Page 52 of If You Go
He doesn’t look up. “Little after nine-thirty.” His voice is rough, lower than usual–the sound of bad news wearing human clothes.
I sit up, pulling the blanket with me. I am wearing nothing, having gone to sleep completely naked. I didn’t even put any underwear on before sleep. We tangled up together, legs wound and arms around necks, before we drifted off. Nothing happened but as much as I wanted it to this morning, his tone has cut that dream short. “What happened?”
He finally drags his eyes away from the screen. The small, soft smile he gives me is the kind that tries to hide the weight behind it. His thumb traces the line of my cheekbone, gentle, almost apologetic.
“Answer me, Brenden.”
He exhales, long and hard. “Got some news. Corver texted. They got wind of her–Natasha. The Russian boss’s daughter. Remember?”
The image flashes–the video, the screaming, the silence after. I nod. “I remember. I didn’t watch the whole thing. But … I know what that feels like. I hope she’s …” I stop when a phone rings, loud enough to jolt us both.
“My phone?”
He nods toward my desk. “Plugged it in for you last night. Was dead. Figured you’d want it charged. Though, honestly, I think your dad’s gonna have all of ours destroyed before lunch.”
He’s probably right.
I pad across the cold floor, arms wrapped around myself as goosebumps explode over my naked body, and grab the phone. My dad’s name flashes on the screen.Why is he calling when he’s downstairs?
“Hi, Papa.”
“Ah, me sweet Surry,” his voice hums through the speaker, thick and warm with that Irish rasp. “Would ye come down fer breakfast, aye?”
I grab one of Sam’s old Mariners shirts–two sizes too big, soft as sin–and nothing else. I crawl back into bed, wedge my icy feet under Brenden’s legs. He yelps, and I grin.
“Yes, we’ll be down soon. But why call? We’re literally in the same house.”
“I didn’t wanna intrude, lass,” he says, amusement in every word.
That’s my father–a warlord who doesn’t want to intrude.
“Brenden is just keeping an eye on me Papa, don’t go putting a hit out on him for being in your daughters room."
He chuckles, a low, warm sound. “Ah, me girl, ye’ve finally found a man worthy o’ ye. I’m glad he’s here. Don’t care where he sleeps so long as he treats ye right.”
I smile at Brenden, who’s half-listening, one hand scrolling, the other drawing lazy circles on my bare thigh drawing ever closer to my bare center with each swipe. “I did, huh,” I murmur, mostly to myself. “Finally found a good one.”
He looks up, curious. I shake my head. Later. His hand moves up several inches and grazes the junction between hip and thigh. He smiles evilly at me while I swat at his hand.
“We’ll be down in ten, Papa.”
Brenden mouths fifteen at me, then wiggles his eye brows. I roll my own eyes.
“Fifteen tops, Papa.”
“Grand so. See ye then.”
I hang up. “Welp, my dad loves you.”
Brenden stares like I’ve just told him gravity’s optional. “He does? I figured he’d be pissed I’m in here with you.”
“Nope. He’s thrilled. Said you’re worthy. Which I guess is a good thing since you say you aren’t leaving me.”
He puts his phone aside, rolls toward me, wraps me up until I can’t tell where I end and he begins. His breath brushes my ear when he whispers, “I’m happy I’m here too.” He shifts me so we’re face-to-face, noses brushing, eyes locked. “I can’t keep it in anymore, Surry.”
My heart stutters. I notice then at some point he has removed his boxers and I can feel his erection rubbing against my center. My blood begins to boil with need.
He stares at me, his light blue eyes boring deep into my soul, his calloused thumb tucking my wild copper strands behind my ear. I feel the rough pad of his finger trail down the sensitive skin of my chin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. "I love you." The words fall from his full lips like they've been waiting years, suspended in time even before he knew me, hanging in the air between us like delicate crystal. "I have since the first moment–you standing in my room, completely out of place but also looking like a storm that could wreck my whole world. I know it hasn't been long, mere heartbeats compared to how long I want to be next to you, and it's been one hell of a hurricane since the second we met. But it's true. I can feel it coursing through my veins every time I breathe, each time our skin grazes.” He shifts his pelvis forward a bit, nearly entering me, but not quite. “You're it for me—my beginning and end."
