Series: Willow Winters
Total pages in book: 17
Estimated words: 15525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
I can feel her smiling. "I could cut to the chase for you?"
Fuck, she's stunning. Confident and beautiful and everything I've ever wanted.
I let out a huff of a laugh and reply, "I'd appreciate that."
"Okay." Aubrey pulls the sheets up to her chest "I want a relationship that's easy. I have a very small checklist. No pressure, just commitment that you aren't..." She takes a deep breath and looks at the ceiling, swallows and then looks back to me.
I push myself up on one elbow, staring down at her so she knows I’m serious. "I want a relationship...relationship. I want to settle down, I mean."
She smiles shyly at me and whispers, "I want that, too."
"I want to take my girl out on the town and when people stare, I want to wrap my arm around her waist and kiss her neck." I demonstrate, wrapping my arm around her waist and kissing her neck. "Right here."
"That feels good," she whispers.
"I want to be with my girl every night I can. Not just a fling but something real." There's no way in hell I'm letting her walk out of here now. Not when my skin still tingles from how good it felt to fuck her. But it's more than that, too. Kissing her gets me just as high. It all feels perfect with Aubrey. "And wake up with her in the morning."
"Are you talking about moving in?" she jokes.
"Well, not just yet. We can take it slow." No part of me actually wants to take it slow, but I want to do right by her. That's what matters most. "As long as we get where we want to go and it's the same place. But really I was just asking if you want to stay the night tonight."
She smiles this shy smile, "That sounds like a plan and yeah I think I would." Aubrey tips her face up and kisses me, and this time, there's no rush. It's as deep and hot as it was when we first got here, but we can take our time. Kissing her feels like sparks in my chest, like the embers of a fire.
"I want to fall in love and not have my heart broken," Aubrey whispers against my lips.
God. I think I've always been in love with her. I'm already there.
"I wouldn't," I promise her, though I want to tell her that for me, it's already over. She's the one.
"One step at a time?" Aubrey questions.
"That's what I'm thinking. One step at a time." I kiss her again, slow, but this time I tease her a little bit, licking at her bottom lip and giving it a gentle bite.
"Maybe we could repeat some steps?" Aubrey's breathing heavier now. "Like...the last step was nice."
"Was it? We should do it again to make sure."
I pull her under the covers with me, and she lets out a squeal. Then we go back over every step we took, again and again, just to make sure it's perfect.
AUBREY
I wake up in the morning in a bed that's not mine.
The sun's pretty high in the sky, and it comes back to me in a blink--the reason I slept so late is that we stayed up so late last night.
Me and Bennet.
Together. Tangled in the sheets. Me all over him, him all over me. The memories zing through my body with a palpable energy. I can feel how he was last night, even if he's not touching me right now.
He's not touching me, but the bed is warm, and I can hear him breathing. I close my eyes and savor the heat of him on the mattress next to me. This is how I wished it could be when I woke up yesterday, and now it is.
I almost want to go back to sleep for a few minutes so I can wake up next to him all over again.
Almost.
I roll over and find Bennet watching me from his pillow, his hair sticking up in all directions. It's the most handsome bedhead I've ever seen. Men have it so damn easy. Just at the thought I wonder what my hair looks like and I do what I can to tame it but then I’m caught red handed.
“Morning,” Bennet smiles at me.
I smile back, not able to hide my blush and then snuggle back into the sheets.
"Now I guess when the town says we hooked up, they won't be lying." Bennet's voice is low and gravelly from sleep, and I like it a lot. He stretches out, yawning and manages to wrap an arm around me.
"What will you say when they do?"
The corner of his mouth turns up. "That I plan on hooking up with you again tonight, and if they have opinions on it, maybe they should tell someone who cares."
That makes me laugh although he’s quick to add, “or whatever you want me to tell them.”