Every Night (Brush of Love 1)

“I worried you would be upset with me. It’s why I hid it from you. I’m sorry,” I said.

“Out of all the things I’m concerned about getting angry over, you’re nowhere on that list,” he said. “If it was supposed to be a surprise, of course you would hide it.”

“What do you get angry over?” I asked.

“It’s been years since I’ve been truly angry, but it’s mostly to do with my brother like you said. My anger. My sadness. It all ties back into him and how my parents process his death. I’ve tried throwing myself into work. I’ve tried cathartic releases of my emotions. But the pain ...”

“Doesn’t go away?” I asked.

“Maybe you do understand a bit. I’m sorry, for whatever brought on that knowledge.”

If he only knew he was apologizing for the same circumstance.

“You help. A lot,” I said.

“I was just about to say the same thing,” he said, snickering. “My relationship with you is about the only thing that helps me to forget for any length of time.”

“I’m glad I can provide some sort of solace,” I said.

“And I’m glad I can give the same in return.”

I felt him twirl the seat until I was facing him. I craned my neck back to find his gaze, and I caught a glimpse of something brewing behind his eyes. A smirk donned his face just before his finger hooked underneath my chin, and I saw his face slowly dip down to mine. All the noise of the construction had faded away over the course of our conversation, and as his lips descended onto mine, I could feel that slow-growing burn in my pelvis.

But there was something else. Something that clenched my chest tight. A feeling that robbed me of the very breath I was taking as our lips moved in tandem with one another’s. I felt my heart speed up as my hands began to tremble. I felt my toes tingle as my knees grew weak. Suddenly, I felt as if I was both sinking and flying. Soaring through the air and falling to the floor of the ocean. Tears crested my eyes as they fluttered open, and I could see my emotions echoed in Bryan’s beautiful eyes.

“I love you, Hailey,” he said.

I couldn’t think. I couldn’t think, and I couldn’t breathe. Everything in my body screamed at me to say it back. My heart leaped into my throat, and my fingertips caught on fire. I ran my hands up his chest, fisting his shirt as I pulled his body closer to mine. My head fell into the dip of his strong chest as his long arms wrapped around me, pulling me close to him as his body stepped in between my parted knees.

I was about to cross into territory I knew I’d never return from.

But he was worth it.

He was worth every glorious moment I could spend with him before it all came crashing down.

“I love you, too, Bryan,” I said breathlessly.

The words hit me like a ton of bricks. His hand slowly caressed my hair, pulling it from its bun before his fingers started running through it. The little white lie that started when he first knocked on the door of this rickety shack had grown into something that threatened to destroy us both, and I had no idea how to stop it. I had no idea how to stop fueling it. I was clinging desperately to him as the rift beneath our feet grew to epic proportions, threatening to swallow us both whole as it called out to me.

Liar.

Coward.

Accomplice.

I loved this man with every fiber of my being and with every atom that vibrated to bring my body to life. His arms pulled me close, and I could feel his heartbeat underneath my cheek. I ran my hands underneath his shirt, feeling the sweat from his body as it dampened my fingertips. I traced every single ripple of his abs, feeling him sigh with relief as my skin grazed against his. The flush that slowly crept over my body drifted up my neck, as he began to massage me.

His touch electrified me unlike any man I’d ever allowed this close to me.

“Wait here for a moment,” he said.

He kissed the top of my head and pulled himself from my body. I reached out to him, trying to find his comfort again as he slipped out of the room. I closed my eyes and trembled, trying to hold back the tears of sorrow as I allowed the love I had for this man to saturate every inch of my body.

How in the world did things careen so out of control?

How in the world had they fallen so far off course?

I heard him come back into the room, and I opened my eyes. The gallery was completely silent, and the lights were off, and I watched as he locked the door behind him. I furrowed my brow, confused as to what he was doing, and he turned toward me with a grin on his face while his eyes danced around my body.