Page 47 of From the Embers
I inched over, hooking her around the waist and dragging her to meet me in the center of the bed.
“Eason?” she murmured, sounding so soft and sultry it made my cock stir. Or maybe it had more to do with finally having her in bed with me.
“Yeah. It’s just me.” I brought her flush against my front and found her lips for an all too brief kiss. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I was really hoping to catch a glimpse of you in my shirt.” I grinned against her mouth, sliding my hand up her side, the cotton bunching in the dip of her hip. “But I’m thinking the view of you without it might be better.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Eason, wait. We need to talk.”
And there they were again, my four least-favorite words in the English language.
“I’m done talking,” I growled.
She caught my hand at her hip and gave my wrist a squeeze. “Okay, but I don’t want to be like Rob and Jessica.”
My whole body went solid and my chest got tight, feeling more of an impending implosion than a grief-stricken ache. “What the fuck, Bree?” I rolled to my back, but she followed me over, draping her leg over my hips to keep me close.
She pushed up onto an elbow, resting her chin on my chest, and ran a finger back and forth across my collarbone. “Stop. I don’t mean it like that.”
“Then how about you find a way of saying shit without bringing them into this bed with us.”
“But don’t you see? They’re already here. Because of the kids, they’ll always be here.”
I arched an incredulous eyebrow. “You got Ash and Mads hidden over there?”
She lifted her head to look at me. “What?”
“I said do you have Asher and Madison tucked in the covers over there, because I don’t have Luna, which means in this bed, right this second, there are no kids. And there sure as shit isn’t Rob and fucking Jessica.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but I didn’t give her time to muddle shit up.
“We are nothing like them. Do you hear me? This thing between us—whatever it is—it does not involve them. I’m not married. Neither are you. We aren’t sneaking behind people’s backs and destroying their lives. They do not get to be in this bed with us.”
She was quiet for a long second. The moon lit one side of her face, but the shadows made her expression unreadable. “I saw the picture on your phone.”
“What picture?”
Despite my defensiveness, her voice was even and measured. “The one of me with the kids you have as your home screen.”
“Yeah, and?” That picture was worth more to me than gold and the humans in it were priceless.
“And it made me realize how much we have to lose.”
I twisted my lips and stared back at her, thoroughly perplexed. “If that’s what you took from that photo, then we’re in bigger trouble than I thought.” Slapping my hand out, I patted around the nightstand until I found my phone. With a tap on the screen, the light flashed on, Bree’s beautiful smile shining front and center. “I found this picture right after I got here. I’d had one of Jessica and Luna on there since the day I got this phone, but I couldn’t stomach looking at her after reading her texts with Rob. I was searching for the one of Luna in the pool a few weeks back, but this one stopped me dead in my tracks. We’ve been through hell the last year. And that’s not including the dumpster fire I found out about today. There were so many nights when everything hurt and I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to breathe again. But there you were. With me every step of the way.” I tapped the screen again when it started to dim. “This picture, Bree. It’s not what we have to lose. It’s what I’ve already gained.”
“Oh, Eason,” she whispered, her hand coming up to rest on the side of my face.
I turned into it, kissing her palm before twining our fingers and bringing it back down to my chest.
“Look, I know this is going to complicate the hell out of things. But being with you is the only thing that feels right in my life. I’m gonna be real honest: I’m mad at them. I’m hurt. I’m embarrassed. And I can’t even begin to imagine the agony that’s going to follow over the next few weeks as we sort this shit out with Luna. But there are two things I know for sure: I want you, Bree, and I’m not waiting one fucking second longer to make my move.”
In one swift motion, I rolled over and tucked her beneath me. Smoothing the wisps of hair out of her face, I added, “I can’t wait any longer to kiss you from head to toe, to make you feel good and know for sure it was because of me.”
