The Arrangement Anthology 1(151)

He smirks. “It’s probably with other things, too. You didn’t turn to stone. I did. We’re so different—”

“And so alike.”

Sean presses his forehead to mine. “I love you, Avery.” He takes me in his arms, cradling me, and I fall asleep.

When I dream, the sea is still. It doesn’t overcome me or pull me under. There’s a ray of sunshine piercing through the vast gray sky and I finally feel some peace.





CHAPTER 4





Peeling my eyes open, I try to focus. I glance around and feel like someone is watching me. I blink, trying to chase away the sleepiness.

Two blue eyes are locked on mine. “Hey, lover,” Sean says as he strokes the back of his hand along my cheek. Sean looks like he’s been awake for a while.

I smile sleepily at him. “Don’t call me that.” It feels too intimate. I suppose it’s true, in a factual kind of way, but he bought me. It’s not the same.

“Then what should I call you?” His fingers tickle my cheek.

“I really like spray-start car girl. That was my favorite.”

“It’s quite a mouthful to say in bed.” Sean grins. “Something shorter, perhaps? Kitten?” I cringe and make a face. “Sexy?”

“That might stick. Keep working on it.” Sean’s chest is bare. He’s propped up on his side with his elbow. His head rests on his hand. It makes the muscles on his chest look so perfect. I want to touch him, and glide my fingers over each and every dip and hard curve. I want to learn his body, but I hesitate. I don’t want to ruin whatever we have.

Sean notices me staring at his chest. “Some girls would be offended by that.”

My eyes flick up to his face. “What?”

“My eyes are up here,” he kids.

I laugh. “You’re such a—”

“A what? I know you like what you see. I’m just calling it like I see it.”

I give him a weird look. It’s like he channeled Mel. “You’re so—”

“So incredibly captivated by you. Yes, I am.” He smiles warmly at me and resumes tracing the soft curves of my face. First his finger trails over my chin and then up my cheek. It makes my stomach dip. I love his touch. I’ll never get enough of him. “It’s still your turn, by the way.”

“It is?” He nods. “But, I fell asleep and it’s a new day.”

“So, it doesn’t change things. You had more in mind, and I realize that. Today is yours. We do anything you want. Tonight is mine.” Sean leans in and kisses the side of my face gently. It makes me want to squeal. My mind starts to drift though and soon I’m reliving what he did to me last night. I don’t know if I can do that again, and I doubt he wants to do the same thing. “What’s going on in that mind of yours? I know that look. Tell me, Avery.”

I glance over at him and shake my head. “Nothing.” I lie, and I’m a terrible liar. I glance away from him and twirl the sheet between my fingers.

Sean scoots closer to me. He presses his naked body to the side of mine. When I look up into his face I can’t breathe. “Tell me, spray-start car girl.”

That makes me laugh. Sean knows how to pull my heartstrings. I wonder if he’s playing me, because he could. It would be easy for him. The way he hones in on what makes me tick, and then manipulates it—he could be my best friend or my worst enemy. It scares me; he scares me. I’m quiet too long.

“A secret for a secret?” he prompts. This surprises me. I glance up at him and can tell he’s serious.

Maybe he is playing me. It’s way too easy for him to fish the thoughts out of my head, but I can’t pass this up and he knows it. “All right. Ask me again.”

“What are you thinking about?”

I swallow the lump in my throat. Glancing down at the sheet in my hands, I say, “Last night when we did things your way—it was nearly beyond me. I mean, I don’t know if I could do that again.” Sean is quiet. I feel his gaze on the side of my face, but he doesn’t say anything. “I wish I could just give you what you want. I would, you know.” I look up at him from under my lashes.

“I know,” he breathes, “But it’s not something to give. It’s something to be taken. I’m not sure you understand what it is or what it means to me that you’d offer yourself that way… that you stayed with me.” Sean reaches for my hand and presses it against his chest. I feel his heart start racing beneath my palm. The longer my hand is there, the faster it races. “This is what you do to me. Can you feel it? You know what that means, right?”