Page 77 of Bound to You

“Mmm,” I nod. “A bit, just tired now.” I rub my eyes and when my finger comes away with black smudges on it, I groan. “But I need to take off my makeup.”

It feels like a bit too much effort right now. Maybe I’ll just go to bed with it on. May would scold me if she knew; she always says my eyelashes will fall out if I sleep with mascara on.

Caio jumps up from his spot in front of me and rummages through the drawer in his vanity that he emptied last week and told me to fill with essentials. He comes back sitting cross-legged in front of me with my makeup wipes in hand.

“May I?”

I nod. If I wasn’t already on the floor, I would melt into a puddle at the way this man cares for me.

He’s gentle with me, wiping light circles over my checks. His eyes are so focused, making sure to get every last particle. It’s adorable.

“Close your eyes,” he says.

He has one hand holding my head still as he swipes the wipe across my eyelashes with perfect care. It’s relaxing, calming. I could almost fall asleep right here on his bathroom floor.

“There,” he says, standing to throw the wipe in the bin across the room.

“Come on.” He holds his hands out to me, helping me up from my spot on the floor.

He turns me around with soft hands, slowly unzipping my dress and letting it fall to the floor before helping me step out of it. He unclasps my bra, leaving me in nothing but my underwear in front of his bathroom mirror.

I look at him in the mirror as he pulls his shirt over his head, exposing his gorgeous body, even my foggy mind homes in on it.

He bunches the shirt up, finding the neck hole and slipping it over my head. The soft fabric falls down my body and Caio guides my arms through the sleeves, keeping me steady as he does. It’s so big it covers my entire body, the hem resting at the middle of my thigh.

My eyes meet his in the mirror and I smile at the image in front of me. Me in his huge shirt, my hair braided down my back. With him standing bare chested behind me, and I’m wholly obsessed. The picture is so perfect.

He smiles coming to wrap his arms around me and presses a kiss to my cheek. “Ready for bed, baby?”

I nod and he pulls me into his arms, carrying me like a child and laying me on his soft mattress before lifting the covers and tucking me in.

He comes around his side of the bed and climbs in next to me, dragging my tired body into his. His big frame curls around mine and we fit perfectly. His knees lined up behind mine, his chest pressed against my back, and his head resting against my shoulder at the perfect height for him to press a kiss to my jaw and whisper a sweet, “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

His breathing quickly falls into a steady rhythm that my own matches, my heart beating in time with his.

As I lay here, dancing on the edge of sleep, my mind can’t help but recall the events of the night.

Brandon showing up.

Caio punching him.

Rafael punching him.

Caio calling me his.

“I don’t like people touching what’s mine.”My heart flutters at the memory. I know we established the fact that day on his couch, whispered our confessions. But hearing him say it out loud like that really cemented it for me.

Him saying it so openly like that could’ve easily spooked me with the way my past relationship was, but all that it did was wrapped another corner of my soul in the cozy blanket that is my feelings for Caio.

I feel like his. I feel like all of me belongs to the man currently wrapped around me.

He told me he isn’t going anywhere, and all of me believes that. He’s been a constant for me lately, a comfort, and that scares the shit out of me. Attachment is a double-edged sword, because I love the feeling, love it so much that I don’t want to let go. But I need to make a decision, one that could shove that sword right through my raw heart. One that my drunk mind shouldn’t be in charge of.

I snuggle into his warmth, letting my mind shut off, focusing on the heavy breathing behind me, and it doesn’t take long for mine to match, and for sleep to claim me into its quiet, calm emptiness.

chapter thirty-two

CAIO

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