Page 57 of My Best Friend's Grump Brother

“I’m fine.” Why did my voice squeak like that? Get ahold of yourself woman. Stand strong, hold the line. “It’s all good.”

‘It’s all good’? I was terribly off my game this morning.

I heard his low, rumbled chuckle vibrate from his chest. His hand dove into the sheets, and he pulled me up in one swift motion and had me lying on top of his chest.

My body buzzed with excitement from feeling his skin against my naked chest again. Memories of the way our sweaty bodies had clashed in a wet and heated mess ran through my brain. Thrust for thrust. Kiss for kiss. I had felt him on every inch of my body. Electricity crackled to life between us.

I was ready for him, hungry for him all over again.

“We need to talk.” Those four words doused whatever fire had flickered within me.

Now why did he have to go and be a cock block? I wanted to live in this little bubble of delusion a little while longer. Besides, the sun hadn’t even come up yet.

Refusing to come to grips with the reality that awaited me, I pressed my lips to his, trying to seduce him. To prolong this dream world. For a moment, I thought it had worked, and he was responding to me. But then, like the man of sense, he was, he pulled away. When I attempted to kiss him again, he flipped us over and had me pinned down on the mattress.

“Did you really think seducing me into silence would work?”

“I was hoping so,” I quipped, “why must we talk about the outside world? You said only you and me in here. There are no responsibilities, family, or dramas that follow us here. Why can’t we have that for a few more hours.”

“Because I want it more than just last night.” His confession caught me off guard.

“What did you say?”

“I want this, Selena. I want more than just last night.” His eyes bored into mine with so much sincerity they seared the top layer of my ice-cold heart. “I know I have treated you like shit lately. And quite frankly, you have no reason to give me a chance. And if I'm completely honest, I suck at relationships and opening up to people. That’s how I’ve always been since I was a kid. I was raised to be cold, unyielding, and cutthroat. In my line of work, there is no room for niceties. You either kill or be killed. That is the name of the game.”

“Not really selling yourself here, chief.” I tried to lighten the heaviness of the conversation, but my heart still thundered in my chest.

The sides of his lips tilted up the slightest bit. “I’m getting there, woman.”

His large hand came to cup the side of my face, and he rolled onto his side, still looking at me. I leaned into his touch instinctively.

“I shouldn’t have you. I need to do the selfless thing and let it all end here. But I’m a selfish bastard who is hooked on you, Selena. I’m all in for you, and I really want to give this thing a go. I spent nearly three years denying myself of you. I ran at every chance that was made available to me. But here I am, standing firm and looking you dead in the eye and asking you to trust me with your heart. Trust that I will treat you the way in which you deserve and make up for every single time I was a stupid asshole who couldn’t see what was right in front of him. All I need for you is to trust me, and I will prove myself to you. Can you do that? Do you trust me, Selena?”

That was a weighted question. I shouldn’t. I had every reason not to trust him. But my heart could not bring itself to lean onto the side of logic. I had never been one to push toward logic. I always moved with feeling. It was the reckless way to live, but it was what had kept me alive all these years.

“I do,” I whispered, staring into his forest. “I trust you.”

His lips split into a megawatt smile that took over his entire face. He pressed his lips onto mine and pulled me in closer, plunging us right back to last night from the exact place we had left off.

When I finally tore myself from his bed, I made my way to my room to do my walk of shame. The lake house was still silent, with everyone in their respective beds. I had almost made it all the way to my room when I turned the corner and bumped into Amelia.

Her eyes went wide, her gaze taking me in. I saw the immediate shift in her eyes as she slowly started to put the pieces together in her head. Her eyes were glued to the hoodie that I had stolen from Daniel’s suitcase.

“Sex hair, a man’s hoodie and that, I-just-got-fucked-face.” She smiled with a gleam in her eyes, “FI-NA-LLY. The rest of us were joking about your sexual tension. It was really making the babies tense.”

Mortified did not even begin to describe how I felt so much for keeping it to ourselves.

“Listen, it’s not what you think. We were just—…”

“What are you two doing up—oh my God.” Claire came from behind me with a mug in her hands.

“Are you doing a walk of shame? You slut! How exciting!”

The excitement in her face only added to the mortification.

“Oh my God! Do you two not sleep?” I asked.

“Babies decide when I’m up nowadays,” Amelia pointed at her very swollen belly.

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