Page 20 of Accidentally Forever
I cleaned up our mess in the kitchen and gave her a few moments to herself. It took everything within me not to go in there and help her. It wasn’t that Aria couldn’t do things on her own. It was that she had put so much into keeping Travis alive, that she had forgotten about herself. And she had punished herself for not being enough in Travis’s eyes.
I didn’t know if I was the punishment, and I didn’t care if I was. Because I loved her. And that wasn’t something I planned on saying aloud any time soon—if ever. Especially when I had no idea what the hell she was thinking. I might like to pretend, but she was still a mystery.
I finally made my way into my bedroom. She stood on her side of the bed, tugging at the bottom of my old T-shirt. She looked so damn sexy standing there in it that it was hard to breathe. I needed to know if she wore panties or if she was bare. When my cock pressed against my zipper at the thought, I willed myself to calm down. Tonight wasn’t about that. Tonight was just about sleep. To remind myself that she was okay. That Travis couldn’t touch her.
And that she could make her own decisions.
She looked up at me then with wide eyes. “I don’t know why I keep going along with whatever you say. It should worry me.”
In answer, I stripped my shirt up over my head. I watched as her gaze traveled over my body—the ink, the scars, the rigid planes that came from countless hours of working out. She knew some of the history behind those scars, but not all. Nobody did. Nobody needed to know.
Of course that just reminded me of the man who had screamed at me, and the woman who had done the same. But I wasn’t going to think about them in that moment. Instead, I shoved off my pants, keeping my boxer briefs on, before walking into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
I splashed water on my face, hoping it would cool me down. But as I looked down at my waist, my cock stood on end, tenting my boxers. We were both just going to have to deal. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen all of me anyway.
I made my way back out to the bedroom, where she had gotten into the bed but hadn’t lain down. Instead I watched as her nipples pebbled against the too thin T-shirt.
It was going to be a long night,but all I wanted to do was hold her and remind myself that she was okay. Except I saw the bruise on her cheek, the ridge of her lip slightly swollen—same as my knuckles. And that reminded me that we weren’t okay.
Without a word I turned off the light and got into bed beside her. It was still early, but I was just as exhausted as she looked. I hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since the night I had said it would be our last time. Since part of me had broken because I had known if we kept doing what we’d been doing to one another, we would shatter.
But everything had changed when I had seen Travis’s arm against her neck. And I refused to let her go. So she was going to have to figure out what she wanted, and I was going to have to find a way to make sure that was me.
“Lie down, Aria.”
“You’re really bossy tonight.”
“I’m always bossy. You like that about me.”
Underneath the slight glow from the moonlight glancing through the blinds, I saw her lips lift into a smile. But she did indeed lie down, but instead of turning away from me, she faced me.
When she let out a deep breath and slid her fingers beneath mine, I licked my lips. It was hard for me not to lean forward and take more, but it wasn’t the time.
“I’ve missed you.”
Those words were like a balm to my soul, and I squeezed her hand. “I’ve missed you too. Just sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.”
“I love the fact that I believe you.”
And with that, she closed her eyes, our hands twined together, and I listened to her breathing even out. And thankfully, as she continued to sleep, I fell right beside her. The tightness in me easing, my breaths coming slowly, I finally slept.
The next morningsunlight scattered through the blinds, waking me before the alarm I had forgotten to set. I cracked open one eye and realized that Aria was firmly against me, her backside pressing along my morning erection, and her hand gripped around my wrist. She lay pillowed on my arm, and my free hand was underneath her shirt. In my sleep I must’ve cupped her breast like a damn security blanket.
Aria Montgomery was just supposed to be my friend. Just like the rest of them. And though the others had joked that I wanted to be part of the family so damn much that I would marry in, none of them realized how close that taunt was to the truth.
I wasn’t meant to fall first, only I had without thinking.
While I knew that this probably wouldn’t lead to anything but heartache, considering where I came from, I wanted to be selfish enough to at least try it. I wanted to wake up like this every morning until we both realized we weren’t better apart.
I was a self-centered asshole, and I didn’t care in that moment when I had Aria’s tit in my hand and that sweet ass pressed against my dick. Aria moaned and arched into me.
I held back a groan, my fingers slowly moving against her breast, plucking at her nipple gently. When she rocked into me again, my dick sliding between her legs, I licked my lips at the heat pressing against me.
“I need you awake, baby. Tell me you want this.”
The little moan sliding through her lips nearly made me come. “Please. I always want you. Just make me feel good.”
I smiled at that and pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “I can do that.”
