Page 33 of Sunflower

“You know, when I said yes to you sharing my bed tonight, I thought I’d at least get a side.”

I turned my head to grin at him, moving my arms and legs around like I was making a snow angel with his sheets. “I was just trying to warm the bed up for you.”

“Sure.” He rolled his eyes, but the amusement at my antics remained on his face. Uncrossing his arms, he made his way around the bed to make sure everything was in its place and the closet doors were shut properly.

“Which side do you want?” I asked, rolling on to my side to watch him. “Which side do you normally sleep on?”

“This side,” he said quietly, pointing to the side closest to the closet. “I like to be able to see the hallway.”

I quirked an eyebrow at his reasoning but shuffled back to the other side of the bed, noting the slight sigh of relief he let out as I moved. The more time I spent with him, the more he intrigued me with his seemingly innocuous habits. He seemed to be a mix of contrasts—serious and stern one moment, then fun-loving and earnest the next. The differences captured my attention more than anything else about him.

Callum turned off the bedside lamp just before he climbed into bed next to me, plunging the room into a shock of darkness. While I waited for my eyes to adjust, I felt him shift in the bed until he finally rolled onto his side to face me, the emerging ambient light letting me see he was resting his head with one hand between his cheek and his pillow. “I set the alarm for nine. Is that okay?”

I nodded. Neither of us was needed at or due to be home until noon at the earliest. I’d learned from previous years that Erin preferred me out of the way while she cooked everything. Having grown up with her, I assumed Callum knew this too, which is probably why he wasn’t worrying about an earlier alarm. “I hada good time tonight, Callum. Even if I fell asleep during the movie.”

He smiled. “Even with getting caught in a sudden storm that drenched us both enough that we nearly died of hypothermia?”

I laughed softly. “Yup.” I reached over the gap that existed between us and traced his nose, tapping the end. “It got me here. In your bed.” I let my fingertip drift down to his mouth, drifting over his plump bottom lip. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you planned the entire night. I mean, other than the poor guy nearly dying at the restaurant and all that.”

With his eyes shining with heat, Callum let his lips separate enough that he could dip the tip of his tongue out to tease my lingering finger, slowly drawing it into his mouth to suck. I felt the pull of his mouth all the way down to my cock, not at all surprised to feel it thickening once more.

I wondered if this was my life now. Perpetually horny for my stepbrother. There were worse things out there to be, weren’t there?

“I want to kiss you.”

His heated eyelids drooped at my words, and he reluctantly let my finger go. “What’s stopping you?”

I chewed my bottom lip nervously but didn’t remove my finger from his lips, tapping the lower one twice. “If I start kissing you, I’ll end up wanting you to fuck me.”

Callum’s gaze turned molten. “You don’t want that?”

“I do, but I’m worried.”

“About what?” he asked, the liquid heat in his eyes dropping to a warm simmer to let me know he was taking my concerns seriously.

I shrugged, my finger gliding softly over his jawline. “We’re stepbrothers. What will our parents think about us getting together?”

Half a smile played on his lips. “They know it’s coming; they just don’t know when.”

My finger paused on its lazy journey. “What do you mean?”

“I talked to them about my vision that night.” He didn’t have to elaborate for me to know which night he was talking about. “They understood why I had to leave.” He chuckled. “I think Barry was impressed that I showed that much restraint.”

I inhaled sharply. “Dad knows?” The memory of eavesdropping on Callum talking to Dad popped into my head and I let out my breath. “Oh, that’s right. Dad knows about your vision, which would mean…”

“He knows that we’ll eventually get together. So does Mam.” He leaned into my finger that was on the move again, tracing his ear. “They’ve had four years to get used to the idea of us being together. If they get upset with us when we tell them we’re together, that’s on them, not us.”

“We’re together? Now?” My finger never stopped moving, tracing his jawline again, back to his chin and down the line of his throat to rest on his pulse point. I wanted this with Callum, but I needed him to say the words.

“I’d like nothing more than for us to be together,mo lus na gréine, but only if you’re ready.”

The beating of his pulse was strong and steady. He meant every word he was saying. “What if I told you I wasn’t ready?”

His face fell, but he rallied enough to say, “Then I’d abide by your decision.” I could feel him grit his teeth, but it felt like the clenching came more from disappointment than anger. “I have faith in what I saw that day. Even if it takes a lifetime, I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait for you forever. You’re the only one I want,mo lus na gréine. The only one I’ll ever crave.” His voice was gruff but full of emotion.

I felt my eyes fill as I realized I’d never heard anyone speak to me with such heartfelt honesty before. Certainly not Amelia,nor any of the people I’d hooked up with in the past. My palm cupped his cheek, thumb dancing softly below his watery eye. “Oh, Callum. I’ve been ready since we nearly drowned. But I’ve wanted you from the day I first met you.”

He choked on a sob as I surged forward and brought my lips to his, an almost exact repeat of what had happened in the park, but this time there was no downpour to stop us.

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