Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41825 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 209(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Pushing myself up, I moved back down the hall quietly, stepping into the shadowed doorway of my bedroom. Hadley was still asleep, but she’d shifted slightly, rolling onto her side and hugging my pillow. Something fierce and tender surged through me at the sight of her tucked so perfectly in my bed, vulnerable in a way that tugged at me.
I moved closer, watching her even breathing and the way her hair spilled across my pillow, catching the dim light. My cock hardened instantly at the sight of her, hunger building in my gut.
Damn, she was fucking gorgeous. Her lips were parted slightly, relaxed in sleep, tempting me to kiss her awake.
I forced myself to exhale slowly, wrestling down the urge to slide into bed beside her and pull her against me. This wasn’t about what I wanted—not yet. She needed rest. Safety. Still, I moved to the opposite side of the bed and lowered myself slowly onto the mattress, careful not to wake her.
At first, I kept some distance between us, lying on my back and staring at the ceiling. But I could feel the warmth of her presence beside me, hear the soft, steady rhythm of her breathing. It had me instinctively wanting her closer, yearning for her touch even if it was accidental.
Eventually, Hadley made the decision for me. She rolled toward me, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Without thinking, my arm lifted, settling naturally around her. She shifted closer, cuddling against me with a gentle trust that shattered every wall I’d ever built. My hand splayed possessively across her back.
My heart hammered in my chest, emotion and heat mingling into something I couldn’t define but wasn’t about to fight. A sense of rightness filled me, fierce and consuming. This was where she belonged. With me. Protected, safe, and fucking cherished without conditions.
I tightened my hold, dropping a soft kiss to the top of her head, my lips lingering in the silk of her hair. My eyes closed, finally feeling a calmness I’d never expected. One thought echoed through my mind, possessive and undeniable.
Mine.
6
HADLEY
Iwoke slowly, the kind of lazy drift that happened when your body felt completely safe even before your mind caught up. I noticed the warmth surrounding me first and burrowed closer.
Then reality trickled in.
The pillow under my head smelled like Thayer because I wasn’t in my bed. And I wasn’t alone, either.
He was wrapped around me, his big body spooning mine like we’d slept together for years instead of just last night. His arm was locked around my waist, one hand splayed over my stomach, his fingers under the hem of the soft T-shirt he’d given me to sleep in. His other arm was tucked beneath my head, and my legs had tangled with his somewhere in the night.
The hard line of his thigh pressed between mine, and the unmistakable ridge of his morning erection nestled firmly against the curve of my butt.
Heat flooded my face and spread down my chest. An ache bloomed between my thighs as my body reacted before my brain could catch up.
I knew I should move, but I didn’t. I stayed perfectly still, barely breathing while I let myself feel every inch of him. No one had ever held me like this.
My heart hammered against my ribs, loud enough that I was sure he could feel it. I had to bite my lip to keep from shifting back against him just to see what would happen.
I closed my eyes for a moment, savoring the dangerous luxury of being this close to him while he slept. The wild side I’d kept buried for years whispered that this was exactly where I was supposed to be.
A tiny, needy sound almost escaped my throat. I swallowed it down, my thighs pressing together against the growing wetness. This was completely out of character for me. I barely knew Thayer, but my body was reacting like it belonged to him.
I was debating how reckless I wanted to be when I felt the subtle change in his breathing behind me. Then the arm around my waist tightened, his fingers flexing against my stomach like he was instinctively pulling me closer even before he was fully awake.
“Morning, beautiful.”
The rough timbre of his voice slid down my spine, sending a delicious shiver in its wake. I barely had time to register the words before his hips rolled forward, the hard length of him grinding deliberately against my butt. Heat exploded through me, and my breath hitched, a needy sound escaping before I could stop it.
Thayer’s hand slid higher under the borrowed T-shirt, his palm hot as it skimmed over my ribs. His thumb brushed the underside of my breast, sending sparks straight to my core. I arched without thinking, pressing back into him.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “You feel too good like this.”