Page 105 of When I Had You

When I return the favor, we finish showering and then dry off. With a towel wrapped around his midsection, he reaches for an ointment. I tighten my towel around my chest and take the tube. “May I?”

Somehow, with all we’ve been through, this seems to be what causes his lips to part and another emotion to take over his eyes. Trust shapes his expression, and he nods.

I’m careful, so careful as I start around the edge of his injury, smoothing it over the surface. He’s still, watching me with rapt affection. The ripple of his skin, the parts trying to scab over, the burns that will forever leave their mark intimidate me, but I push through, wanting to do anything I can to be a part of his healing as much as his life. “Is this okay?”

“Yes.” His answer doesn’t come easy, so I pause to look up.

“Are you okay?”

“I’ve never had anyone care for me like this.” He looks away. “My mom worked a lot. If I was injured at the track, I had to deal with it myself.”

I finish the final section and stand straight again, in awe of this incredible man opening up to me. “I’m sorry you had to go through that alone.”

He takes a breath, and the smallest of half-hearted grins appears. “It’s okay. It got me here and led me to you.”

I couldn’t have fallen more in love with him, but somehow, I did, all over again and deeper than I ever imagined. “That makes standing on a street corner with a hope and prayer worth the wait.” I lift to my toes and kiss him, and then do it again just because I can. “I love you.”

32

Marina

Months later . . .

Love came fast and from the right as I recall the day I met Cash.

We’ve been living in the fast lane ever since. No complaints. No regrets. I can’t even make myself grieve the time we spent apart. That’s when I finally came into my own. I stopped living in the shadows of the greatness my brothers had achieved. I stepped out of the failures I had in my past and accepted that I deserved better—personally and professionally.

Being stubborn, mad, or holding a grudge only kept me from living the life I wanted. Now I have the second chance I thought I’d never get. Full throttle, baby. Cash might be rubbing off on me.

“Are you awake?” he whispers against his pillow.

I open my eyes, unable to see anything in the dark until they adjust to the low level of light from the outside. Rolling to my side, I prop my hand under my head and watch Cash come into view. It’s an incredible sight to see that I’ll never take for granted. I love when he’s home.

His smile makes my day so much better, those eyes that never hold less than pure love when I gaze into them, and the fingers that—

“Yes, right there,” I breathe after the tips of his fingers slip between my legs. “That feels so good.”

Balanced on his arm, he hovers over me and kisses my neck. “You feel so good, babe. I can’t wait to be inside you.”

I can’t either, so I shift, breaking the connection, and push up to straddle him. With him on his back, I rest my palms firmly on his chest. “I need you inside me. So much.”

A growl rumbles around his chest as he holds my hips, his palms spreading the width as his fingers dig into the cushion of my ass. “You’re so fucking tempting.”

“How tempting?”

“Tempting to fuck like there’s no love lost between us.”

He lifts me so fast, sinking me down on his erection, that I groan in pleasure and shock before I have a chance to reply. My breath is stolen, my body stretched to acclimate. Every time with him feels so much like the first all over again.

When I drop my head, my hair curtains my vision, so I close my eyes and feel instead. “Oh God, yes, Cash.”

He can’t hide the way he craves me, his need is visceral, his mouth marking my chest. It’s all so much, so much at once, that my head spins. My body is a traitor to me and Cash Warren’s number one fan. It’s easy to feel drunk off this man.

“Ah,” I moan, falling into ecstasy just as fast as I did in love with him.

And he falls just as quickly.

* * *

---