AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Could you hold me, just until I go to sleep?” She finishes her sentence. I should say no. I should get out of this bed right the fuck now and get back on the damn floor.
But I don’t, instead, I take the hit of pain in my side that comes with lifting up my arm, and allow her to snuggle beneath it. I don’t know where to place my hand, so I rest it on the dip just above her ass and curse myself for instinctively using it to draw her in closer.
“Thanks.” Her head tilts up to look at me. Her tears are still there, but they’ve stopped spilling, for now. Seeing them glisten on her cheeks, it would be so easy to let my lips have their way. To kiss them away and tell her everything is gonna be okay. But the girl ain’t mine. She has a boyfriend; I’ve seen that fucker for myself. And as soon as whatever this is ends, it’s him she’ll be going back to.
“Go to sleep, Gracie,” I growl, still trying to refrain from kissing her.
“Okay, Brax.” Her head nods slightly, and she snuggles herself deeper into my chest. And when I feel her lips make a gentle dab against my skin. I do the only thing I can do.
I ignore it.
I’m wrapped up tight in Brax’s arms when I wake up, and can feel his chin resting on the top of my head. He’s still sleeping, I can tell by the deep, relaxed breaths that are raising my head with his chest. So, I allow my fingers to stretch out and slide over his skin. Brax is rough and rugged, everything that Julian isn’t. His solid pecs flex beneath my fingertips as I move across them, and his strong arm feels like it’s crushing where it curls around my body.
I woke up during the night when his hand slipped down and squeezed at one of my ass cheeks. It must have happened subconsciously, and maybe I should have woken him up to correct his mistake, but I didn’t. The way he did it felt possessive, just like the way he’s holding me now does. Something tells me that this man takes care of what belongs to him, and I let myself imagine how that might feel for a little while.
It’s so fucking wrong, but I think I actually like waking up like this.
Brax’s cock is still as solid as it was when he fell asleep. And feeling it press into my thigh, with him so close, causes a flutter deep inside my stomach. One that I don’t think could be relieved, not unless I felt him inside me.
Jesus Christ, Grace.
I shake that thought out of my mind. Brax may be my only option right now, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. I can’t want him like this now, or need him the way I did last night. It creates a complication that neither of us can deal with.
What I’m feeling right now is all just rash, impulse behavior. I’ve been through so much trauma lately. It’s no wonder I can’t think straight, and this ridiculous impulse is certainly one I won’t be acting on.
“Mornin’.” His voice is low and gravely, it travels right through my chest, all the way to my pussy, and I can’t help but look up at him.
I’m a disgrace.
“Morning.” I bounce up quickly, scurrying out of bed. “You were saying about making an early start,” I remind him with a friendly smile before I rush to the bathroom. Shutting the door behind me, I splash some cold water on my face. When I look at myself in the mirror my hair’s a mess, unruly curls sticking out in all directions, and my eyes are still red and blotchy from crying.
I splash more water at myself and do my best to tame my hair, then I use the toothbrush I took out of Brax’s bag last night to clean my teeth.
When I make my way back into the room, Brax is already up, wearing a clean pair of jeans, and is pulling a T-shirt on over his shoulders. His wound has been cleaned, but he still looks uncomfortable as he pulls the fabric down over his body. I smile at him awkwardly and make my way over to the nightstand, where the clothes that he seemed to have sprung out of thin air last night are folded. I’m about to take off the shirt I’m wearing, but quickly stop when I catch him looking out the corner of his eye.
I forget myself around him too easily.
“I’ll wait for you outside.” He clears his throat and slings his duffel bag over his shoulder. Then, signaling to the door with his head to Duke, the dog follows him out. Soon as the door closes, I quickly change and squeeze into the shoes, and then rush to follow him out.
Brax is waiting for me outside, a lit cigarette dangling from his lips and his ass resting against an old black Cadillac. I have no idea how he makes smoking look so hot, maybe it’s the way his eyes scrunch together so harshly, or how his thick lips open when they exhale.
Stop it, you have a fiancé. A perfect, kind, handsome fiancé who loves you.
He straightens up when he sees me, and although he’s wearing shades now, I know his eyes will be staring right at me from underneath them. Brax’s glare isn’t something you see, it’s something you feel.
Brax opens the back door and Duke jumps inside, then he shocks me when he chivalrously opens the passenger door up for me.
“What’s this?” I ask, moving closer and holding on to the door just below his hand as I bend to get inside. Now I’m craving those hands on me again and I have to make it stop, because when I want something… I’m used to getting it. And I can’t have Brax.
He remains silent as he closes the door behind me, and I watch how he moves as he rounds the hood and flicks his cigarette before getting into the driver’s seat.
“It’s a car, Gracie,” he states the obvious as he starts up the engine.
I don’t know when he decided he was gonna start calling me that. But I like it. It’s almost affectionate.
“I can see that. What happened to the truck?”
“The truck’s gone, we’ll make the rest of the journey in this,” he tells me, pulling out of the parking lot and getting back on the freeway. It doesn’t take me long to realize that we’re heading back in the direction we came from.
