I quickly roll to the side, forcing her to the mattress beside me.
“How did we never meet?” I ask, entwining our hands. Yeah, real manly. Thankfully it’s dark, because I’m forced to roll my eyes at myself.
“I don’t know! I didn’t come up here much. Sarah and Brett always came to Savannah. My mom was terrified of flying, so they came down so they could visit the whole family at one time,” she answers, dragging her nails gently over my abs. I flinch at the sensation.
“I still think it’s crazy.” I brush her hair away from her face, punctuating it with a soft kiss on her swollen lips. Pulling her snug against my body, I roll onto my back. She immediately relaxes into me, and the feelings that wash over me—because of something so simple—taunt my already muddled heart.
“You weren’t at their wedding.” She smiles. “I was only sixteen, but I would have definitely remembered you.” She snuggles even tighter into my side.
“I didn’t know Brett until he and Sarah were already married. And don’t remind me how young you are,” I tease, rolling to face her. I tuck her long blonde hair behind her ear and gently stroke her cheek. Fuck it. I’m willing to admit it. God, this feels fucking good.
“I’m only six years younger than you are.” She leans forward, kissing my lips. “You’re not exactly robbing the cradle.”
“You’re staying the night, right?” I trace the curve of her hip up to her breast.
“Of course. I’m a cuddler.” She nuzzles in close and yawns into my neck.
“We’ll talk in the morning, okay? But we need to figure this out. I don’t know how we are going to do it, but Emmy, I’m not going another five days without you.”
“Mmm, I agree,” she mumbles sleepily. It doesn’t take more than a few minutes for her breathing to even out, and she never rolls away—not that I would have let her even if she’d tried.
I watch my arms covered with black tattoos glide against her creamy white skin as I stroke her sides. The stark comparison is not lost on me. My dark soul is filled with hate and revenge, while Emma is filled with hope and promise. I honestly can’t even begin to figure out how we are going to make this work, but I know that I have no choice. I’m not losing Emma, and I sure as hell am not letting Sarah take her from me too.
I WAKE up to the sound of knocks on my front door. It’s probably only been a few hours, but it was the best sleep I’ve had in years. Emma is still curled tightly into my arms, and before I get up to answer whatever asshole is disturbing us, I take a minute to breathe her in.
The knocking doesn’t stop, so I try to quietly roll away. I don’t make it very far.
“Who the hell is making all that noise?” she asks, stretching like a cat before curling back into a ball.
“I’ll be right back.” I kiss her forehead and move to my feet.
“I need coffee.” She sits up, trying to pull her hair back into a ponytail.
“Kitchen. Coffee is over the stove. Make a whole pot.” I say as she stands to get dressed. I walk over to stop her from pulling on her shirt. “Whoa! What are you doing?”
“Can I get dressed?” She laughs, snatching the shirt back out of my hands.
“Um, I’m going to say no.”
“Well you’re just going to have to live with it.” She pulls on her shirt, not even bothering with a bra. I can see the faint outline of her nipples through her white shirt, and if it’s possible, this might be even sexier than Emma naked.
“Let’s compromise.” I pull her into my arms. “Shirt and panties only.” I reach between her legs and drag a finger through her wet folds. Her soft sigh has me desperate to toss her back into my bed. Just when I’m ready to ignore the door completely, I hear another loud knock.
“Coffee. Shirt. Panties. Nothing else. We’ll continue this in a minute,” I inform her as I pull on a pair of jeans and head to the door. I listen to her whispered curse as I walk away.
I fucking love that she likes my tattoos. And just to make sure she is ready for round two, I throw in a back flex as I walk out of the room.
“Now that’s cheating!” she shouts.
My smile is huge but quickly wiped away as I snatch open my front door.
“About damn time!” Eli barks, shoving past me into the living room.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I growl, getting ready to close the door when Brett rounds the corner behind him.
“What took so fucking long?” He also busts in uninvited.
“Well, by all means, come on in!” I say roughly, slamming the door behind them.