Consolation Prize (Forbidden Men 9)

His lips quirked into a smile. “Monday then.”

“Monday,” I repeated with a little dread and a little excitement. I wasn’t completely on board with the idea of continuing something with him—I mean, where would it lead? Where could it lead?—but ooh, my body sure wanted more. And he’d been right; arguing with him really did make my blood rush with enthusiasm. “Until then.” I yawned as I added, “So…I’m done with you for today.”

There. I’d beat him to the awkward good-bye.

But he arched an eyebrow. “Done with me?” he sniffed. “But earlier you mentioned something about back rubs afterward, so...” He rolled around, exposing his spine to me. “I’m ready for mine now.”

I barked out an incredulous laugh. “As if. Get your pasty pale ass off my bed.” I planted my feet against his warm, taut buttocks and shoved him forward. “I said I was done with you.”

He cursed as he scrambled to catch his footing, but couldn’t in time, and fell off the mattress, crashing to the floor on his hands and knees.

“What the hell?” he cried, popping to his feet so he could gape down at me.

The big grin I’d been giving him wavered and my pulse thundered through my neck. I’d just been teasing, but I knew I’d gone over the line as outrage washed across his face. For a split second, fear raced through me. I realized I wasn’t entirely sure how he’d react to this. Shaun probably would’ve given me a fat lip if I’d ever treated him that way.

But all Colton did was lift an eyebrow and say, “Pasty? Pasty? Oh, baby doll…” He shook his head as he removed his condom and tossed it in the trash. Then he smiled menacingly as he climbed slowly back onto the bed. “Just for that, I’m going to make you cuddle.”

“Cuddle?” My eyes bulged as he crawled closer.

For some reason, cuddling struck more fear inside me than getting slapped or punched. I knew exactly how to respond to those—kick his ass out of my apartment. But with cuddling, I was lost.

I edged away from him, shaking my head, only to yelp out a surprised scream when he snaked out a hand and caught hold of my leg, stilling me.

“Yes, cuddle,” he said. “I like to cuddle.”

My muscles clenched and limbs went tense as he climbed up right into my personal space and wrapped himself around me like a second skin.

“I…I’m not big on cuddling,” I finally admitted, my body board-stiff against him.

“Really?” He sounded surprised by that. “Well, don’t worry, by the time I’m through with you, you’ll love it. Here, maybe you should, yeah, just relax your muscles a little, and breathing is also good. Breathe.” His palm splayed warm and flat against my abdomen, and I purposely inhaled, then a few seconds later, I exhaled.

“Good,” he murmured. “Now roll facing away from me.”

After encouraging me onto my side, he curled up behind me, spooning, his knees fitting up into the backs of mine and his lap holding my bottom snuggly as his chest pressed to my spine. Then his arm looped around and banded me to him at the middle.

“There.” He exhaled and relaxed behind me.

I practiced a few more deep breaths before I realized I was relaxing too, and it felt nice, like two puzzle pieces interlocking. Which only made me more uneasy. Getting this close to Colton when sex wasn’t involved seemed scary.

“Your heart’s racing,” he whispered into my ear, his breath stirring my hair and making me shiver while my nipples hardened.

“But I’m relaxed,” I whispered back. “Isn’t that a start?”

“You’re right. It is. You’re doing great.” His hand squeezed encouragingly around my hip. “Want to know a secret?”

When I hummed out my assent, letting him know I did, he said, “I really like your dream catchers.” His fingers drifted over my tattoo with the softest caress. “When I was little, I had someone try to help me get over my nightmares too. But she didn’t give me a dream catcher.”

I sighed, content, as one of his fingers traced the feather that came around my ribcage toward my front. “What’d she give you?”

He chuckled softly. “A rabbit’s foot and a little bottle of breath spray.”

My eyebrows perked. “The rabbit’s foot and breath spray you have on your keychain?” The very pair he’d held in his sleep all night on my couch?

“Yeah. Those.” His fingers paused at the very tip of my feather before moving on toward the underside of my breasts.

Closing my eyes as he circled my chest with a lazy, swooping fingertip, I said, “I understand the rabbit’s foot, to give you luck, but...breath spray?”

He chuckled again, a little more ruefully this time. “She called it monster repellent, and said if I ever got scared, I could spray it on the monster to scare it away.”