Page 125 of From Best Friend to Bride
Fred’s deep, soothing exhales fluttered my hair at the back of my head.
I was tucked soundly against his body—for once, I was the little spoon—and his arms were wrapped around me, completely trapping me in place. One of his legs was hooked over both of mine, pinning me down as if he was afraid that I’d run away from him.
I wasn’t.
I had no intention of moving.
It’d been days since we’d seen each other before he’d shown at the hospital and I’d almost mowed him down. Aside from the awful events of yesterday, I’d hated every second. We’d been apart so many times before but never had I felt as alone as I had this time.
That was why I was so angry he didn’t answer the phone. He always picked up. If he missed the call, he always returned it right away, so why hadn’t he answered that time? What had been more important than me in that moment?
Self-centred, I know, but so many things were changing in our relationship that I couldn’t stand it if I somehow became less important to him.
It wasn’t true. I knew that. If I had, he wouldn’t have rushed back here from Max’s estate. He wouldn’t have carried me to bed or climbed in next to me at my sleepy request.
And he wouldn’t have held me in his arms and called me ‘baby.’
That was certainly a new one.
Of all the things we’d ever called each other, ‘baby’ had never been one of them. He’d said it so softly, so intimately, so… like I washis. Like it meant something.
Like I meant something.
But how could I even dwell on that for longer than these fleeting moments? As soon as I got out of this bed and faced real life, all of this would cease to exist. I would have to accept my new reality where Nana was probably dying in hospital right now.
I didn’t want to do that.
I didn’t want to face the real world just yet.
I wanted to stay here, under these covers, curled up in Fred’s arms, like the rest of the world wasn’t spinning outside of this room.
It was still early based on the light filtering in through the gap in the curtains—barely seven considering where the shadows were. I hadn’t slept for nearly as long as I thought I would.
How could it have only been three hours?
My phone was nowhere in sight, and I was locked in Fred’s arms. I couldn’t get it even if I wanted to. If I woke him up, he would simply force me to go back to sleep anyway.
I pushed myself back against his body, as close as I could possibly get, and closed my eyes again. I was exhausted to my bones, completely and utterly drained, and his touch was too comforting to even want to try to escape from.
Yes, even with his erection pressing against my ass.
It sent a little fissure of heat through me, and I clenched my legs together. It was wrong to feel this way given the situation, but I couldn’t help it. I had no control over the way my body reacted to him anymore. It was as if everything had flipped upside down, and in the chaos and heartbreak of my life, only he could bring me comfort.
Only his touch could soothe me. Calm me. Bring me back down to Earth.
But I wanted more. Almost as if I craved the intimacy the fabric between our bodies was denying me.
I wanted to reach back and touch him, cradle his erection in my hand, maybe slip my fingers under the fabric of his pyjama bottoms and touch him directly.
He sighed behind me, and I peeked back over my shoulder. He was still fast asleep, and his eyelids twitched as if his eyes were moving side to side.
Was he dreaming?
A tiny smile tugged at my lips. An unfamiliar tenderness tiptoed through my being, and I relaxed again, letting my eyes drift back closed.
And Fred grabbed my boob.
Softly. Gently. Like it was the most natural thing in the bloody world.
