Page 76 of And Then There Was Us
“Mm?”
“Don’t scare me again, please.” He looked at her, and all the feelings he had for her collided together—the love, respect, lust, worry—and he needed all of her. Right then, right there.Bad idea.He glanced down the hall.
“I promise. Sidecar. Just remember sidecar.” She slid off his lap and reached for his zipper.
“No, not here.” He lifted his chin in the direction of Layla’s door.
She stood and took his hand. He followed her down the hall, past Layla’s door, and into her bedroom, which felt insanely naughty.
“You sure? What if she wakes up?”
“I locked the door. We’ll just have to be very quiet.” She fumbled with his button, and he settled his hand over hers.
“Bree. I can wait.”
“I can’t.”
THERE WASN’T TIME to think or even to breathe. Brianna had made one giant mistake that evening, and she’d never be so foolish again. The fear of losing Hugh intensified her desire to erase what she’d done. As their mouths came together and they fumbled with each other’s clothes, she let her mind go where she had been tethering it from meandering before. To the place that scared her the most.The future.
He laid her on the bed, and laid beside her. She waited for the fear to settle in as it had before, but his voice whispered through her mind.Please do this with me.
As he kissed his way down her body, she closed her eyes, trying to summon the fear she’d felt earlier. She tried to imagine herself at a race, watching as women pawed at Hugh.
Hugh’s hands traveled up her sides, rough and sure, and she tried harder, using the buxom blonde from earlier in the night as a visual. Brianna was testing herself, to see if the fear she’d felt earlier was lingering somewhere deep inside her, like a villain lurking in the dark, ready to upheave their happiness. But no matter how much she tried to conjure images of Hugh advancing toward another woman, his eyes remained trained onher. The fear would not come out to play, and that realization sent elation skittering through her.
“Yes!” she called out in excitement. Her hand flew to her mouth.
Hugh looked at her with amusement in his eyes.
“Sorry,” she said with a giggle. She bit her lip but could not suppress the smile that stretched her lips.
“What was the cheer for?”
She was so happy, the truth tumbled out. “I was trying to envision you with a fan girl.”
He pushed himself up on one hand. “While I was…”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to make sure the fear was really gone.”
“You tried to bring a fan girl into the bedroom with us to make sure it didn’t scare you?” he teased.
“No!”
“Shhh.” He pressed a kiss to her lips. “I don’t swing that way, sweetheart. I’m a one-woman man. So if you need more than just me to satisfy you, you need to tell me now.”
She shoved him playfully. “Shut up.”
“I’m being serious,” he said as he perched above her.
“So am I. I can’t summon the fear. I’m sure it’s still there, lingering and waiting to attack at the worst time, but I’m going to tattoosidecaron our wrists. Then we’ll be safe forever.”
He took her hands in his and stretched them above her head, holding them with one hand as he kissed her. “Forever,” he whispered between kisses. “I like that.”
He lowered his mouth to hers, and she lost herself in the man she adored.
