“You’re kind.”
“I don’t know about that,” he says, and I turn to face him, then straddle his lap, placing my hands against his chest.
“You’re one of the best men I know, Blake. You’re dependable, which is why your friends and family know they can count on you. You’re generous, smart . . . and funny at times.”
“Just at times?” he jokes, grabbing hold of my hips.
“I’m being serious right now,” I say firmly, and his expression softens. “Under all your sharp edges, you’re soft, a safe place to fall. A safe place for Sam, for your mom, your sister, your friends, your dad, and even Edmond and his grandma. The good thing about all your sharp edges is that when you let someone past them, they are safe, maybe safer than they were before.”
“Fuck, Everly,” he hisses like he’s in pain.
“You’ve become my safe place,” I tell him honestly, and I watch his jaw tighten. “The thing is, I would like to be that for you too.”
“I don’t want you to be my safe place.” The statement cuts through me, causing pain, and I try to move, but he holds me firmly in place. “Since meeting you, I’ve felt more alive than I have in years.” He moves his hands to my neck and slides them up to cup my face, his thumbs gliding over my cheeks. “I don’t know why I was working so hard at avoiding life, but the truth is, I was. Then you came along and showed me what I was missing.” I swallow hard as tears fill my eyes, then drop my forehead down to rest against his. “You and Sam have brought me back to life.”
“I think I’m going to cry.”
“Please don’t. I don’t think I can handle seeing you cry.”
“They would be happy tears,” I point out, and he digs his fingers into my scalp, then kisses me. This kiss starts like the others we’ve shared; then his teeth nip my bottom lip. I open on a gasp, then whimper when his tongue slides across mine.
Using his hand in my hair, he tips my head to the side and deepens the kiss. The space between my legs floods with heat, and my nipples pebble against the lace of my bra, making me more aware than I have ever been of just how sensitive they are. He hardens between my legs, and I moan into his mouth as he groans, grabbing my ass with one hand and using it to pull me more firmly against him.
“Oh, Blake,” I pant when his mouth leaves mine, and he kisses and nips my jaw, then down my neck. I hold on to him for dear life as his mouth comes into contact with the tops of my breasts, and I swear I might just come apart from the friction between us.
I thought I knew what it was like to be turned on. I thought I knew what lust felt like. But having this here and now, I realize I didn’t know anything.
“Fuck, I want to touch you.” His hot breath dances across my skin while his fingers dig into my ass. “I want to shove my hand down the front of your pants and see exactly how wet you are for me, what you taste like.” He licks the top of my breast. “What you look like.” He lifts his hips, and his length rubs across my clit, making me cry out.
“Blake, I need you.”
“I know.” He leans me forward and grabs the monitor off the table, then stands, keeping hold of me. I wrap my legs around his hips as he walks across the deck, then nip his neck when he slides the door to his room open. Like mine, there isn’t much in the room except a bed and a dresser.
He shuts the door and places me on my feet so he can walk around the bed and flip on the lamp. Soft light fills the room, and I lick my lips as nervousness fills my stomach. I don’t have a lot of time to overthink how shy I’m suddenly feeling, because he whips the long-sleeved thermal he’s wearing over his head and tosses it to the floor. I study his muscular torso, the tattoos on his arm and side of his chest and the deep V of his waist as he walks back toward me.
His hand reaches out to me, and I know he’s giving me a choice. I can take it, or I can walk away. My hand rises, and when his fingers lock around mine, he pulls me a step closer. “You okay?”
“Yes,” I breathe; then his mouth lands on mine and his hands rid me of my sweater before they move up my sides, taking my shirt up with them as they go. I lose him for a brief moment as he pulls my shirt off, then curl my hands around his waist as he unhooks my bra and slides it from my shoulders. I let it fall to the floor, then tip my head back as his lips and teeth work their way down my neck to my breast, and he moves me to the bed, easing me down onto the soft surface.