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Did it make him uncomfortable?
“I couldn’t let any other man touch you, and that’s the goddamn truth. Turns out I’m a selfish bastard. But I wanted your experience to be—”
“It was,” I’m quick to say, interrupting him. And there’s an understanding that passes between us. “I’m glad I lost it to you, Dawson. I’m honestly so glad I met you. Thank you. You’ve given me a beautiful gift.”
His thumb rolls over my cheek. “Likewise. Even when you give me hell.”
A chuckle rises from my throat as I wipe away my tears, and I feel the tension leave his body and leave the room.
“I’ve never told anyone that,” he admits. And my heart fills with warmth, sadness, and the want and need to protect a teenage Dawson. “Did you know Dawson isn’t even my birth name?”
I prop my head on my hand and look at him. “Really?”
He shakes his head. “Another reason to hate my mother. A lot of days doing drugs, and she gave me a god-awful name because she couldn’t think straight when I was born.”
He says it with a hint of laughter, and I can’t help but play into it.
“Now I’m curious.”
“You’re always curious, Honey.” He laughs as he turns my back to him and scoops me into a hug from behind. I rest my head on his arm, stroking his other hand that hangs over my waist.
“What’s your birth name?”
“If you tell anyone, I might have to kill you.”
I laugh. “Please. You like my pasta too much.”
He laughs and then sighs, defeated. “Bear.”
I bite my lip and grimace. He’s right. That is a shitty name.
“Your silencesays it all, Honey.”
I laugh. “Well, I guess you are like a rugged bear now.”
“Shut up.” He chuckles as he squeezes me from behind.
I nestle into him, my mind reeling with everything he’s just told me. All the mystery and the masks. I realize now they have been Dawson’s way of survival. He’s never really had a home except for the one he built for himself.
“Thank you for telling me your story.”
Silence.
Dawson rummages around the bed and then throws a blanket over the both of us. He kisses my cheek. “Goodnight, Honey.”
CHAPTER 46
Dawson
Her hair is fanned across my bed as she sleeps, a light snore passing through her lips. I let her sleep after we showered and played again.
Why didn’t I think to bring her here before now?
That would be because no one comes to my place. More precisely, no one is ever invited.
Honey says something in her sleep, and I pull her closer to me. She’s still naked. Neither of us bothered to put on any clothes after what we did all night.
What’s the point? I can’t keep my hands off her.
