Page 57 of One Little Kiss
“Don’t you see, Win?” he whispers as he rests his chin on my head. “You are doing it. By allowing me to help you, you are taking care of him. If you keep giving all of yourself, eventually you’ll have nothing left to give. We’re not meant to be solitary creatures, CC. Life’s too hard to do it all yourself. Let me take some of the burden. Let me carry some weight of your sadness because doing it alone is crushing you, and I can’t stand to see you like this.”
“I have nothing to offer you, Colton. We’re essentially a charity case for you, and I honestly don’t know if my ego will allow me to live with that.”
Long fingers make their way under my chin, and he once again lifts my face to his. We’re separated by barely a breath, and when he speaks, the air he expels is like a million tiny butterfly kisses coating my skin in a safety net.
“You changed me with one little kiss, Winnie Darling. My world was off kilter before that kiss, and you set me straight. I haven’t been the same since, and holding you in my arms like this? I know I’ll never be again. You make me a better person just by being in my sphere. If you can do all that after just one kiss, I know you have more to offer me than my money could buy in a lifetime.”
“You keep talking about forever and lifetimes. This isn’t make believe, Colton.” I pull back to stare him in the eye. “Love at first sight doesn’t account for real world problems, and stress, and the messiness that life creates. I don’t know if love lasts forever, but I do know that it takes time to develop. I don’t believe in love at first sight, or happily ever afters. That’s not the world I come from.”
He regards me as he holds me tight in his grasp. Against his hard body, I feel every ridge and plane of sculpted muscle beneath my fingertips. I also feel the other worldly rod between his legs as it presses into my belly, and my core clenches with a need I’ve only ever read about.
As if his mind has just had the same thought, he pulls his hips back and shrugs without a hint of remorse. “Sorry. I can’t control that when you’re around. When I said there hasn’t been anyone since I met you, I mean there has beenno onesince I met you.”
When it dawns on me what he means, I’m left speechless again. Is he seriously saying he hasn’t had sex in a year and a half? I don’t believe it for a second. His raised brow interrupts my thoughts.
“Trust, Winnie. I’m asking you to trust me as we right your world.”
Trust. The one thing that keeps me safe. By only trusting myself, I ensure I won’t get hurt. How can he possibly expect me to give that up?
Slowly, I pull away, and I catch sight of the giant star in the center of his chest. My very own thupahero.
Visions of Weston crying at the park because he wants to play with other kids but doesn’t know how punch me in the gut. Weston at a birthday party, clinging to my leg, crying, begging to go home.
Weston.
I stare up at Colton, who waits patiently for me to work through my inner turmoil, and I have my answer. He wants to help Weston. He says he wants me. All I need to do is trust him. Or try to.
Fighting all the demons of my past, I put my faith in the man standing before me.
“I don’t know how to trust, Colton. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to fully with anyone. But, if you promise me that no matter what happens, you’ll always be kind to Wes, I’ll try. With you, I’ll try.”
I swear the heavens open up and cover him in sunshine, because the smile he flashes my way causes that sliver of hope in my chest to burst free.
If this life with Colton doesn’t destroy me, I just might find myself again.
Colton wraps me in another giant hug and lifts me clear off the floor as he spins us in a circle. “We’ll take things slow, CC. But I’m telling you right now, once I decide something, I never back down. I am going to marry you someday.”
Nervous laughter falls from my lips, but I feel freer than I’ve felt in a long time. The dark shadow that follows me is no match for the light Colton exudes.
He finally sets me on my feet, and I think he’ll lean in to kiss me. I don’t realize how much I actually want that until his lips land on my cheek.
Please don’t ruin me!my inner voice screams and fear pounds on my chest cavity. Then he smiles, and I’m forced to smile back.
“Slow, remember?” I remind him.
“We’ll go at whatever speed you want, CC. But I want a redo of our first date. Soon. Okay?”
I giggle. Actually giggle. It’s a foreign feeling, but not entirely unpleasant. “Okay, Mr. Westbrook. I’ll accept a redo.”
“Colton,” he growls. The sound is addicting, and I’m going to make it my mission to hear it every chance I get. “Colty. Colt. Mine. Any of those are acceptable. The only time I want you to call me Mr. Westbrook is after you say I do. Got it?”
Wide-eyed, infuriatingly turned on, and uselessly confused, I nod.
“Good. Welcome to the chaos, baby.”
CHAPTER18
COLTON
