She pushes herself up slightly on one elbow, and the blanket slips down her shoulder. “Where have you been?”
I brush a strand of hair from her face. “I needed to clear my head.”
Confusion flickers across her features. “Okay.”
I sit up against the headboard and pull her into my arms. “Royce saw us together on Friday morning.”
Understanding hits her instantly, and her eyes widen. “Oh.”
I nod. “Yeah.”
For a moment, neither of us speaks. The sunrise filters through the curtains, bathing her skin in gold.
Finally, she asks quietly, “Is that why you left?”
I stare at the ceiling as I choose my words carefully.
“I needed space,” I admit. “Needed time to think about everything. Us. The future. Mine. Yours. To figure out if what we have is worth the risk.”
Her gaze searches mine. “The risk?”
I nod. “If what’s between us is real, we have to tell Cabe.”
The words feel heavy.
Her expression softens. “Axle—”
“No.” I shake my head. “Let me finish.”
She nods.
“When this started, I told myself we were just having fun. That it didn’t mean anything, so there was no harm. But I was lying to myself. The minute I kissed you, there was harm—to all of us. And there was no way we were all gonna come out of this situation unscathed. But instead of manning up, I ignored it and let you become complacent in it.”
“I’m a big girl, Axle.”
I cup her jaw. “I know, but this is on me.”
“You didn’t ask me to lie,” she says. “I could have been honest with Cabe.”
“I treated you like a secret. And that’s basically the same thing.”
Her bottom lip trembles, and her eyes well with unshed tears, confirming the truth.
“I’m gonna fix it,” I say as I rub a thumb over her lip. “And I’m gonna keep my ass in my own bed until I do because the next time I make love to you, it’s not gonna be a dirty little secret.”
She gasps. “You’d better be careful with your words, cowboy. You have to be in love to make love.”
I rest my forehead against hers. “I know.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I didn’t realize it could be this good. The sex is incredible. We fit together perfectly, like my body was made for you, for your pleasure. I’d had good sex before, but it was never enough to make me want to stay. I’m not just attracted to you, Doc. I really like you. I look forward to nights just so I can sit next to you on the floor, eating queso and watching questionable TV. I enjoy watching you work, making you laugh, making you blush. I want to be the man to build you that damn white picket fence someday.”
She presses her lips together to hold back a laugh.
“If that doesn’t say I love you, I don’t know what does.”
She crawls into my lap, straddling my hips, and brings her mouth to mine. “I love you too.” The words skate across my lips.
