Cannon (Carolina Reapers 5)

Seeing that he was happily in puppy snooze town, I kicked off my shoes and headed to the living room where I knew I’d find Cannon. He didn’t hear my approach, totally consumed in the hardback he had cracked open before him, so I simply hovered in the entryway like a creeper. I trailed my eyes over the relaxed position—his long, strong legs stretched out before him, his head propped against the back of the plush couch. A simple white T-shirt covering his hard chest, the fabric thin enough to show the ink decorating his skin beneath.

With our puppy snoozing in the next room, a full and satisfying day’s work put in earlier, and coming home to him like this now? Happiness filled me so much I wasn’t sure how to contain it. Didn’t know if I was capable of containing it.

Didn’t know if I wanted to anymore.

“It’s considered stalking to silently stare at someone without making yourself known.” Cannon hadn’t even looked up from his book.

“How did you know I was here?”

Finally, he tore his gaze away from the pages to look over at me. “I can feel you.” He waggled his eyebrows, the look so playful it broke the last restraint I possessed.

Fueled by a rush of blissful adrenaline, I hurried over to the couch, gently removing his book from his hands. I marked it before setting it on the coffee table next to the couch and took the liberty to perch atop his lap.

His thumb grazed my lips, light dancing in his eyes. “What’s that grin for, huh?”

“You,” I answered honestly. The man was responsible for so much of my happiness these days. “Can I tell you something?” My breath caught in my lungs, a slight terror creeping up my spine. Was I about to ruin this for us?

“Anything,” he said, his brow furrowing. “You should know that by now.”

I nodded, sucking in a sharp breath. Nerves took over, causing a slight tremble to shudder my body.

“Princess,” he said, smoothing his hands over my ribs and settling on my hips. “You’re shaking.”

I huffed a laugh and brushed my long blonde hair out of my face. “That’s probably because I can’t hold this back anymore,” I said. “But I don’t want things between us to change.” I tightened my thighs on either side of his hips—hey, if he couldn’t move, he couldn’t run, right?

Cannon tilted his head.

Here goes.

“I’m in love with you, Cannon.” The words burst from my lips in one big rush, my body calming at their release.

I pressed my finger against his lips, urging him not to speak.

“I know that breaks another one of your rules. And I know that you can’t say it back. I fully understand that. You’re not there. You may never be there. And I get that. After everything that has happened in your past…it’s hard to love people. Especially when you don’t know how long they’ll be around.”

Cannon’s dark eyes widened, but he made no move to speak, so I dropped my finger.

“But you needed to know. You deserve to know.” I leaned down, brushing my lips over his, my entire body reacting to the small contact. “You deserve to know that you’re a man worthy of love. A man easy to love. And a man that I’m totally, helplessly in love with.”

He swallowed hard, and I saw that internal battle raging in his eyes. His need to parrot the words back to me because that would be the solution to cause me the least harm. But I shook my head. “Don’t say it back. Please. That’s not why I told you.” I smiled at him. “You’re an incredible man. You make me so happy. And I just wanted you to know. No expectations. Just truth. Okay?”

Cannon blinked, once, twice, and then nodded.

“Whew,” I said and blew out a breath. “Now that the easy part is out of the way,” I teased, and reached in my pocket for my cell phone. “I have a very serious question for you.”

Cannon visibly swallowed.

I pulled up the Cosmo web browser I had up from earlier and flipped the screen toward him. “Can you show me how this works?” I asked in my most innocent tone. My skin flushed as I watched his eyes flare as he took in the illustration on my phone.

The seriousness in his eyes shifted to wicked delight and challenge. “I’m not sure, Princess,” he said. “I’ve never done that before.”

A thrill shot through me. Another piece of him I’d hold all to myself and hoard like the treasure he was.

“Too challenging for you?” I teased.

He studied the illustration for a few more seconds before he plucked the phone from my hand and set it atop his book. “Never,” he growled as he nipped at my neck.

I wiggled above him, laughing from the tickle in his attack.