Page 131 of Burning For You

Ash dropped his arm around her shoulder. “Do you feel a little better?”

“I’m not sure it’s possible to feel better, but I don’t feel as bad.”

“That’s something then.”

33

BY HER SIDE

“Can you do something for me?” Skye asked two hours later.

It was close to seven and she was worn out mentally.

Her belly was full along with her mind. It was crowded, noisy, and refused to slow down.

She just needed to shut it all off.

She needed to live in the moment.

To put the arguments, the hard words, and the hurt feelings aching under her skin aside.

She needed the man in front of her who made her feel more alive than ever before.

“I can do anything you ask of me,” he said, dropping his overnight bag on the living room floor.

They’d stopped to get his uniform for work tomorrow. There was no telling him she wanted to be alone.

The truth was, she didn’t want to be. Not because she was scared. Not even because she didn’t want to worry anyone.

But because she needed him by her side.

“I want you to take me to bed. I want you to just pretend it’s only us. Only the two of us that exist.”

“That’s an easy ask,” he murmured.

He didn’t rush her. She knew he wouldn’t.

The thing about Ash. The guy had more patience than she thought was possible.

He slowly and confidently stepped closer, like he understood exactly how fragile the moment was. Exactly what she needed without the words leaving her mouth.

When his arms came around her, it wasn’t tight or possessive, it was just warm. Solid. A place to rest.

A place to let herself sink into him.

Her forehead pressed to his chest, her breath evening out as his hand slid up and down her back in an easy rhythm. The noise in her head dulled. The edges softened.

The light almost darkened around them, like black coming in from the edges and only framing them in the world.

“Just this,” she whispered against him. “Just us. No talking. No thinking.”

His chin dipped, resting against her hair. “Then that’s what tonight is,” he said quietly. “The world can wait.”

She tilted her head up, and he met her halfway, their mouths brushing in a kiss so gentle it felt like a promise instead of a question. Unhurried. Tender. Like neither of them needed more than the reassurance of being chosen in that moment.

Something she’d never felt. Not before Ash.

No one chose her. Only him. Again and again.