Beautifully Hurt (Beautifully Broken)

Quinn nods, focusing all her attention on me.

“Remember when we danced to that song you chose on the jukebox?”

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t want to let go of you.”

Her eyes lower for a second before they meet mine again. “I chose that song for you. It said everything I didn’t have the courage to say.”

Setting the plate down on the coffee table, I take my phone out and sync it to the TV. Going to Spotify, I ask Quinn, “What’s the name of the song?”

“Feels like home by Edwina Hayes.”

Finding it, I stand up and hold my hand out to Quinn, asking, “Will you dance with me?”

She sets her plate down and takes hold of my hand. Pulling Quinn into my arms, I listen to the words she wanted to tell me as we slowly begin to sway.

I move my hand to her face, and placing a finger beneath her chin, I nudge her to look at me. Our eyes meet, and I brush my fingers along her jaw.

Somewhere during the song, we stop moving. I lift both my hands, and framing Quinn’s face, I take in her beautiful features.

Her lips part, and I can feel the nervousness coming off her in waves, but she doesn’t break eye contact.

“I’m falling in love with you,” I admit.

Chapter 8

QUINN

Hearing those words from Eli, my heart explodes like fireworks, making every color around me a million times brighter.

He stares deep into my eyes while my heart pounds a mile a minute in my chest.

Then slowly, he starts to lower his head, making my heart leap to my throat. I swear it stops beating. I stop breathing. Everything stills as the anticipation builds until it’s unbearable, making my body start to tremble.

The longest seconds stretch between us, and the moment feels so incredibly perfect, I could cry.

Eli’s mouth brushes against mine, and the emotions soaring through me are so overwhelming they have me gasping. Eli pauses, his breath mingling with mine.

It feels as if he’s giving me a second to catch up to what’s happening so I won’t miss a thing.

With my heart melting into a puddle, I take a deep breath, and then Eli kisses me like I’ve never been kissed before.

My hands slip down to his sides, and I grip the fabric of his shirt tightly, needing something to hold onto when his tongue brushes over my lips.

There’s a weird mixture of nerves and anticipation, whirling up a storm in my chest as I part my lips. The instant his tongue pushes into my mouth, my abdomen squeezes so intensely, it rocks me on my feet.

Eli wraps one of his arms around my shoulders, pulling me tightly against him while his other hand remains on my cheek.

It feels as if he’s tasting me, his lips kneading mine, his tongue exploring mine.

It takes a moment for me to return to earth, and just as I manage to return the kiss, Eli lets out a deep groan, and then I have to hold on for dear life.

His fingers move into my hair as his teeth tug at my bottom lip, sending streaks of lightning through my body. The way his mouth takes mine numbs my knees and makes my stomach flutter like a hummingbird’s wings.

I’m so caught up in Eli, the world could end, and I wouldn’t notice. It’s more perfect than I’ve fantasized.

The music keeps playing, one song blending into the next, while I suck in breaths filled with Eli’s scent.

At some point, life returns to my hands, and I manage to let go of his t-shirt, moving them up along his back. My palms tingle from how good he feels.

By the time Eli ends the kiss, I’m breathless and weak. He only lifts his head an inch, and with my eyes still closed, I can feel him watching me.

“Gonna open your eyes?” he murmurs.

“In a second,” I whisper.

“Now, baby,” he orders, making my lashes flutter open. I’m slammed with the stunning blue of his irises, and then a hot as hell smile curves his lips. “That’s what I wanted to see. Never hide your desire from me.”

Feeling more vulnerable than I’ve ever felt, I stare at Eli with my heart on my sleeve. The affection I see on his face gives me the courage to say, “Thank you for making my dreams come true.”

“Far from done, baby,” he grins, making my heart melt all over again. He pulls me into a tight hug and presses a kiss to the side of my neck, and then he just holds me.

I get to relive our first kiss while resting my cheek against his chest, listing to his heart beating as fast as mine.

And it’s only then I realize Eli’s actually falling in love with me.

This is happening between us.

This is real.

Eli’s my boyfriend.

Intense emotions crash over me, and I wrap my arms tighter around him, pressing my face into the fabric of his shirt.