I close my eyes again, feeling the weight of those words settling deep in my chest.
“I’m so in love with you too, sweetheart.”
Minutes pass, maybe more, as the steady hum of the road continues beneath us and the soft sound of her breathing slows evenly. She’s finally asleep.
I tip my head back against the wall and let out a deep breath.
I should be tired, too—exhausted, really.
Should crash out right here, but instead, I keep my eyes open, my hand running slowly up and down her spine underneath her shirt.
I just need to feel her, keep her close.
Protected.
Safe.
My mind keeps replaying her words:I’m so in love with you.
Even in her exhausted state, I can tell she’s hanging on to me for dear life, and God, I hope she knows she isn’t the only one who feels like this.
I hope she knows she isn’t the only one with something to lose.
If Byron Alexander thinks he can waltz back into her life like he belongs here, he has another thing coming.
Mia isn’t going to lose anything.
Not if I have anything to say about it.
The first thing I feel when I wake up is Mia, tangled up with me like she belongs here. Spoiler alert: she does.
We’d stayed on that tiny leather couch in the back lounge all night last night, away from the rest of the group. The second thing I notice is the way my hand rests comfortably underneath her shirt—which is actuallymyshirt—fingertips just underneath her breast, like even when unconscious, my body doesn’t know how to let her go.
Her skin is warm, soft, and the faintest shiver runs through her as I brush my thumb across her ribs. She makes this tiny, sleepy whimper that hits me like a freight train and tucks herself closer, her leg sliding between mine like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Jesus Christ.
If we didn’t have a show to play tonight, I would stay right here, making her feel good all damn day.
I press a kiss to her forehead and breathe her in. My whole world, right here in my arms, smelling like vanilla, honey, and a damn dream.
Mia stirs beneath me, blinking up at me with her sleepy, just-woke-up kind of beauty that always makes my heart trip over itself. She smiles like she has no idea how dangerous she looks right now.
“I could stay like this forever,” she purrs, her voice still covered with sleep, her hand already sneaking under the waistband of my boxers.
My girl isneedythis morning, and I’m all for it.
“Careful, sweetheart,” I murmur, nipping her ear lightly. “You’re not exactly known for being quiet.”
“What if I don’t want to be quiet?”
Fuck me.
The tension from last night is definitely gone, only to be replaced by something hotter and hungrier.
Before I can pull her on top of me and finish what she started, my phone buzzes obnoxiously on the small side table next to the couch. I groan into her shoulder and reach for it one-handed, still keeping the other possessively on her bare skin.
New Messages:Catastrophic Dumpster Fire(12)
