Page 119 of The Heart Breaker

And standing here in his arms, with his mouth on mine and his hands holding me, I realize I don’t want to.

32

COLE

There was a time when seeing Aurora first thing in the morning would ruin my week.

Now it’s become my favorite part of the day. Seeing her roll around in my bed, groaning when I kiss her cheeks, her neck, her back—every inch of her I can get my hands on—before I have to leave for practice. It physically pains me to go, to leave her there all warm and half asleep in my sheets.

I’ve never needed anyone.

Wanted, sure. Protected, definitely. Felt responsible for, all the time.

But needing someone is different. It’s messy, inconvenient, and proof that this thing between us has buried deep into my skin, and I don’t know what to do about that.

But I know that I need Aurora. I need the way she looks at me with those sharp blue eyes. I need her smiling at me. I need the feel of her hands in my hair when I kiss her.

I don’t even know what my life looked like before her anymore.

I just know I don’t ever want to go back.

She’s been staying with me since everything with Chase went down, and I’ve been grateful for every damn day of it, because I hate the thought of her being away from me.

Coach Hayes did everything he could to make sure Chase got hit with a domestic violence charge, but because his daddy’s rich, Chase ended up with two months of community service, which is a goddamn joke. Practically a slap on his weak-ass wrist.

“Why did you have to wake me up this early?” Aurora asks, crossing her arms over one of my Midnight Wolves hoodies, her eyes narrowed in a look that’s supposed to be threatening but only makes her look fucking adorable.

I don’t tell her that, obviously.

I like being alive.

“Because I’ve got practice soon, and this was the only time I had.”

Aurora watches my hands while I wind the cotton around her knuckles, over the back of her hand, and around her wrist. “You’re enjoying this way too much,” she mutters, shooting me a glare. “Do you have a bondage kink I don’t know about?”

I huff out a laugh. She’s not a morning person. That much has become painfully clear this week. When I finish one hand, she flexes her fingers as I start wrapping the other one too.

When I’m done, I smooth my thumb once over the inside of her wrist before I let her go and step back.

She lifts both hands, turning them over as she looks at the wraps. “So if I punch you, is this gonna do less damage to my hand?”

A laugh punches out of me. “That’s your first instinct?”

Her mouth curves, cocky and a little evil. Just how I like her. “Always.”

I huff out a laugh, reach over to grab the gloves, and hold them out to her.

She looks down at them, then back at me, lifting a brow. “Those are hideous.”

I shoot her a look. “They’re boxing gloves, not a handbag, Prescott. They’re there so you don’t break your fingers.”

She rolls her eyes, but lets me undo the straps and work them onto her hands. Once they’re secure, I step behind her and tap her foot with mine.

“Widen your stance.”

My hands settle on her hips as I shift her into place, sliding one foot back and making sure her knees stay loose. “Left foot forward. Hands up. Chin down.” I tap lightly beneath her jaw until she lowers it the right amount. “You don’t want to hand somebody your face.”

She arches a brow. “I thought the whole point was to break theirs.”