Page 96 of Wild Hearts

He stands up and pulls me to my feet. While he settles himself on my bed, I make my way into the bathroom, to wash my face and brush my teeth. As I finish, Brady steps into the small room, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. My breath catches as my eyes wash over his muscular chest, causing a pool of heat between my legs that makes me clench my thighs together. Even after all this time, and everything that has happened, my body still reacts to his.

Brady smirks. “You right there, perve?”

I blush, poking my tongue out at him. He steps forward, wrapping his arms low around my waist and pulling until our bodies are flush. My heart races as he ducks his head, capturing my mouth in a searing kiss that throws me completely off kilter.

“God, you drive me wild, Rookie,” he mumbles against my lips.

I pull away and my fingers down his abs, loving the way his body shivers under my touch. His eyes burn over me, causing me to flush and I give him another chaste kiss before turning and walking into my bedroom. I blow out a deep breath trying to regain my equilibrium.

The black t-shirt he was wearing is lying on top of my desk chair, and I pick it up, bring it to my nose and take in his smell of musk and ocean. Before I can think too much about it, I pull off my top, unclip my bra and slide his t-shirt over my head. I shimmy out of my jeans and drop my clothes in the hamper.

I switch on the bedside lamp and climb onto the bed, crossing my bare legs under my body as I wait for Brady.

His emerald eyes blaze as they wash of me wearing his clothes. He lets out a deep breath, closing the door and switching off the overhead lights. I bite my lip as he makes his way toward me, his nerves evident by the heaving of his chest.

The bed dips under his weight and he kneels in front of me, reaching out and cupping my cheek in his hand. His minty breath washes over me as he murmurs, “I still can’t believe you’re mine.” His eyes move south before coming back up to meet mine again, and he grins. “You look so fucking good in my clothes.”

Brady’s thumb rubs over my lip, parting my mouth with a sigh. My body is thrumming all over. My hands wrap around his neck, pulling him forward to meet me. I’m hungry, desperate for the taste of his lips. He licks the seam of my mouth and I open for him willingly, moaning softly as his tongue tangles with mine.

He groans, pulling back and resting his forehead on mine. “You’re killing me,” he whispers. “I don’t want to rush you, but when you make sounds like that, I want to rip that t-shirt right off you.”

I laugh at his candour, his words sending all my nerve endings into overdrive. I lick my swollen bottom lip and lean in to kiss him before wriggling myself under the blankets. He follows suit, lying on his back with one arm behind his head while the other reaches out for me.

I let him pull me flush against his side. I rest my head on his chest, peppering small kisses over his warm skin. He lets out a contented sigh, tilting my chin with his finger and pressing his lips to mine in a long, passionate kiss.

“You have no idea how grateful I am that you gave my sorry ass a second chance,” he says, resting his chin on top of my head. The arm that’s wrapped around me is tracing delicious patterns over my back, causing my skin to erupt in goosebumps.

“It’s not your fault,” I reply, closing my eyes and trying to block out the hurt. “I don’t know why I was scared of telling people about us. I think I was just worried that if they knew, it would somehow diminish what we had.”

“We were both pretty stupid to let our insecurities break us apart.” He sighs. “The main thing is we’re together now, right?”

I nod against his chest.

“Like I said, you’ve always been it for me, Rookie.” He reaches down and tickles me and I let out a surprised squeal trying to squirm away as he rolls over me, resting on his elbows to capture my lips. My body freezes and I try to push him off me, squeezing my eyes shut, my breathing becoming laboured.

Brady scrambles off, shuffling into a sitting position with concern flooding his eyes. “I’m so sorry,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

I feel a tear slip down my cheek as I force myself to breathe.In for four, hold for five, out for seven...A sob tears its way from my body and Brady pulls me into his arms as I bury my head in his chest.

“I–I’m s-sorry,” I manage to choke out.

“Shh,” he says, rubbing circles over my back. “You have nothing to be sorry about.I’msorry. I was just mucking around. I shouldn’t have–”

I try to shake my head. “I–no, it’s n-not you.”

Brady pulls away so he can look at me. He brushes the tears from my eyes then reaches down and laces our hands together. “Will you...” He takes a shaky breath. “Will you tell me what happened to you? Please. I want to know, so that I can help you through this. I love you, Wren. So much. I just... I need to know how I can help you.”

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