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“Yes.”
His chest shuddered with his next inhale.“Okay.”
I left him standing there, calling a soft goodnight before disappearing down the hallway.
What I told him about easily crashing in the mountain air?Bullshit.I stared in the dark for hours, straining to listen as he washed up in the bathroom then settled on the queen-sized bed a floor below me.
Obviously, JJ had good intentions if he’d traveled three-plus hours in dark in order to talk to me.
How had he found me?
The sudden question made my mind race even more, but because I’d been anxious to escape his addictive presence while half-dressed and standing beside a goddamned bed, I would have to wait until morning for answers.
Sleep was long in coming.
Chapter26
JJ
The scent of frying bacon and coffee made me crack my eyelids open.
Kellen hadn’t been lying.I’d slept like the dead, but like a moron, I’d closed the bedroom door, which had kept the fireplace’s heat out.There were vents in the hardwood floors, I’d noticed the night before.I was sure the cabin had a heating system, but it seemed Kellen enjoyed using wood to take the chill off rather than the press of a button.
I scurried to throw my clothes on, shivering yet oddly invigorated by the cold air on my skin.I found Kellen in the kitchen dressed the same as me—sweats, a hoodie, and socks.
While I would have preferred to press up against his back where he stood in front of the stove and bury my face in his neck, I decided on getting myself a cup of coffee from the pot across the kitchen from him.
“Good morning,” I offered, not wishing to startle him.
“Morning,” he muttered without turning.
Talk about stifling discomfort.I fucking hated it.He’d allowed me to have my say the night before, but I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up that he’d fall right into my arms and kiss me senseless then invite me into his bed to make up for lost time.With what he’d asked about my speaking with Alex, I expected he would hold me at arm’s length until I proved myself in his eyes.
“When do you have to head south?”he asked.
“Tomorrow afternoon.”I poured hot joe into the mug Kellen had left beside the pot for me.“I’m only allowed two days because of court.”
I sipped my coffee as he nodded—still not looking at me.
“Do you want me to leave sooner?”I outright asked, needing to get the show on the road, even though the thought of heading south again without settling things between us didn’t sit right in my gut.
Kellen hesitated long enough my stomach twisted even tighter.“No,” he finally murmured.Setting aside the tongs he had in hand, he turned and leaned against the counter beside the stove.He watched me warily, same as he’d done the night before, his eyes more green than brown in the morning sunlight coming through the window behind me.
There was no question I made him uncomfortable but not fully in a bad way.He looked good in his black sweats, and he sported a semi he couldn’t blame on morning wood, considering breakfast was half made and the bacon was almost done frying in the pan atop the stove.
“What’s it going to take for me to set things right between us, Kell?”I asked, placing my coffee aside and slowly moving in to lessen the distance separating us.
He stiffened, so I paused just beyond his reach.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, my voice low.“I wish I could make you believe me when I say that I want to explore this connection with you.What we have isn’t something I’ve ever felt before.Even with Alex.”
Kellen blinked and swallowed hard.
“I hurt you—I totally get it.Abandoned is probably the word you’ve got in your mind.Set you aside for another man, even like your ex did.Ihatethat I caused you to feel that way.It wasn’t my intent.There’s no excuse for my poor behavior, but those boys of his…I’m caught up in empathy, considering the dad I never had, and my own desires get put on the back burner.Please believe me, Kell.”
His gaze flitted from one of my eyes to the other and back again, and I kept still.Open.Hoping he could read the truth on my face.
“I want to try,” he finally stated quietly, his shoulders slumping.“But it’s going to take a lot for me to trust again, JJ.I—I’ve been hurt.”
