Page 87 of Unleash You

I squeezed my eyes shut and let Wesley’s words sink in. I’d made mistakes since I left Barnard, but it all stemmed from the same place. I came home looking for the man who’d stood by me all these years.

Even after Wesley confessed that he was the one who wrote the letters, I stubbornly wanted to believe that Charlie had also been part of it because he was blood. I had to fly to Venezuela and back to finally realize that family wasn’t always blood. When my parents died, I thought they had left me all alone. But in truth, I never was. The Coles had always been there for me and Teak.

Wesley’s letters popped in and out of my dreams throughout the night until the morning sun rays peeked through the heavy curtains and bathed the guest room with bright light. I opened my eyes and met his hazel gaze.

“Good morning.” He cocked a tentative brow.

“Morning.” I smiled, stretching a little toward him. I’d missed him so much. A week apart had been too long. “How long was I asleep?” I felt so rested I had to wonder if I’d been out for days.

“Just a few hours. We came home pretty late last night.”

“Where did you sleep?” I glanced down at his side and the bandages poking through his T-shirt.

“The couch. I think. Tyler’s doctor friend gave me some good painkillers.”

“I’m glad you’re okay and didn’t try to fix the stab wound with spit.”

He chuckled. “How about you? Are you going to be okay?” He brushed my cheek with the back of his fingers. “Last night you didn’t say much.”

“I felt lost. It all happened so fast I didn’t know what to think or even say.”

“I killed your brother.”

My body jerked in response, as if he’d dumped a bucket of cold water over my head. Blood rushed to my head, and then I couldn’t control it. I sobbed. Not for Charlie, but for all the things he could have been, all the things we could have had together, all the things I no longer cared about. Charlie was gone.

“I’m so sorry. Are you and I ever going to be okay?” he whispered against my temple.

“It wasn’t your fault, Wesley. I begged for his life, and in the end, he didn’t even care about that. I should be the one apologizing to you. I made you go back to a place I knew scared the hell out of you. I was stubborn and childish. I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I know I did.”

“I hated the idea of going back to the jungle, but that had always been my plan. You gave me the courage to do the right thing. Or what I thought was the right thing at the time.” His breath came out in hot puffs. “Charlie and I had that conversation pending. My only regret is that you had to witness it. For that, I will always be sorry.”

Maybe Wesley had been the one holding the blade, but he was there facing Charlie because of me and my stupid quest to bring my brother home.

“It’s over. And if you still want me, I’m here.” Tears brimmed his eyes.

“If you want to take a gamble on me, I’m here too.”

He sucked in his bottom lip, then flashed me a smile that made my heart melt. “It ain’t a gamble, darling.”

His mouth covered mine in a searing kiss. The week we’d spent apart dissolved in the deep recess of my memory bank along with everything else that happened since we left home. He softly kneaded my breast before slipping his hand under the bathrobe. When I realized I’d slept with no underwear, my eyes flew open.

“You’re already wet for me. Take it off.

His demanding tone made me stand at attention. My pulse had already kicked up past the normal threshold. “We’re guests. We can’t.” I panted a breath, glaring at the door with my fingers pulling at the straps.

“If it helps, they probably think we’ve been doing it the whole time.” He buried his fingers deeper inside me. “I missed you. But we can wait until we get home later today. If you want.” He brushed his beard along the cord of my neck.

In a New York minute, I was out of my only cover, head on the pillow, and down the orgasm rabbit hole. “Wes.”

“I’m right here. You don’t ever have to be alone.” With skilled strokes, his tongue coaxed me into a deep kiss.

I ran my hands over his wide chest and the soft hair there, then moved down to the ridges on his belly, and his erection. He groaned in my mouth when I pulled down his shorts and freed him. Jeez, the man was rock solid, and that gave me an idea, a reminder really of something I’d been wanting to try. I broke our connection, pursing my lips to hide a smile.

“I recognize that smile and that look. What are you up to?”

I shook my head, pushing him down on the mattress as I left a wet trail of kisses down his front until I lay between his muscled legs with his cock grazing my lips.

“Fuck.” He nodded in approval.

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