Page 61 of Second Draft

Maybe she doesn’t feel the same way about me. Maybe there’s a part of her that hopes Travis comes back. Maybe she’s just with me because she’s afraid to be alone.

I drag my fingers through my hair and lean back against the headboard, then rub my eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she mutters.

The best I can do right now is give her a weak smile. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I start to stand, “I’ll go make us something to eat.”

“Wait.” Her fingers wrap around my wrist, and she blinks up at me, soft brown eyes full of all the emotion she’s holding back. “Don’t go.”

She sits on the edge of the bed, and I move so that I’m standing between her legs, and her fingers immediately hook around the belt loops of my jeans.

Brushing my knuckles across her cheek, I sigh, “You haven’t eaten since lunch.”

“I’m not hungry.” She chews on her bottom lip, then says, “I just…need you.”

That’s as much of an admission as she’s ever given me. “You have me.”

Her fingers move to my belt, unhooking it.

“Layla,” I growl, hands moving to her hair, when I see the intent in her eyes. I know her emotions are all over the place, but I understand her need. I feel it too. The need to reconnect, emotionally and physically. The need to know that everything is all right between us.

She is the air that I breathe. Without her, I am certain I would cease to exist. If being with her means only getting half of her heart, then it’s the way it’s going to have to be. Because there’s no way in hell I can walk away.

And maybe the marriage thing is just my way of making sure she can’t either.

I groan as her hands work my jeans and boxer briefs over my hips, and my cock springs free, already hard and heavy with wanting her.

My heart hammers in my chest when she looks up at me. God, those eyes. So fucking expressive. And they tell me everything I need to know. She may not be able to say it yet, but she cares about me, maybe even loves me. And I sure as hell know she wants me.

Her fingers wrap around the long length of my erection and she licks her lips, before her warm mouth takes me in. She braces herself with one hand holding onto my hip as her tongue flicks the sensitive underside of my cock.

“You have no idea what you do to me,” I groan, cupping her face as she takes me deeper into her sweet little mouth, and my balls draw up tight to my body.

Watching her is pure, erotic bliss.

“Come here,” I growl out, pulling her hair back gently, so my cock slides from her mouth with a little pop.

She stands up, and I help her when she starts to pull at my shirt, reaching back and pulling it over my head.

Her fingers instantly go to the ink on my chest, like they always do, then she looks up, eyes brimming with emotion. “I love you, Carter.”

I swear, my heart stops in my chest, and time stands still.

No three words have ever sounded better, but I can see the ‘but’ forming on her lips.

I capture the word with my mouth before it has a chance to escape. I won’t let her ruin this moment with her fears.

This moment is mine.

She loves me.Part of me already knew it. But to hear her say it does something inside of me. Both placating and spurring on the best that wants to possess and consume her.

I run my fingers down the curve of her neck. She shivers and makes the sweetest noise. A mix between a moan and a sigh. The sound has my balls tightening so hard, my cock throbs with need.

I need her naked. Need her bared to me. Need to not just hear the words, but feel them in her touch.

Chapter 23

Layla

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