Page 52 of Wes

All these questions and fears swirl in my head until Wes rushes in and drops to his knees in front of me. He wraps his arms around my waist, squeezing me tight, and buries his face in my belly.

His warmth shushes the chaos inside.

His love fills my heart to the brim. It shoos the shadows away and they retreat to the corners of my mind.

I spear my fingers through his hair, silky to the touch.

Leaning in, I whisper into his ear, “I now realize that whatever my demons are made of they won’t survive this, our connection.” He snaps his head up and I stare into his blood-shot eyes for a couple of beats. I stroke his cheeks with my thumbs. “We need to talk.”

18

WES

Some people say men dread hearing these four words. That is not me at this moment. No. Maria’s words sound like music to my ears.

I move to sit on the couch. I snake my fingers under her loose sweatshirt and grip her waist, pulling her across my lap. She leans her head on my chest for a beat and I rest my chin on top of her head.

Tracing circles on her back, I rasp, “I’m so relieved to hear you say our bond is stronger than your nightmares. You freaked me out last night and I felt like shit for being helpless.” My blood rages up and down my body as I recall her shrieking and terror. My chest rises and falls with a series of deep inhales and long exhales. Still, her ear keeps glued to the spot over my heart. I dig my fingers into her hair, pressing her against me. When I trust my voice again, I add, “I don’t know what kind of monster haunts your sleep, but I promise I’ll rip their heart out and serve it to you on a silver platter.”

Maria rubs her cheek on my wrinkled T-shirt, the same I wore yesterday. I lift her chin to find tears rolling down her face. I dry them with my lips. I trail soft kisses on her cheeks until I lick her lips.

She traps my lower lip between her teeth, hissing, before she opens her mouth to glide her tongue along my upper lip. I slide my tongue along hers and we get lost in a passionate kiss. I cradle the back of her head as she pulls at my hair, and my skin sizzles.

When we break the kiss, she cups my face and stares at me with a pained expression in her blue eyes. She whispers in a hoarse voice, “I love you too. I’m sorry I didn’t say it back the second time you said it last night.”

My heart bursts at the seams and I grin like a kid getting his favorite birthday present. “I’m so fucking glad you love me because I’m mad about you.” I press my lips to her for a hot, magical second before pulling away. I tap the tip of her nose with an index finger. “As much as I’d love to explore all the ways we can love each other, if you get my meaning…” I wink.

She rolls her eyes and scoffs. “Of course I get your meaning. It’s not that hard. You always have sex on your mind.”

My cock pokes at her hip confirming her assessment. “I won’t lie. In my mind’s eye, I constantly see your image enjoying an orgasm, or ten. What can I say? You’re a gorgeous vision when you come.”

Her fingers stroke my chest then move down to play with the buckle of my belt. “In this case…”

“No, ma’am, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we should stop.” I wrap my fingers around hers, pulling them up to kiss her knuckles and soften the blow of my rejection. “You’re stalling. I’m aware this must be painful to you, but it gets worse if you keep delaying the inevitable.”

“Urgh! I know. I’m such a mess today. I hate feeling this discombobulated.”

I jerk my legs up, making her bounce on my lap and giggle. That sound echoes through my chest cavity and shoots straight to my head.

Giddy that I managed to break the negative vibe, I smile. “Hey! I’ve seen you in action at Welcoming Hills. You never take your eyes off the ball. You know what you want, you plan to achieve it, and you charge ahead until you get it. Fuck, you’re entitled to a few days of indecision. It just proves you’re human.”

She returns my wide grin with a lopsided smile. “Let’s go with that.” She pauses, takes a deep breath, and sighs before saying, “You were right just now when you mentioned the monsters that haunt me. They came into my life ten years ago, stole everything I had, and have tormented me ever since.”

I brace myself to hear her story, still stroking her spine. “I’m so sorry.”

She goes on, “I have to go back in time a little. Remember I’ve told you about my mom?”

I frown in concentration until the scene flashes in my mind. “Yeah, right. The other day when we went to that TV studio for an interview to promote the tour. Someone recognized you, saying you were the spitting image of your mother and they asked about her.”

“Exactly.”

“You told me later that she was a famous model in Brazil, she tried a career in movies, but it bombed.” I pause and drop my head on the back of the couch, looking for the rest of her story on the ceiling above. I snap my head down and blurt, “Oh, I remember now. She abused drugs and alcohol, and she always had some hardcore rock stars and celebrities around her. You didn’t tell me this, but I put two and two together and deduced that’s why you despise rock stars so much?”

“I wish that was the only reason for that,” she utters under her breath.

“There’s more?” Icy chills run down my spine.

“Some of them became her steady boyfriends and a handful thought they’d gotten the two-for-one deal.”

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