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“But you went the extra mile for me.” I fill in what he isn’t saying, making him grin.
“Fine, yes, I cleaned for you. Happy now?” he asks, and I give him a satisfied nod.
“Yes.”
Adrian and I agree onCaptain America: The Winter Soldiersince it’s in both of our top ten Marvel movies and he’s been meaning to rewatch it for a while now. I lie down on his bed, but he stands on the other side for a moment, his eyes fixated on me.
“What? Did you want me to lie somewhere else?” I ask and sit up, but he shakes his head, a puzzled look on his face.
“No, right there works,” he assures me and settles down next to me.
I brush off his strange behavior and focus on the television. Chris Evans jogs onto the screen, and I feel myself inching closer toward Adrian. Noticing, he grabs my hand and brings me to his chest so I can lie my head on it, listening to his quick heartbeat.
I make him nervous. We make each other nervous.
Jesus, I’m bending the rules so far, they could crack any second. If things didn’t feel so right with Adrian, I would have stopped this before we got here, but I couldn’t. Considering the way his body responds to my proximity, he probably didn’t want me to either.
At this point, I’m not even playing with fire anymore, it’s something beyond that.
Adrian’s fingers run through my hair, messaging my aching head and calming my racing thoughts.
“I’ve never had a woman sleep in my bed before,” Adrian blurts out halfway through the movie.
“Is that your way of telling me to leave?” I ask with a laugh, tilting my head to look up at him. He meets my gaze, his thumb lifting to my lips to trace them. To study them. To memorize them.
“No, I don’t want you to leave, Nevaeh, and that terrifies me if I’m being honest,” he says, taking a deep breath before he adds, “And while I’m already being honest, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid my eyes on, inside and out, and if you stay with me tonight, I doubt I’ll ever get over it.”
He smiles down at me, pulling my bottom lip down just to release it again and watch it bounce back into place.
“So fucking beautiful, I can’t believe you’re real,” he whispers, biting his bottom lip as he traces my face with his gaze.
“I’d tell you you’re the most handsome man I’ve ever seen, too, but I think your ego is already taking up too much space. Can’t let it get any bigger,” I tease, and his grin brightens up his entire room, leaving nothing but a ray of sunshine in its wake.
“One day, when I’m allowed, I’m gonna kiss you for every single time you teased me. I’m keeping track, you know. You already owe me ten kisses.” The smile stretching my lips wide is out of my control, but even if I could stop it, I wouldn’t.
“Is that right? And how long do you plan on waiting for me, Mr. Romana?” I ask, my hand running over his muscular chest. He grabs it, lifts it to his lips, and presses a single kiss to my pulse point.
“As long as it takes.”
And with that, he slips down on his bed to position me in the crook of his arm and guide me to his chest. His heart is racing so fast, I can almost feel his fear with every beat. Everything about what we’re doing isn’t just new for me. It’s new for him, too, and it scares him.
And yet, he doesn’t push me away. He drags me impossibly closer, his lips brushing my forehead as he cuddles me while we finish our movie.
“I’ll wait forever if I have to,” is the last thing I hear him say before I fall asleep in the arms of the first person I’ve ever allowed to hold me this way when I’m at my most vulnerable.
Chapter 32
Adrian
I’veneverbeensoscared in my entire life. The way Nevaeh feels in my arms is… I don’t have words, to be honest. I just love it. So much. I love that I get to study the way her breathing turns even as she falls asleep. The way she nuzzles her nose into the crook of my neck to be surrounded by my scent. The way she is smiling a little as she dreams.
It scares and fascinates me so much, I don’t sleep the whole night. Nope, not a fucking wink. Instead, I lie there with Nevaeh cuddling me and study her like a creep. As Gabriel told me he sometimes does with Valentina because it overwhelms him how much he cares for her to the point where he can’t sleep.
I almost shudder when I realize that’s exactly how I feel right now. I like her so much, I don’t know what to do with myself. I can’t sleep, can’t even comprehend she’s here with me. Every single barrier I’ve carefully built and reinforced with more and more cement my entire life is crumbling to the ground like they were all made out of crackers.
At six in the morning, I give up. Daniel’s gonna kick my ass for not sleeping after he made me work out for three hours yesterday morning, but there’s no point trying to achieve something that’s not happening right now.
So, I slip out of bed as carefully as I can and leave a note for Nevaeh, telling her I’ll send Val to pick her up later. I need to get rid of all this energy.
