Page 96 of Sassy Love
A little huff tumbles through her parted lips, but her gaze doesn’t leave mine.
We reach the bed as she says, “Put me down,please?”
Her voice is unsure, like I crossed some line that kissing her apparently never did.
I set her on her feet, and she takes a step back. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be,” I breathe.
“I—you...” She turns her back to me. “Can you unzip me?” Her words are so soft, like she’s afraid to ask after she thought I wanted something more.
Damn every last man who’s hurt this woman. The world can go fuck itself for the damage it’s done.
I unzip her and turn her back to me with my hands on her shoulders. “I can sleep on the sofa if you?—”
Her finger presses over my lips. “No, the pillow wall will suffice.”
I smile underneath her touch.
“Besides, I’m used to having you beside me now.”
I pull her closer and plant a kiss on her forehead. “If you snore, Princess, you’re on the sofa.”
She huffs through a strained giggle before her lips brush against my jaw.
And fuck.
I’m rock hard. The desperation for her is a catalyst low in my core, sending its blistering response into every fiber of my being. The need for this woman will surely kill me, but if she needs slow, we go slow. If she needs anything, it’s hers.
“I’m going to shower...” she whispers, breaking eye contact.
I swallow past the rock in my throat.
Tortured is a man so close to what he wants most in this life, only to be held back by some invisible wall the men before him erected.
What I wouldn’t do to take down that wall for her. Piece by piece with my bare hands, if I have to. If she would let me.
The shower turns on, and I amble to the living room and drop onto the sofa. Running my hands through my hair, I blow out a low breath and hang my head.
Fuck, I’m so gone it hurts.
My heart had to go and pick the only girl I’ve ever met whose heart is locked away. The rusted chains around it are secured with a triple padlock of sassiness, the keys long lost to a deep sea of independence. The shield she uses to keep me from finding my way in, her ambition and work addiction.
But it just so happens I was raised by two of the most loving, capable people who would go to any length to give a person what they need. To take care of their own. In true Rawlins style, I won’t quit on Carlie. Not until she has everything she’s ever wanted and maybe a few things she never knew she needed.
The small sigh that sounds from the bedroom sees me push off the sofa and pad to the bed. I turn back to the coat rack and grab out my boxers from my bag. Making quick work of my own shower, I slide into my side of the pillow-wall-separated bed. Once I’m settled in, hands behind my head and eyes closed, the pillow in the center at my shoulder slips.
I open my eyes to find browns studying my face.
Her hands are tucked under the pillow her head rests on as she lies on her side. Her lips purse and roll as she sucks in a breath.
“Yeah, Princess?”
Her hand slides out from under the pillow and traces the angle of my jaw. “Night, Laws.”
Laws.
Not Rawlins, or even Lawson.
