She could do this forever, and still it wouldn’t be enough. They moved in perfect rhythm as he took her to the very best place she could ever be, and when they came together in a brilliant flash of light and heat, her body shook with the power of the release.
Colt’s groans echoed through the room, music to her ears. The weight of his now relaxed body was a perfect blanket, and in this moment she was in total and utter peace.
Chapter Thirteen
Brielle felt as if she were drifting on a raft in a peaceful lake as Colt held her securely against his chest and his fingers traced shapes in her back. The sensation was beyond compare, and if she could freeze this moment, she would be the happiest woman alive.
Okay, maybe not. Reality would soon set in, but for now, her body was sated, her heart was full, and she felt as if she didn’t have a single worry.
“Why do you put on an act, Brielle?”
His tone was soft, gentle, not accusing.
“An act? What do you mean?”
“You’re always pretending to be someone you aren’t.”
“I don’t know where you got that idea. As Popeye said, ‘I yam what I yam.’”
“Very funny, Brielle. Why won’t you open up to me? You did it once.”
“I did that because I’m stupid. And I won’t do it again.”
“Give me something more of yourself,” Colt said.
“I thought I just gave you everything.”
“Only in a sense. Please, give me a reason for this facade of yours.”
To her amazement, she found herself speaking. Was it the way his fingers were working their magic on her back?
“I don’t even know anymore, Colt. I just know that I have to protect myself.” she answered.
“From who?”
“Everyone. When I get close to people, they betray me.” Her eyes drifted shut as she listened to the soothing beat of his calm heart.
“It can’t be everyone, Brielle. What about your family?”
She tensed, but he just kneaded her skin a little bit more, and soon her muscles were relaxing. “We used to be very close. My mother left when I was only three. I didn’t know her, don’t remember missing her. But I did. And when I was thirteen…”
She stopped, her heart racing as she realized what she’d almost revealed. No matter how relaxed she was, that was something she couldn’t speak of — it was something she’d never told another living soul.
“Everything just changed. It didn’t happen overnight. It may be something small, but I remember this well. We went from having dinner together every day to a few times a week, to a couple times a month, to never having dinner with all six of us there at the same time. Some of it was school schedules, some of it was Dad always working, and some of it was when the boys began leaving for college and the house grew more and more empty. But somewhere during that time, it just stopped mattering. It was more of an annoyance when Dad would stop us and ask what was happening in our lives. The days just kept on coming and going, and soon I turned eighteen, graduated high school and left for college. Then, there was only Dad left.”
“But that wouldn’t tear you apart,” he said with justified confusion.
“No. That was just a piece of it. It all happened so gradually, I didn’t even notice it, didn’t notice the walls I’d built, didn’t notice my brothers doing the same. We went from breakfast and dinner together, sharing in each other’s lives, to virtual strangers.”
The sadness began creeping in, and Brielle didn’t want it to. This moment was good, it was pure, it was about feeling something other than pain. She didn’t want to think about her family, didn’t want to think about how it had all fallen apart. Brielle had to change the subject, and to do it fast. “What about you? Why did your parents only have one kid? Wait! I don’t even know if that’s true. That’s so embarrassing. Do you have any siblings?”
She was lying naked with a man who had his hands all over her body, who’d just sated her in the best possible way, yet she knew so little about him. What did that say about her? The euphoria wore off and the defenses she was so famous for began closing in again.
As if he could sense this, he continued rubbing her back and the top of her rounded behind while he spoke. “I had a little brother.”
When he stopped speaking for a little while, Brielle knew what he was about to say wouldn’t be good.
“He was amazing. A miracle baby, actually. My mom had a really difficult pregnancy with me, and the doctor told her she wouldn’t be able to have more children. I never felt alone, though, because, like I’ve said, this is a close-knit community.”