Page 85 of Illegal Formation
This was more intimate than him having his face between my thighs.ThatI could handle no problem. But this…
“Would it be okay if I ran my fingers through your hair?” he asked, his voice low and calm. “To loosen the strands and give your scalp a break?”
Fuck.
This man was going to make me come talking like that.
I nodded, and then that moan I’d been fighting off broke free, because his fingers slid against my scalp, firm and confident, massaging in gentle strokes as he helped my hair relax.
“God, that feels so good.”
He stilled — only for the briefest pause, but it was enough for me to notice — before he continued his soft touch.
“Keep talking like that and I’m going to need a moment,” he teased.
“Keep touching me like this and we might have one together.”
That made him laugh, and I relaxed a little, closing my eyes and reveling in the feel of his hands in my hair, his fingers on my scalp, his thighs bracketing me in like a little safe haven in a world that felt so unstable at the moment.
“So, you used to do this for your sister?” I asked.
“Still do. When I’m home, anyway. But yeah, after her diagnosis, Mom and Dad were talking through the options and Dad brought up cutting her hair into a short bob.” Braden paused. “I knew it would break Ginny’s heart if they did. She loved her hair, always said she wanted to grow it as long as Rapunzel’s. So I begged Dad to let it grow, and promised I’d braid it and help take care of it.”
My left hand floated to the pressure over my throat. “That’s really sweet, Braden.”
“She has these big, beautiful curls, too. Took me and Mom forever to figure out the right products for her curl pattern. But once we did… you should see the way Ginny lights up when we do a fresh wash and style it. She loves when it’s down. And we usually leave it that way for a day or two before I braid it. Or, well, Mom braids it now, mostly.”
I smiled, and then let out a sated sigh as Braden started to section my hair. “What’s she like? Ginny.”
“Oh, she’s the best,” Braden said, and I could hear the smile in his voice even though I couldn’t see it. “Always has been. She’s funny. Funnier than you, even, if you can believe it.”
I gasped. “Never.”
“It’s true. She’s quick with it. Dry. She’ll roast you without even looking up from what she’s doing.”
“It appears I have a worthy opponent,” I teased.
“Oh yeah. I used to think I was the funny one in the family until she got older and started keeping up with me. Now she wins most of the time.”
“That part I don’t find unsurprising. You’re not funny in the slightest.”
His fingers worked carefully through another section of my hair, and again, I could feel his smile above me even without seeing it. “She’s big into strategy, too,” he continued. “Lovesanything she can solve or outthink. Video games, board games, puzzles. She got obsessed withBaldur’s Gatea while back and I’m pretty sure she’s better than the people who created it.”
“Mm. A nerd just like you.”
“Maybe even bigger,” he said, warmth threading every word. “She plays with one hand most of the time — got insanely good with it. Custom setup and everything. And she still talks shit while she’s doing it.”
“We love a multitasking queen.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “She uses this speech app on her tablet — so it’s an artificial voice, not hers, but… it feels like hers now, you know? And she’s just as quick with it. Sometimes faster, honestly. She’ll already have something typed out before you even realize she’s about to drag you.”
I laughed again as Braden’s hands slowed, savoring the feel of him braiding each plait of hair into place.
“AFM took a lot, though,” he added. “I don’t want to act like it didn’t. Fatigue hits her hard, and when it does, it’s like everything just… shuts down on her. So she’s usually in her chair or bed, and if we do venture out, we plan things really carefully.”
My chest tightened. “It had to be a big change for you and your family.”
“It was. Most of all for her, but… we adapted. They told us she wouldn’t live even half as long as she already has, so Ginny is continuing to prove her stubbornness. She’s strong.”
