Page 23 of Burning for the Truth

He pushes me back on the bed gently and nudges my legs apart with his knee. He leans in to kiss me. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t know if I can be gentle. It’s been a long time for me.” Brutal honesty swirls in his stormy gray eyes.

I take his face in my hands. “It’s okay if you can’t be easy with me, I’ve been so numb, Dean, and I need to feel.” Another blasted tear tracks down my face and into my hair since I’m lying on my back and he quickly kisses it away, before lining his tip with my center.

I close my eyes at the feel of him and he breaks into my thoughts. “No, you have to look at me, Briella. Look me in the eye when I take you.I need to know it’s me you see.”

I do see him; he’s opening up and telling me more truth tonight than he ever has. He’s almost fragile but shadowed by something darker at the same time. I nod and he enters me in one quick movement. One thrust and he’s fully seated. He doesn’t move, as we both gasp at the feeling of being joined in the most intimate place. We never break eye contact.

This…connection, I have no words. All that exists right now are feelings—feelings of ecstasy and fate—I start to lift my hips beneath him, seeking friction, needing to move. I need…more. As if reading me perfectly, he starts to move, and as promised it’s not gentle. It’s filled with need, it’s frantic and chasing his desire. But it’s fine with me, I’m chasing it as fast as him.

We move together as a sheen of sweat forms on both our bodies. Our hips meet, and with each collision, I feel myself falling apart a little more in his arms. His hands trail over my body, touching everything in their path, and my hands grip his arms as I hold on. He kisses me as I start to feel myself explode.

“Dean…” I whisper frantically, hoping he hears my plea and takes me over the edge. He answers by sliding his hands under my butt, tipping me up to better meet his thrusts in all the right places as he circles his hips.

His expression is so…virile and full of love at the same time.“Hold on, Briella. Don’t let go.”Those words. It’s a demand. The same ones he’s always said to me at the exact right moment. I grip his arms harder and feel myself tighten around him before pleasure unlike I’ve ever known erupts through my body. He pumps a few more times before following me.

He stays on top of me, both of us clinging to each other as we catch our breath. He finally lifts up on his elbow, eyes still hooded, and kisses me like he’ll never stop. I knew we’d be different, and I was right. My heart is trembling because I know now more than ever, all it takes is one look, one touch and I’m burning for him, for his love.

It scares me more than I want to admit because I can’t take any more heartache. And we’ve just burned a bridge we can’t build back. I know what he tastes like, what he feels like, what heloveslike. Those are all things I can’t “un-know.”

He stands and we both clean up. He stares at me, seemingly unsure, once I come out of my bathroom. He’s standing by my bed as if waiting for me to tell him what to do next. As he stands there, I search his frame head to toe in the dim light. I notice the discoloration of his skin on the left side of his body where he was burned. I remember the rough feel of it beneath my fingers only moments ago. Part of me wants to see all of his scars, out in the light. I want to be able to kiss the pain away for him. The broken part of me is afraid of what it will do to any progress I’ve made. The scars he bears are a stark reminder of the worst night of my life…as well as his.

I walk to him and take his hand, pulling him into the bed with me. He lies on his back, and I lay my head against his chest, so I can listen to his heart. He lazily trails his fingers up and down my bare back and kisses the top of my head. I splay my hand over his chest. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asks sweetly…quietly.

“Only in the best way,” I whisper. He tips my chin up and claims my lips once more. I lie back in the same position and this time he links his fingers with mine on his chest. I close my eyes, and for the first time in a long time…I feel. I feel alive and it’s because of Dean.

As I start to drift to sleep, I wonder…will he reignite my passion and my life, or will he burn what’s left of me to ash? Tonight isn’t the time to answer those questions. So, I snuggle closer and hold on to him now.

Iwake to hear a lock turning and I blink away the remnants of sleep. When my vision finally focuses, I realize Briella is naked and tangled up with me. Before I have time to analyze what happened last night, the deadbolt turns and the door opens. Panic surges through me and I know all hell is about to break loose when whoever is here opens the door all the way.

“Briella? Dean?” I hear Sterling’s voice filter through the apartment before he comes into view. My heart freezes and I know this is it…I’m going to lose my only remaining best friend as soon as he lays eyes on me and his sister. I don’t want to lose him, but I don’t regret last night with her either.

I nudge Briella and she lazily opens her brown eyes. “Sterling’s here,” I whisper. Her eyes widen as if she were doused with ice water.

“Hold on, Sterling!” she shouts. She scrambles to find her top and I jump up from the bed and grab my shorts before flying into her bathroom. I run water to wash my hands as I look myself in the eye in her mirror. I hear voices and come on out to face the music.

Tate and Sterling are in her living room. Tate glances at me and the muscles in his jaw work. He’s pissed as hell. He knows exactly what happened. Sterling glances me over and his eyes narrow. “Where were you? I’ve been calling you both all night.”

Sterling is a smart man. He’s asking questions he suspects he already knows the answer to, but he’s giving me an out to come up with an alternate explanation. It’s in that moment I see my boxers on the floor near her bed. His eyes land on them too. He starts toward me with clenched fists, but Tate is faster. Tate holds him back as Briella steps in front of me. How did this go from protecting Briella to her protecting me from her brother?

“You slept with my baby sister?” Sterling shouts as Tate keeps him from moving closer to me. I wince because it’s not only anger in his voice, but also betrayal.Betrayal…something I’m good at with everyone I care about.

Bree speaks up now. “It’s not your business who I sleep with, Sterling! And what if it wasmewho seducedhim, huh?” She hooks her thumb at her chest.

He glares at her. His own dark brown eyes never leave hers while his chest is rising and falling rapidly. “Bree, don’t—” he starts but Briella cuts him off.

“Don’t what? Have sex? Live my life? I’m sorry, Sterling. I love you, but you don’t control who’s in my heart or in my bed.” She doesn’t back down an inch. Tate blanches as he takes her in for the first time during this encounter as if suddenly realizing the weight of unspoken feelings between Briella and myself. He saw how I was last night at the ranch, but I don’t think he thought she returned my feelings in any way.

Tate glances between me and her before turning back to Sterling. “We should go. Give them some time.” He looks at me again. He’s still angry with me I can tell, but somehow, he sees this for more than simply a “hookup” and we need to talk…alone.I tip my head at him in silent thanks. And he returns the gesture, albeit stone-faced.

Sterling isn’t done. “They don’t need time. They don’t need to be anywhere near each other right now if this is what’s going to happen.” This time he pushes past Tate and Briella both to stand nose to nose with me. “I trusted you to protect my baby sister, not to…” He grinds his teeth so hard I can hear the noise.

“Not to what, Sterling? She needed—” He cuts me off.

“She needed a safe haven, a friend, not a horny bastard looking to take advantage of the situation!” he growls.

Bree pushes between us. “That’s enough! Sterling, you and Tate need to leave right now.” Tate starts to step away and leave as she requested.

Sterling turns on her then. “He needs to leave, Briella. He’s going to hurt you. Tate and I are the ones who’ve been keeping you together all this time. We know how far you fell when Drew died. You’re not over it yet! I refuse to sit back and let him break you even more because that’s what will happen!”

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