Page 64 of Make Me Whole
She lifted her head to make eye contact with me. "Your mom's letter. Did you get answers in it?"
"I haven't read it." My gaze flicked to a spot on the wall behind her. "I…I…I'm not going to either."
When she flattened her hand against my chest, the warmth of her palm broke through the material of my shirt and seeped into my bones. "That's okay. You don't have to even look at it if you don't want to. But—" Hailey swept her palm up over my shoulder, along my neck before touching it to my cheek again. "Promise me you'll keep it. Because there might come a day when the questions in your head will demand to be heard, and that letter might just have the answers to quiet them."
She didn't have to say it, I knew she was talking about her parents and the things she'd learned after their death. Our situations might've been so different, but I was certain the both of us needed to know why.
And maybe my answer was well within my reach, I just wasn't sure if I was ready to have them. Ready to learn my mother hadn't loved us enough to come back. Because if that was what that piece of paper said, it would be like losing her all over again.
I wouldn't survive it, not when my heart was only just beginning to heal.
I speared my fingers into her dark tresses and gently tugged at them to pull her head back. My gaze remained locked with hers as I stooped until our faces were a breath apart. Running my nose along hers, I whispered against her mouth, "Promise."
And then, because I couldn't stand it anymore, I closed the distance and pressed my lips against hers. Taking my time in tasting her. Savouring her. I flexed my fingers, pressing them into her scalp. Her breath hitched and the sexy sound she made hit me straight in the groin.
I loved that it was my touch that pulled those needy little moans from somewhere deep inside her. Which, coincidentally, was exactly where I wanted to be. Bending my knees, I hooked my fingers below her ass and lifted her.
Those gorgeous legs of hers immediately wrapped around my waist while her arms draped over my shoulders. I abandoned her lips for her jaw and the delicate skin below her ear.
Her fingers threaded in my hair as the moans turned even sexier. My hold on her perfectly sculpted behind tightened as I moved us over to the bed. How we went from standing, to her flat on her back beneath me, was a bit of a blur.
I couldn't complain, though, because this new position allowed for her to writhe against me unabashedly. And, shit, it felt good.
Too good.
In fact, I wasn't going to last if she kept it up.
Tearing my mouth away, I pushed onto my knees. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from grinning when Hailey's loud protest filled the air. Seeing her eyes big and bright with unmasked desire for me caused a stirring behind my breastbone.
The knowledge that she wanted me just as desperately as I wanted her was like a powerful drug to my system. I reached down and toyed with the hem of her shirt. "All these pesky layers between us need to go."
"Mmm. They do."
I swear, I could see her eyes turn darker and darker as I slowly dragged my hands up her torso, taking her shirt with me as I went. Once it hit the floor, I moved to get rid of her bra, but she beat me to it.
Before I could even blink, her hand disappeared between her breasts and a second later the lace covering them fell to the side. Something between a growl and a groan rumbled through my chest. My fingers already itching to touch. My tongue begging for a taste.
"Do you have any idea how damn perfect you are?"
My gaze snapped to her mouth as the pink tip of her tongue darted out to run along her bottom lip. "No. But the look in your eyes is giving me a pretty good idea."
More curses slipped from my mouth as I started working on her jeans. I yanked and pulled at the material until she was as bare as the day she was born before I tossed mine aside too.
Then I descended; covering her body with mine. I kissed her mouth. Her jaw. That sweet spot below her ear before moving my lips down her throat and dragging them along her collarbone.
More of those sexy moans filled the air as I worked my way down her body; kissing, nipping and sucking as I went. By the time I reached her belly button, Hailey's breaths were coming fast and hard. I couldn't help but grin at her right before I latched onto her skin again.
I probably should have felt like a bastard for enjoying it as much as I did when her hips bucked as I moved even lower still. Even though I was at the point of aching, I didn't stop until the sound of my name reverberated off the walls.
Not able to wait a second longer, I crawled up her body and lost myself in her warmth. With each roll of my hips, I tried to focus on the physical but the emotions swirling around in my chest were so loud; I had no other choice than to pay attention.
Before I had time to put a name to the feeling, Hailey's back arched, and my name left her lips in a needy cry that managed to pull me over right along with her. Chest heaving, I collapsed next to her and immediately pulled her close. Instead of melting into me like she usually did, she balanced on her elbow with her chin resting in her palm.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I managed to croak out.
She tugged her lip between her teeth and nibbled on it for a bit. "I probably have no right to ask this, but why didn't you come to me when you found out about your mom and the letter?" Her free hand came up; fingers mindlessly running through the hair on my chest. "You don't have to face these things alone, you know?"
In that instant, another piece of my shattered heart clicked into place. I moved fast, flipping us so she was pinned beneath me. With my forearms resting beside her head, I speared my fingers through her hair. "I'm sorry. Being in a relationship is a foreign concept to me." Unable to resist, I lowered my head and stole a quick kiss. "I'm still learning how to do things the right way."
