“I wanted to watch the sunrise with you,” he whispered against her hair.
“Is that what we’re doing?” she asked, pressing her hands into his skin. “I thought you wanted to turn me into a Popsicle.”
“Are you cold?” he asked, running his hands up and down her back.
“No.” She shook her head. “
Very
warm actually.”
They laid in silence, the dark blue sky slowly getting lighter. Brendan ran his fingers up and down Paige’s back, tracing her spine. Paige pressed her face into his neck as she reached up and ran her fingers along his collarbone.
As the sun began to rise over the water, Paige sat up, pressing her palms into Brendan’s chest to keep her balance. As she stared out at the water, he stared at her. The sun slowly lit up her face, making her cheeks glow. Her unruly curls framed her face and fell down past her shoulders. Her gray eyes went wide with wonder and an amazed look framed her mouth. He’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life.
Her palm was spread over his heart, the heat from her skin seeping into his and spreading throughout his body. He’d never forget that moment for as long as he lived, because it was when he realized he was in love with someone for the first time in his life. It was the moment he
knew
he’d fallen in love with Paige.
* * *
After the sunrise, Brendan dragged Paige back to bed. They made love again and dozed in each other’s arms until well after ten. She wasn’t used to how much he wanted to touch her. She’d never been with a guy who was big on snuggling. Dylan had hated it. But Brendan was quite content to have her sprawled across him, using his chest as her pillow.
When they got up, Brendan pulled her into the kitchen and sat her on top of his countertop. He ran around the kitchen wearing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt cooking her breakfast while she sat sipping coffee wrapped in his thick blue robe. The only other thing she was wearing were the socks he’d put on her feet earlier.
Paige hadn’t been prepared for what that small little action had done to her. One minute she’d been standing in the middle of Brendan’s room freezing, and the next, Brendan had been kneeling in front of her, putting socks on her feet because he didn’t want her to be cold. She’d fallen in love with him over a pair of socks. How crazy was that?
Brendan made eggs, hash browns, and venison sausage. He cut a piece off the first finished patty and brought the fork to her mouth.
“That’s delicious,” she said after she swallowed.
“So have you converted?”
“Yes, but not to animal heads as trophies.”
“Damn,” he said, snapping his fingers and looking disappointed. “Now I don’t know what to get you for Christmas. What if I get you a bumper sticker that says ‘Shoot first, ask questions later’?”
“You think you’re so cute.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head and grinning. “But you do. You told me so this morning.”
“I was half asleep,” she said, waving off his words. “Still delirious.”
“No, I’ve seen you delirious. It involves you panting my name.”
“I can’t really help it when you continually make me feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience.”
“Is that right?” He smiled, looking pretty proud of himself. “Well, you do the exact same thing to me.”
After breakfast, Paige helped Brendan clean the kitchen. She loaded the dishwasher while he put the leftovers away. She’d spent enough time at this house to know where everything went, and they moved around the kitchen in tandem. She put the last dish away and turned to find Brendan leaning against the fridge, his arms and legs crossed as he watched her.
“See something you like?” she asked.
“I see many things I like,” he said, uncrossing his limbs and pushing off the fridge. He walked across the kitchen and caged her against the counter.
“Anything in particular?”
“Oh yeah,” he said, running his hand up and down her waist. “So I was thinking…”
“About?”
“I’m assuming you’re going to want to stop by your parents’ house and change before we head over to the festival.”
“You assume correctly,” she said and nodded.
It wouldn’t be in her best interest to show up in front of half the town in the exact same clothes that she’d worn the night before.
“Well,” he continued, “you should pack a bag to bring over here.”
Her eyes widened in shock and she inhaled sharply.
“I want you stay again tonight,” he said, leaning in and kissing her neck. “And the night after that,” he said, moving up to her jaw. “And the night after that,” he said when he got to her cheek. “And the night after that,” he said above her mouth before he kissed her. “And every night after. I’ll clear out a drawer. You can hang some stuff up in the closet. We’ll get that citrus shampoo of yours to leave in the shower.” He pulled back as he twisted a strand of her hair around his finger.
“You’re serious?” she said, searching his face.
“You’re not going to find it,” he said, shaking his head.
“Find what?”
“Doubt,” he said, knowing exactly what she’d been looking for. “I know what I want, and it’s you. I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life. Paige, I loved waking up next to you this morning. I loved having you pressed up against me. And I wanted you closer. Kissing you, touching you, making love to you, it’s incredible,” he said, moving one of his hands up to her ribs while the other fisted in her hair. “I’m not asking you to move in with me. We can still take things slowly. I just prefer to take them slowly with you in my bed
every
night.”
“That doesn’t sound very slow,” she said, shaking her head, trying to think over the sudden pounding in her ears.
“And?” Brendan shrugged. “It’s what I want. Tell me you want it too.”
Paige took a deep breath and nodded her head. “It’s what I want. It’s just that it scares me.
You
scare me.”
“Why?”
Why? Because she’d fallen in love with him over a pair of socks.
Okay, so it was more than just the socks.
Brendan made her feel things she’d never felt before, so she couldn’t even imagine what it would do to her if he broke her heart. What he wanted? God, she wanted it too. So much she could barely stand it. Maybe he wasn’t asking her to move in. All of her stuff wouldn’t be here at his house, but some of it would be and she’d be staying there every night. So really, what was the difference? What if being with her for that much time made him realize he didn’t want it anymore? That he didn’t want
her
anymore?
“Paige? Tell me, please.”
“I lived with Dylan. When I lost my job and my apartment, I moved in with him. It was living with me that made him realize he didn’t want to be with me. He said he was tired of putting the effort into a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere. He said it wasn’t worth it to him. Living with me made him realize that
I
wasn’t worth it.”
Brendan’s jaw bunched and his hand tightened on her side. “First of all, Dylan is an idiot. But thank God he is, because if he knew just how
worth it
you are, you wouldn’t be
here
, right
now
. If Dylan had any clue whatsoever, I wouldn’t have you in my life.” He moved his hand from the back of her head and cupped the side of her face. He ran his thumb up and down her jaw as he stared into her eyes. “I want you to have something,” he said, dropping his hand and reaching into the pocket of his pajama pants.
He pulled his hand out and opened it. There on his palm was a silver key.
Paige looked back up at him and could do nothing but stare at him, speechless. No guy had ever given her a key to his place. Dylan didn’t count because she’d had to move in with him. Brendan was offering this key to her freely.
God, she was so far in love with him. There was no hope for her to ever turn back.
“I want you here. I want you to be able to come and go as you please. I don’t want you to have to wait at the door for me to let you in. I want to come home from work and have you already here, in the kitchen, in the shower, in bed, anywhere. I just want you here. I know you’re scared. But, Paige, you’re worth it. You’re worth
everything
to me. Say you’ll stay with me Paige,” he begged.
“I’ll stay with you,” she said, unable to say anything else. She couldn’t deny him what he wanted. She couldn’t deny
herself
what
she
wanted.
She grabbed the key from his hand and reached back to put it on the counter. He reached down to the front of the robe she was wearing and pulled at the tie. The robe parted just slightly, and Brendan reached up to push it off her shoulders. The sleeves caught at her elbows, and Brendan took a moment to just stare down at her naked body.
“It’s never been like this for me before.” He sounded amazed as he reached up and ran the back of this hand down the side of her breast. “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you.”
“Me either,” she said, shaking her head.
Brendan flipped his hand and cupped her breast, his thumb gliding across her already erect nipple. She gasped and he covered her mouth with his, his tongue thrusting in and taking charge.
Paige wound her arms around his neck at the exact same second that he reached down and grabbed her thighs, pulling her up. She wrapped her legs around him and he carried her to the dining room table. He sat her down, her bottom on the very edge of the table and her legs dangling off. Brendan pulled a condom out of the pocket of his pajama pants and put it on the table.
“You’ve just got everything in there, don’t you?” she asked as she pulled her arms free of the robe.
“A man’s got to be prepared,” he said as he took off his T-shirt and shrugged out of his pants. He grabbed the condom from the table, ripped it open, and rolled it on. “Lay down,” he said, pulling her legs around his waist.
She did, stretching her arms above her head and grabbing onto the edge of the table. He groaned as he looked down at her and reached up, palming her breasts. He massaged them for a minute before he let his hands wander down her body. They were both breathing hard by the time he pushed inside of her.
“Brendan,” she gasped as her back bowed off the table.
This time their joining was not slow and gentle. No, it was fast and hard. One of Brendan’s hands went to the apex of her thighs and he pressed his fingers into her as he moved, massaging her. The orgasm hit her and she cried out. Brendan continued to move inside of her, slowing just a little as she came back down to Earth.
His hips and fingers picked up speed again and it didn’t take very long for a second and more powerful orgasm to slam into her. She was pretty sure she screamed his name this time around. Brendan let go with his own release. He reached down and pulled her up, gathering her in his arms. Paige pressed her face to his chest and kissed him.
“Is it just me, or does it keep getting better?” he asked against her temple.
“It’s not just you,” she said, breathless. “That was new for me,” she said, looking up at him.
“What?” he asked, brushing her hair back from her face.
“Multiple orgasms,” she said and grinned. “You’ve set a new precedent, Brendan King.”
“Oh believe me, Paige,” he said and smiled back at her, “there will be many repeat performances.”
“Thank God.”
* * *
It took Brendan and Paige a little bit longer than expected to get out of the house. They’d taken a shower together, and they’d alternated washing each other’s backs and other hard-to-reach places. But Brendan got a little bit distracted from the task at hand. Who could blame the man? She had a body that drove him out of his ever-loving mind, and when hot water and soap were added to the equation he really couldn’t be held accountable for his actions. He’d pushed her up against the wall and had indeed given her a repeat performance of what had taken place on the dining room table.
Brendan wasn’t surprised he had it in him. Paige had said she would stay and the euphoria coursing through his body was enough to get him to do just about anything. She brought this light to his life that he’d never experienced before. He loved it. He loved her.
He wanted to tell her how he felt, but he needed to take some time to adjust to it himself. He’d never been in love with someone before, and he’d fallen in love with Paige fast. He also didn’t want to scare her. She was hesitant about moving too fast, but she’d taken the key. And she’d gotten that same stunned look he’d seen when he’d put the socks on her feet, the stunned look that made his chest ache for wanting to see it again.
When they pulled up in front of her parents’ house, he put his truck in park and turned to her. “So your parents knew that you weren’t coming home last night?”
“I told my mom it was a possibility.”
“So your mother knew that we were going to have sex before I did?” he asked.