Page 61 of Catch
When I knew she was close, I slowed down, changing my pace. She punched my chest lightly in frustration, although for her it was probably at full force. But I captured her hand and held it tight, not letting her have the control she wanted.
“Please go harder, Miles. Please.”
I may have been annoyed with her, and spent the day angry, but I would never be able to resist her pleas. Punishing her wasn’t near as fun as letting her fly free. So I did as she asked, bottoming out inside of her and letting her fall over in bliss.
I came with her, always loving the way she felt as she climaxed. She was so damn perfect and every bit of tension between us unraveled as I claimed her right there in the kitchen, with dinner forgotten on the stove and only the sound of our ragged breaths filling the air.
Still inside of her, and with her hands wrapped in mine, I tugged her to look at me, wanting her to understand every word I was about to say.
“It was my job to catch you, Lox, but it’s my mission to keep you.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
LOXLEY
I’d spentthe whole damn day being mad at a man who’d done nothing but show me grace and kindness. But it’s easier, sometimes, to pretend this was all an illusion. To believe I’d just imagined the connection between us. That nothing real had happened.
Because if itwasreal, that made it dangerous.
My mama would probably scold me straight to hell if she knew what I’d been up to. Falling for a man I’d barely known, in a town no one could point to on a map? It was exactly what happened to her. She met a man. Fell in love. Got trapped in a small town. And he left her there, high and dry, to raise two kids alone.
Not that I was saying I was in love with Miles. I wasn’t that far gone. I was smart enough to know this was alltemporary. I was just...invested.
And God, wasn’t that worse in some ways? Because being invested meant I cared what he thought. It meant I noticed when he pulled away. It meant I was the one sitting there, still naked on the counter, wondering what the hell just happened.
He’d just... left. Not out of anger, exactly. It felt more likeshock. Like his own words had caught him off guard.
Or maybe he regretted them.
Either way, I felt safe again. Much better than I had been that morning when I finally turned on my phone and scrolled through the news, social media, any corner of the internet that might be buzzing about Loxley Adams.
Sam had been busy in my absence. He’d kept posting updates, but only on behalf, never letting Loxley post, but building up a slow-burning mystery that was just dramatic enough to keep people curious without tipping into full-blown panic. He was probably lying in wait, ready to post a dramatic tale of my disappearance if he couldn’t get me back on stage soon.
Honestly, Lifetime should hire him. He was amping up to spin this into a “Based on a True Story” TV event.
After a few minutes of sitting there in the dark, I grabbed my clothes off the kitchen floor, redressed, and went looking for Miles. I needed reassurance. Not just about us on a deeper level, but about the friendship we’d built.
The house was dim and quiet. The sun had set and the moon glowing into the big window in the living room was the only light I had to guide me.
Scanning around, I realized he wasn’t in there, so I padded down the hall and stopped outside the gym door.
I knocked, but it was just enough of a knock to warn him I was there and I turned the handle without waiting for permission.
Miles was sitting on a weight bench with a dumbbell in each hand, looking like a moody Greek god who’d just discovered stress-lifting. He glanced up at me in the mirror and gave a tiny nod, reassuring me it was okay to come in.
Settling behind him on the bench, I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek to the center of his back.He stilled, then quietly set the dumbbells down and grabbed my hands in his.
“One of us is always running,” I said softly, “but if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep that badge of honor for myself. I have a world record I’m aiming for.”
“I wasn’t running,” he murmured.
“Oh, no?” I huffed. “You left me alone in the kitchen with your cum dripping down my legs. If that wasn’t running, whatwasit?”
His shoulders shook from laughter and I felt the tension break just a little.Good. I needed that. I needed him to laugh.
“Do you realize,” he said, voice low, “you’re the first woman I’ve ever introduced to my grandparents?”
“Well,technically, your Grams and I go way back to our Piggly Wiggly days,” I teased. “So really, she and I introducedyoutous.” He laughed louder, and I squeezed him, holding onto the sound like a lifeline. “And I told you,” I added, kissing his back with a soft brush of my lips against his skin. “I’m not gonna go.”
