Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
“I just need to rest a minute.” She lies back and closes her eyes.
I stare at her in disbelief, and then close my eyes when she starts to snore softly. “Christ.” I run my fingers through my hair. Figuring there is nothing left to do about it, I take off my coat and kick off my boots. She doesn’t stir as I take off her jacket, and she still doesn’t wake when I climb into bed with her.
Lying on my back, I stare at the ceiling then tense when she rolls into me and burrows herself into my side. Liking her weight against me, I wrap my arms around her and breathe in her scent. I’ve dreamed of this moment a million times, and it kills me a little to know that tomorrow she probably won’t remember any of this, and if she does, she’ll freak. Fuck it. I hold her a little tighter and hope to god I’m able to show her that taking a chance on us is worth it.
Chapter 5
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Bre
I WAKE SLOWLY TO THE SMELL of the ocean, my body rocking softly from side to side. My whole being is cocooned in warmth and safety. I snuggle deeper into the hardness I’m pressed against, never wanting this feeling to end. When two arms tighten around me, I freeze and my brain registers I’m sprawled out, mostly on top of a very warm, very hard man. And without checking for conformation, I know the man under me is Denver.
I can’t even blame him for our current situation. I did this to myself. I willingly climbed into his bed last night. In my defense, I was drunk when I did it. But still, that’s no excuse. I should have known better.
As I open my eyes and start to scoot away from him, I try with all my might to ignore the intense feelings in my chest. The ones that like a little too much that his arms have become even tighter around me in his sleep, like he doesn’t want to let me go.
My throat burns and my mind screams this is wrong. He was right last night; I did agree to go out with Mike because he’s safe. Mike doesn’t get under my skin. He doesn’t make me question my feelings. He doesn’t make me doubt the way I felt about Gabe, or make me wonder what my life would be like if he were in it. Really, Mike doesn’t make me feel anything. Then again, I don’t really know him. So what the hell do I know? Maybe with time, I would feel the same with Mike as I do right now while trying to move away from Denver without waking him up.
When I finally get free from his embrace, I carefully climb off the bed and look around, using the dim light coming from one of the portholes to search for my boots. Judging by the sky outside, it’s still early, really early, so if I’m lucky, I can get home and sneak inside before anyone on my block is awake to catch me.
Once I finally find both my boots, I carry them with me up the stairs, and then I fumble with the stupid handle on the door. It seems to take forever for me to find the latch, and I’m scared to death that Denver is going to wake up at any moment and catch me sneaking out. When the door finally unlocks, I breathe a sigh of relief and inhale a lungful of salty sea air.
I make my way to the edge of the boat and almost fall into the water when a large sea lion barks from where it’s perched on the edge of the dock, scaring me half to death. I give him a glare, and he jumps into the harbor, causing water to splash on me. I realize two things at once. The first thing—it’s freezing out. And the second—I left my jacket behind in my haste to get away. I close my eyes and let my head fall back to my shoulders. I don’t want to go back, but I don’t have much of a choice, since leaving without my jacket means I’m leaving without the key in its pocket. If I do that, I will have no choice but to wake up my dad or Shel, since the only spare key I have is at their place.
“Guessing you figured out you need to come back in.”
At Denver’s statement, I turn to face him, and I’m a little surprised he doesn’t look upset that I took off without waking him to tell him I was leaving.
“I—” I start to tell him… I don’t know… that I’m sorry? That I don’t want to go back in? That when I woke up this morning, my first thought was that I never wanted to leave the cocoon of warmth and safety I felt in his arms?