Page 35 of When We Break

When I return to the living room, Skyla’s awake but hasn’t sat up. She’s fucking gorgeous in the morning, with sleepy moss-green eyes and messy hair. Having her tucked against me all night long was a slice of heaven. We couldn’t be more different, size-wise. I’m well over six foot four and more than two hundred pounds, and this whisp of a woman is a foot shorter and a hundred pounds lighter, but she fits against me like a missing puzzle piece.

“I smelled the coffee,” she says with a grin as she stretches. “And hoped you’d share.”

“Always, sweetheart.”

She sits up and takes the mug, gives it a smell and closes her eyes, then takes a sip. “I was never a coffee drinker until I moved to the States. Now I don’t know what I’d do without it.”

Sitting next to her, I take a sip from my own mug. “I let Riley out.”

“I appreciate that. Also, I can’t believe I forgot to set the alarm last night. I must have been preoccupied with good conversation because Ineverforget the alarm. Connor would be livid.”

“You had both Riley and me here.” I reach over to smooth her hair over her shoulder, then let my thumb brush over her bare skin. “You’re safe.”

Her brows pull into a slight frown before she takes another sip, and she sets the mug aside, then pulls her legs up under her, shifting just out of my reach. Just like that, a wall goes up.

Fuck that.

“What’s wrong, Irish?”

She bites the lower lip that I’ve learned is my favorite thing to taste and lets out a sigh.

“I might have divulged too much last night. It was a lot to dump on you all at once, and, well”—she clears her throat and pushes her hair behind her ear—“it’s sorry I am for making you uncomfortable.”

I lift an eyebrow and move closer to her so I can touch her, run my hand down her thigh. “Do I look uncomfortable?”

“I don’t think I know you well enough to know if this is your uncomfortable look.”

“Trust me, it’s not. I asked you to tell me, remember?” My knuckles drift down her cheek, over the freckles there. “You didn’t say anything that made me want to run away. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have stayed, Skyla.”

She nods once and links her hands in her lap nervously, and I don’t like it one fucking bit. “Beckett … I’m a lot.”

“You slept on me all night, so you won’t pull away from me now unless you’re telling me that I’m completely off base and last night didn’t affect you the way it did me, in which case I’ll apologize, and I won’t bother you again.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Good.” Reaching for her, I cup her cheek and brush my thumb over her skin. “You’re not too much for me, Irish. You had something really shitty happen to you, and you want to make sure you’re safe.Iwant to make sure you’re safe. That’s not a lot or too much, but even if it was, I can handle just about anything you throw at me. Let’s not end this before it begins just because of The Asshole. He doesn’t have any power in this.”

She swallows hard and closes her eyes. The next thing I know, she’s crawled into my lap and wrapped herself around me, almost desperately.

“I was afraid you’d come to your senses this morning and decide I’m not worth the trouble.”

“You’re worth a whole lot of trouble.” That makes her chuckle, which is what I wanted. “But what you shared with me last night isn’t trouble, sweetheart. It’s simple honesty.”

“Okay.” She rubs my beard in that way that makes my cock sit up and beg.

“Are you hungry?” I ask.

“I’m always hungry in the morning.” She pulls back far enough to smile at me.

“Fuck me, you’re beautiful,” I whisper before brushing my lips across hers. “It’s a punch in the gut every time you look at me.”

“You say lovely things, Beckett Blackwell.”

“Just being honest. Now, let me take you to breakfast before I haul you off to bed because we’re not doing that on this date.”

My cock isnotin favor of that declaration, but I’m not going to rush this with her and fuck everything up.

I can be patient. I can earn her trust.

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