Page 80 of Down & Dirty

“Maybe,” he whispered, looking away. I could tell he didn’t really believe me. “After that, my dad...he was gone for a while. Not physically, but he just stopped living. He’d drink all day, locking himself in his room. Sometimes he’d make dinner. But most of the time it was Mack doing that kind of thing. Beau was still so young. He didn’t understand what was going on. I’m not sure I did either. But after that, nothing really mattered. Nothing was ever the same.”

His voice was so cold, so distant. “I’m so sorry, Cory. That must have been awful.”

“I just wish I’d been able to help her. She sent us all away, but we should have stayed with her.”

“She was your mom. She was protecting you.”

“I know,” he nodded, his scowl dark and confused, even all these years later. “But I’ll always wish I could have done more. I’d have done anything.”

When he closed his eyes my heart lurched. I brushed my thumbs across his cheeks, wiping at the tears he hadn’t let fall but I could hear in his voice, smoothing across the crease on his brow from the weight of it all.

“Coming back here makes it harder, doesn’t it?”

His eyes darted around my face, working on a swallow. “It’s easier with you here.”

The throbbing pain in my throat burst, a soft cry bubbling up as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He hauled me to him, cinching me tight to his chest, as a ripple of emotion shook through him.

When I let him go and eased back onto my own pillow, he held my gaze. “Why didn’t you ask me before? You’re one of the most curious people I know. You were obviously wondering.”

I sighed, deflating as I looked out the window behind him. “It felt like it wasn’t my place. We still don’t know each other very well. And I didn’t think I deserved to know.”

Cory frowned at me, his fingers tracing the edge of my jaw. “You get me better than most people, gorgeous. If there’s something you want to know, just ask. I’ve got nothing to hide from you.” He slipped his fingers into my hair and pulled me closer for a soft, gentle kiss, as if trying to chase away some of the lingering emotion. “And you deserve a hell of a lot more than you think.”

After what he’d just shared, it felt strange to have him makingmefeel better. But his words did just that. They sifted through me, soothing some of my anxiety and settling warmly in my chest.

“Thank you for telling me.”

He kissed me again, holding his lips to mine for a second longer before he pulled away. “Thank you for caring.”

Cory didn’t have many people in his life. And maybe even fewer that really cared about him. My heart hurt to think of how alone he must feel. And then coming back here to so many memories of pain and loss. I was suddenly even more glad he’d asked me to come.

We lay in silence for a while, letting our fingers drift over each other, trailing faint lines along shoulders and arms and cheeks that spread a soothing sort of peace through us both. And when I yawned, Cory smiled sleepily.

“Goodnight Skylar,” he whispered, his lips trailing across the backs of my knuckles before I rolled over and tucked myself into him like before.

“Goodnight Cory,” I whispered back, hearing his heavy sigh before sleep took us both.

CHAPTER 26

CORY

Nothing compared to waking up with Skylar on my chest. Pleasure rocked through me when I felt her nestled into my side. Her breath was skittering across my skin, and her slender fingers were curved adorably around my ribs.

She was attached to me, skin on skin, and I was powerless against the ache in my chest; I’d never wanted a moment to last as much as I did that one. Especially after last night, she wasn’t just any woman to me now. Something had shifted.

Telling her about my mom—the whole story, not just skimming the surface of that ugly truth—I’d been both sliced open and held together at the same time. I feltsafesharing it with her, and the rarity of that sensation was spellbinding. She hadn’t looked at me with pity or given me an inch to assume the blame. I’d carried that guilt my whole life, and on my darker days, it still won out. But Skylar refused to hear it, and I let myself be convinced by her, because it felt so good to put that down, even just for one night.

This thing between us was special, whatever it was, wherever it was going. I wasn’t going to rush it. Seeing her hesitant to share a bed hadn’t worried me. I’d take my time. However long she needed. She was like the last gift on Christmas, the one you want to open slowly, because it’s precious and you want the magic to last as long as possible.

And Skylar was magic.

Pure, potent, straight-to-the-vein kind of magic. Seeing her under the stars last night had sent my head spinning. And then kissing her?Reallykissing her. Fuck it all, I’d been thinking about that like a song on a loop since the night of the premiere. But as much as the marriage tied us together contractually for a year, I hadn’t been sure if it changed things between us. If it took this physical attraction off the table. Judging by that kiss last night, though, those extra pieces of paper were nothing compared to this chemistry we had.

Of course, thinking about our chemistry was a stupid idea while she was still plastered to my body, her hand mere inches from my semi just itching to be stroked to life. I ground my teeth, trying to fight the memories that were zipping through me. I didn’t need her to wake up with an erection in her face. But the harder I fought it, the more likely that reality became.

Especially when she sighed and stretched, her elbow grazing the tip as her leg curled around my thigh.

“Morning beautiful.” I was breathing through my nose, trying to stem the blood rushing south.

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