Page 301 of Breaking the Pucking Rules
I fight it, I really do.
The last thing I ever want to be is one of those girls. But I can’t help it; all of this is just too much.
I suck in a shaky breath that alerts Kodie to my fragile state, and he pulls his face from the crook of my neck, his brow furrowing as he watches a tear roll down my cheek.
“Casey?” he whispers, his eyes bouncing between mine.
“I’m okay,” I say brokenly.
“You’re crying,” he states, looking completely out of his comfort zone.
“I know, but they’re not bad tears.”
That only makes his frown deeper.
As another falls, he leans forward and presses his lips against my cheek, catching it.
“I never want to make you cry.”
“You haven’t.”
“Then why?—”
“I’m just a little overwhelmed. All of this, you...I’ve wanted it so badly, and the last few weeks have been hard and?—”
“I’m sorry.”
Reaching up, I cup his jaw. “You don’t need to keep apologizing. You haven’t done anything wrong. In fact, you’re doing everything right.”
At my words, the most incredible smile spreads across his lips.
“I’ve never been in a serious relationship,” he tells me.
I might already know that from the media over the years, but hearing him say it means so much more. He’s opening himself up, allowing himself to be vulnerable.
It’s everything.
He’s everything.
“Nor have I,” I confess.
“How? How is that even possible? Casey, you’re amazing.”
Heat blooms on my cheeks, the warmth spreading down my neck to my chest.
I shrug. “Just haven’t found my person, I guess.”
He releases a long breath, and it dances over my face. “I want to be him.”
“Kodie,” I whisper, my voice cracked and rough with emotion. “I think you are.”
“Fucking hell,” he groans before his lips find mine.
His kiss is soft, gentle and so full of everything I could only dream of before that masquerade ball.
I wished, but I never really believed he could be as incredible as I always made him out to be in my head.
The reality is, he’s better.
