Page 16 of The Trust
I grab his face.
“Mac, there isn’t a single doubt in my mind. Not a single molecule of my being that isn’t madly in love with you. Constantlyfallingin love with you.”
His eyes go glassy.
“Then what is it, baby?”
“I …” My tongue sticks and I swallow. Hard. “I worry.”
His sight darts between mine. “About?”
“I-i-if I’m …good enough.”
The gasp that punches past Mac’s lips lands on mine and his eyes fill.
“Do you—” he swallows when his words are too thick and grabs my wrists, “—do you understand that I’ve waited my entire life for you?” My stomach twists up tight and my heart pounds. “That there is nogood enough?” My own eyes burn. “Whatever we mean, whatever we are, is enough for me. Andfuck, I didn’t mean to push you, baby.”
His grip is tight and warm, and I let it fill me.
“That’s not … I just want you to be safe. No matter where you are, Mac.”
There’s a flash of pink as his tongue sneaks out to swipe over his bottom lip and his sight dips. His lashes dampen.
“Jordan … I’m an openly gay man. A public figure. And I’m damn proud of what I’ve done, who I am.”
“Me, too, Vida. Me, too.”
“But there’s not a single day that goes by where I don’t see the hate in the world. Have its anger aimed at me for being different.”
I swallow, the muscles in my jaw jumping with its clench.
“Mac, we can adjust shit. Tell me who—”
His sight clashes with mine and I stop dead.
“You have tolive anyway.” A violent chill races down my spine. “I have to rise above the hate. Or else I’d suffocate in it.”
I nod though my chest swirls in a volatile concoction of love and rage. Pain, fear, and pride all at once.
“But that doesn’t have to be you.”
It’s like a shock that racks through my system and my jaw drops open.
“Mac,” I croak out and slant my forehead to his.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s okay with me.” He leans forward and presses his lips to mine. “As long as it’s you and me.”
Mac
The weight of theworld feels like it’s baring down on us when Jordan pulls me down to the mattress.
The barring suffocation encompasses us both as he settles between my legs.
His lips on mine are purposeful, his tongue etching all of his words into mine with each swipe.
And when he slips inside me, stretching me, filling me, it feels momentous.
Like it’s bigger than just him and I.
