“Then why do you—”Ah.
“Yeah. Period. Super fun. Did you want any more details?” She cocked her hip and crossed her arms and gave me so much teen attitude, I might’ve laughed if I couldn’t see the strain around her eyes.
“Not particularly, but do you have everything you need? I can run to the store. Tampons? Ice cream? Heating pad?” I catalogued what else she might need, turning to check the freezer for her favorite flavor.
She whipped around and padded away from me, her fuzzy slippers skating across the floor toward the cabinet where we kept the over-the-counter meds. “No, I’m good. Seriously, I just need some pain reliever and then I’m going to read in bed.”
We still had her ice cream. I’d make sure she had a good breakfast tomorrow, too. She’d only grabbed a banana before school today, and even though I normally harassed her about that anyway, she needed more to fuel her body. I should’ve been emphasizing that. I should be making her eggs or whole grain protein waffles—something to give her body what it needs to function properly and grow.
How many years had she lived off the bare minimum, scraping by with whatever scraps she found in our mom’s house? How had I—
“I’m fine, Boo.”
