Until Cobi (Until Him 3)

“I know, but swear to Christ when I saw you and the bruises around your neck I knew if I didn’t focus on taking care of you, I’d put my hands on him and end his life.”

“I’m glad you didn’t do that,” I whisper.

“I wouldn’t regret it if I did, Hadley.” He focuses his eyes on mine, and his jaw clenches before he starts to speak again. “That’s the kind of guy you are falling in love with, the kind of guy who wouldn’t care about his future if something happened to you. Are you okay with that?”

“I would be really mad at you if you ever did something so stupid because you’d be taken from me, but you don’t scare me, Cobi Mayson. I like that you’re protective of the people you care about, even those that you don’t know. I like the way you make me feel safe when I’m with you and taken care of even when we aren’t together.” I pull in a breath after I finish, then wonder if he’s actually trying to warn me off and do it gently. If he’s trying to find a way to get me to be the one to end things so he doesn’t have to.

“Hadley…”

Normally I would never have the courage to ask, but with my heart on the line I don’t even hesitate. “Are you trying to scare me off so I’ll walk away from you?”

“What?” His head jerks back and he frowns. “How does that question even make sense after what I just said to you?”

“I don’t know.” I toss my hands out. “You’re being intense and scary. I just don’t know if you’re doing it to scare me off or to warn me of what the future might look like if we keep going forward.”

“I’m letting you know the kind of man I am, Hadley,” he says with a frustrated grunt.

“Okay then, I get it. You’re overprotective and possibly crazy. Can we be done talking about this now? I’m kind of hungry. I also think I heard you talking to Brie and Kenyon. If they’re here then they’re probably worried and I need to make sure they know I’m okay.”

“Seriously?” he asks in disbelief.

“What? Did you want to tell me more about what a caveman you are?” I deepen my voice. “Me go look for food, you stay here and sweep cave, pop out babies and cook.”

“What the fuck have I gotten myself into with you?” he asks, tipping his head back toward the ceiling.

I grin, then lose hold on my smile and rest my hands against him. “I’m good, you’re good, and I’m not sure I could stop falling in love with you if I tried. I’m over my freak-out for now, though I do reserve the right to have another. But right now I’m okay. Okay?”

“Yeah, baby.” He brushes his mouth over mine and leans back smiling.

“Though I think you might be the crazy one between us, just so you know.” He might be right thinking about all the emotions I’ve gone through the last few hours I feel like I might be crazy.

“It’s a possibility,” I agree while he pulls me from the counter. “You might want to run for the hills while you still have the chance.”

“I like crazy.” He pulls me against his chest and wraps his arms around me, keeping his head dipped toward mine. “A lot.” His mouth touches mine in a soft sweet kiss.

I open my eyes when he pulls his mouth away and ask, “Who’s here?”

“My parents, Brie, and her man.” He takes my hand to lead me from the bathroom then stops before opening the door to the bedroom and looks down at me. “My family all wanted to come but mom told them to give you a couple days. They’re worried about you.” I melt against him. “You have a lot of people who care about you, baby.” He wraps his hand around the side of my neck and smooths his thumb along my jaw.

“Because of you.”

“No, because of you. Because of the person you are.”

“Don’t make me cry again. I think I’ve reached my quota for the day,” I tell him, not really joking.

“I don’t want you to cry. I just want you to know that you’re worth worrying about, worth caring about. That you deserve to have good people in your life because you’re a good person.”

“I’m starting to believe that,” I say quietly, and I am. I don’t know if it’s talking with my doctor, or what Brie has been telling me forever, or if it’s Cobi beating down my defenses, but I’m starting to believe that I’m someone worth knowing. Someone worthy of a guy like him. A good man who sees something in me I don’t always see in myself.