Page 71 of One Chance

Tension eased when I looked into her sleepy blue eyes. I should have known one look from her would make everything feel less daunting. I trailed my fingertips up her bare spine, then wrapped my fingers around her hip bone and pulled her even closer.

“How are the ribs?”

I shifted my torso, testing out the screaming pang that accompanied every movement. “Sore.”

Concern flooded her eyes. “I’m sorry if we were too ... athletic.”

A laugh tumbled out of me, followed by a wince. “It was worth it, I promise. Come here.” I shifted my weight, rolling to ease the pressure on my side while holding Annie beneath me. I took her in. Warm and naked and looking up at me with trusting eyes.

Light marks decorated her pale skin as I looked over her neck, chest, and tits. Possessiveness washed over me, and a single thought came to mind.

Mine.

“You are so fucking beautiful, Annette.”

Blushing, Annie buried her face into my shoulder. I shrugged her off. “I’m serious. I’ve always thought so but never had the balls to tell you. You’re stunning.”

On a laugh, she squirmed beneath me. “Well, Lee Sullivan...” Her fingers dusted across my chest, down my back, and grabbed my ass. “You are hot as fuck.”

My cock thickened at her touch, her playfulness. “Annie Crane? Do you have a secret crush on me?”

Her giggle was effervescent. Warmth and love spread through me.

Her eyes widened with humor. “Big crush. Huge.”

I moved my hips against her, savoring how her legs opened for me and how my cock nestled between them. “Scandalous. What would the Bluebirds say? Everyone knows when it comes to women, I’m only good for one thing.”

Annie’s hand found the side of my face. Her eyes searched mine with a sudden seriousness. “Hey.” I looked at her, hoping my humor would hide my shame, but she managed to stare past my defenses. “I have never thought that and never will. I know you, Lee. I’m not heredespitewho you think you are ... I’m here with youbecauseof the man I know you are.”

If I wasn’t already so far gone for that woman, it would have been the exact moment I fell in love with her. Only with Annie, it was a lifetime of falling for her.

Annie had never disregarded me as a player, like everyone else had. Instead, she’d fought to look beyond my shields to seeme.

It was disorienting.

Overwhelming.

Intoxicating.

Everything I’d told myself was an impossibility was staring up at me like I’d hung the moon, and the only emotion I could muster was sheer panic.

I needed time. I needed to figure out how the hell I was going to show up and be the kind of man that Annie deserved, and I needed to do it before she figured out that she’d given herself to a man who had no fucking clue what he was doing.

“I’ll make it worth your while.” With a sly smile, I trailed a hand down her torso and between her legs.

On a soft moan, she arched into me, but shifted. “I have to go. I’m packing up today.”

My brows pinched forward. “Packing?”

Annie stretched and slid away before sitting at the edge of my bed. With her arms overhead, she reached toward the ceiling before dropping her hands and looking at me over her shoulder. “Time’s up on the apartment. I convinced JP King to give me more time on the storefront, but I can’t afford both the apartment and storefront since the rent increased.”

I shook my head.Fucking Kings.

“Oh, but don’t worry.” She looked over her shoulder with a sly smile. “I already texted him and let him know I’d be moving all my—and I quote—thongsthis week. I wanted to die of embarrassment.” A short burst of quiet laughter made her shoulders shake. “Freaking autocorrect.”

My palm moved across her back and over her curves. “He can think about your thongs all he wants. You’re mine.”

The subtle bite on her lower lip let me know my words landed exactly as I’d intended. Still, unease clung to my ribs. “Where are you going to go?”

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