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Someone, I beg you, please save me.
Stepping back into him, I rest my hands over his. Lightly stroke the soft skin of his hands. Weave our fingers together. Inch impossibly closer and close my eyes. The heat of his beer-tainted breath coats my lips and sends a delicious shiver down my spine.
Braydon makes me feel more than anyone. Though he shouldn’t be, Braydon has always been more than sex. All it took was one night and a piece of him permanently etched itself in my bones.
Unfortunately, this is all we will ever be—two people with a connection that lead separate lives.
“We both lose, Care Bear.”
He jerks back. “Care Bear?”
“Soft, cuddly, comforting.” I shrug.
He leans forward and presses his forehead to mine. “I’ll be your Care Bear, firecracker.” Then his lips drop to mine in a chaste kiss.
I unthread our fingers. Fist his shirt with one hand and cup his cheek with the other. Stroke the rough stubble along his jaw. Stare at his lips just a breath from mine, the bottom fuller than the top. Tightness builds in my chest the longer we stay like this. My heart beating a painful rhythm beneath my rib cage.
This shouldn’t happen. This can’t happen. Nothing will come of it. Nothing but hurt.
Going against every logical cell in my body, I drop my lips back to his. Kiss him as if we aren’t standing in the middle of a public venue. As if hundreds of onlookers won’t see us. As if Braydon is mine. Only mine.
My hand on his cheek falls away. Both my hands fisting the cotton of his shirt as his hands go to my hips. Fingertips bruise as he hauls me closer and deepens the kiss. His tongue strokes my tongue, a feral growl vibrating his chest.
He scoots to the edge of the stool. Slides a hand up my spine and grips the back of my neck. Drops the other hand to my tailbone and forces me forward. The thick bulge behind his zipper presses against my lower belly. Begs for attention, for release.
Lust heats my blood as bravery steps into the light. Fingers loosen from his shirt and drift down his abdomen. I flatten my palm as I reach the waistband of his jeans. Curl my fingers as my palm settles over his erection. Add pressure as I squeeze and rub the length of him through the denim.
He gasps and breaks the kiss but doesn’t back away. “Firecracker…” His nickname for me is breathy and feral on his tongue. “Fuck,” he groans out.
“Come home with me, Care Bear.” I lean in, kissing his lips once, twice. Stroke him through his jeans. “One last time.”
His fingers at the back of my neck drift into my hair and curl. Pin me in place. Send a shiver down my spine and heat my skin.
Lips ghosting mine, he answers, “Yes.” He presses his lips to mine and doesn’t move for a beat. “One last time.”
CHAPTER17
BRAYDON
From the foot of the bed, I stare down at her.
On her belly, dark sheet bunched at her waist, the creamy skin of her back bare. Blonde strands strewn across the pillow. Eyes closed and lips slightly parted. Profile facing the now vacant side of the bed. Fingers fisting the edge of the empty pillow.
I don’t want to leave. Don’t want to go back to my empty room and pack my bags. Don’t want to drive home to my empty apartment and live with nothing but memories of something I can never have.
But this is how it has to be. How it will always be.
I may not have been completely sober when I came home with her, but I will remember everything. Even her rejection. Less than an hour has passed, but the gut-wrenching moment plays on repeat.
“Use my number after I leave.” I tuck hair behind her ear. Brush my knuckles over her cheek. “Stay in touch.”
Uncertainty taints her cobalt blues as they hold my ambers. She swallows. “Not sure that’s a good idea.”
Fire licks my veins, but not from desire.
An idiot, I am not. This—us—would never be anything more than casual. The woman from the small town. The guy from the city. Two polar opposite people living in two dissimilar worlds.
But is it such a horrible thing to keep in contact? To be friends? Alessandra seems to think so.
