Page 47 of Devoted

Brooks enjoys my comatose state with a laugh and then stands, reaching for my hand to pull me up to sit. I smooth out my dress over my exposed skin and then stare up at him, his tall stature and rugged handsomeness gleaming in the moonlight.

“Thank you.”

“No, thank you. I’ve been dying to do that.”

“Your turn?” I say more as a question, even though I’m not sure if Brooks expects the favor to be returned or not. But by the way his slacks are tented right now, I think it’s safe to say he probably needs a release too.

He denies me with a shake of his head and then sits down on the bed next to me. “That’s unnecessary. I don’t want to rush anything if you’re not ready. But I’m glad you let me satisfy that craving.” One of his hands rises and then brushes my unruly hair behind my ear.

“Brooks,” I exasperate. “It’s not that I’m not ready. I just…”

His hand finds mine and squeezes. “You know you can talk to me, Jess. Remember, we agreed to be honest with each other.”

I sigh and then decide to just bite the bullet. At least if he freaks out and runs for the hills, he gave me one hell of an orgasm before I lost him. “I’m afraid to sleep with you…”

“O-kay,” he drags out. “Care to elaborate?”

My eyes fall to my lap where his hand is still holding mine. “Well, remember how I said I haven’t had the best of luck in dating?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I think there’s a reason why.”

“I need more details, Jess.”

I roll my eyes and then face him again. “I’m getting there. It all started with Trent. He was this guy I dated in nursing school. We were hot together, sort of how I feel around you, but things didn’t work out. Turns out he was using me to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.”

“What a douche.”

“Agreed. We parted ways, I chalked it up for what it was, and then tried to move on. Only a few months later, I found out he reconciled with his ex and then proposed to her.”

“Then they deserve each other.”

“Yes. But then it happened again.”

Brooks’ eyebrows draw together and he looks like I just asked him to solve a riddle. “What do you mean?”

“The next guy I dated ended up proposing to the woman he dated after me. And then the one after that, and the one after that.”

Brooks tilts his head to the side with a sly grin on his face. “So, you’re telling me that the last four guys you’ve dated have all gotten engaged to the women they’ve dated after you.”

“Yes. And now… with you…”

Instantly, recognition dawns on Brooks’ face. “You think it’s going to happen with me, don’t you?”

“Sort of. I know it sounds crazy, but this is literally what has happened with the last four men I’ve dated.”

A low chuckle escapes his lips and then he pulls my forehead to his. “Jess. Thank you for telling me. Although I hate that you’ve experienced this and you feel like this black dating cloud is following you around—”

“I call it my curse.”

Brooks really laughs now, and I’m not sure if I should be offended or not. “Okay, your curse. It sucks, but that doesn’t mean you’re cursed. What if the entire reason things didn’t work out with them is because they weren’t meant to?”

“I know that’s a possibility, but I can’t say that the irony of it happening four times doesn’t rattle my confidence a bit, Brooks.”

He nods and then presses his lips to mine in a quick peck. “I guess I can understand that. But hey, I don’t have any recent ex-girlfriends, and the only girl I could remotely see a future with is sitting right here with me.”

My jaw drops slightly with his admission. “Really?”

---