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“Denying you is fucking hard,” I admitted. “But I also don’t want to leave you aching and unsatisfied. I still believe you need to feel safe, feel in control, need to heal, but…I don’t want to be someone who doesn’t give you what you need.”
“You’re…you’re too good to me.” Her hand splayed on my chest, lazily threatening to go lower. “Are you sure I can’t touch you now? I feel bad leaving you without.” She yawned after the question, and I laughed.
“Not tonight, angel,” I said. I laid my hand over hers, bringing it back to the center of my chest. “Sleep.”
She nodded against my chest, and after several quiet moments, her breathing evened out, her body growing a little heavier against mine.
I couldn’t stop the smile that spread over my lips.
Couldn’t stop the warm sensation growing beneath my skin.
I’d never felt this sort of happiness just holding a woman before…
And I wondered what the fuck I’d just gotten myself into.
CHAPTER 8
Serenity
“Iknow there's been a lot of talk about us not making it to the Super Bowl this year,” Gareth said, a raised glass of champagne in his hand as he stood next to our table in the restaurant, looking over the room filled with members from his Cougars team.
“But I’m proud of you all. You busted your asses all year, at each game, at each practice. And you’ve only gotten better and better. You played hard. You fought hard. To me, that’s a win. The difference between us and the Super Bowl was one game. I can't think of a single play that caused us to lose. I’m damn proud of the season we've had.”
Applause erupted in the restaurant Gareth rented out for the night. The Cougars had been incredibly close to making it into the Super Bowl, and I thought it was an uplifting speech he'd given, especially when I’d overheard several of the players blaming themselves.
Gareth nodded, sipping his champagne before reclaiming his seat to my left. Our table was surrounded by his closest friends, including Asher and Daisy, Weston and Brynn, as well as a new couple I’d just met, Hendricks and Savannah. It was wonderful to meet people outside of the poker game who were friends with Gareth—Hendrix being the Cougars star wide receiver, and his lovely counterpart, Savannah, who happened work for Ethan, had immediately acted as if we were the oldest of friends in the world. It was as jarring as it was thrilling, seeing as how this was my first public outing with Gareth that had nothing to do with shopping. Even more shocking was the ease in which Weston, Asher, and their wives had accepted the news about us. Gareth had talked to the guys shortly after new year’s eve, but seeing the support in person meant so much to me.
After dinner, which was absolutely delicious, Gareth, Asher, and Weston headed off to work the crowds, Gareth ensuring that he spoke to every player who was in attendance. He was quite marvelous to watch, looking like the human version of temptation itself, dressed in an all-black suit that only complemented his dark hair and pale green eyes.
We'd been in Charleston for a week, and I'd been sleeping in Gareth’s bed since the first night we arrived.
He hadn’t touched me since that first night, either. It’s not like I'd asked him to, though.
I wanted to, especially after what he’d done to me. He’d blown my mind in ways I didn't know were possible. And now that I’d gotten a taste, it was practically all I could think about. If this was the way things were in relationships, I don't know how any of these women got anything else done.
But I was tired of asking, tired of begging. There was only so much rejection I could take, even when I knew it had nothing to do with attraction or physical chemistry. We'd already proven we had truckloads of that.
Gareth’s refusal to take things further between us came down to some misplaced honor in protecting me, and quite honestly, I was just…so tired. I may crave him like I craved my next bite of mint chocolate chip ice cream, but there were only so many times I could be told no before I gave up.
“So, Serenity,” Savannah said, smiling at me mischievously. “Now that it's just us girls, do you mind if I ask you a blunt question?”
Brynn and Daisy giggled, but my eyes widened.
Was she going to ask why I married Gareth on such short notice?
Was she going to judge me about it?
“Sure, go ahead,” I finally said, resolving myself to fully dive into the new social freedoms I’d been afforded.
Her smile deepened. “How is it climbing that tree?” she asked, motioning across the room to where Gareth, Asher, and Weston spoke with some players. “Don't get me wrong, I love my tree.” She waved a hand to where Hendrix was waiting at the bar for more drinks. “But I'm just curious about your tree.”
The question had me laughing with relief. Was this how easy girl gossip could be?
I took a deep breath, sighing almost nostalgically as my mind cast back to our first night here. To the way Gareth had handled me, had extracted every exquisite ounce of pleasure from my body possible and yet somehow still hung on to his determination to not sleep with me.
“He's a fantastic tree,” I said, and our table erupted into a fit of giggles that were so infectious and freeing.
“I’m so happy that you two were able to stop dancing around each other,” Brynn said, and Daisy nodded her agreement. “We called it two years ago.”
