Don’t plan too far into the future
DON’T PLAN TOO FAR INTO THE FUTURE
Wyatt
Her bare skin was so smooth under my rough fingertips as I traced lines across her back and the arm that was draped over my waist. I’d never been a fan of snuggling when I slept, but with Brynn the idea of not touching her was painful.
We’d had sex well into the early morning and I didn’t want to wake her, but I also couldn’t sleep any longer either.
My time as a Seal had beat that ability out of me.
I could function decently on three hours of sleep, although normally I aimed for four or five.
I glanced at the clock that was on the nightstand and figured I’d gotten about three and a half before my body decided that was enough and woke me up.
So now I was just staring at the woman who’d ensnared me completely.
She was so much more than I’d thought she’d be.
Before we’d come to the cabin, I’d been attracted to how her mind worked from a business standpoint and the way she treated those around her.
Now that I’d spent so much uninterrupted time with her hidden away in our own private cabin in the woods, I was learning new things about her that had skyrocketed that attraction into something so much more.
She loved to read, although I hadn’t given her much time to do so because I couldn’t stop touching her, which inevitably led to us having sex.
She also tended to stare out the window and hum quietly to herself.
I hadn’t quite figured out if it was something she did to soothe herself or if she was coming up with songs.
Knowing what I knew now, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a combo—making music soothed her soul, even if it also added a shitload of chaos to her life.
She’d told me her fans were the reason she still wrote songs and sang at all, but I wasn’t sure she even realized how much she lit up when she was writing down lyrics in the notebook she kept with her or when her humming turned into a tune she liked and her smile lifted her face.
I’d teased my brother for falling in love with Sadie in such a short amount of time, but I understood how it had happened now.
I could no longer deny that what I was feeling for Brynn had far exceeded anything I’d ever felt before.
I was risking it all to be with her, and it was a risk I would happily take over and over again without question.
She stirred and nuzzled into my chest. “What time is it?”
“Early. Go back to sleep,” I murmured.
She kissed my chest before adjusting so she was resting her head on my shoulder and able to look at me. “Couldn’t sleep?”
I shook my head. “Old military habits die hard.”
She slid her hand over my chest, the touch both soothing something inside me I hadn’t realized was unsettled and turning me on like no one else ever had.
“What made you join the military?”
I stared up at the ceiling thinking about how I’d been at eighteen.
“My parents raised us boys to be fiercely independent, not necessarily on purpose. But as much as I was good at school, I didn’t enjoy it, so college didn’t look that appealing.
I wasn’t really sure what field I wanted to go into, but I loved doing physical work.
A high school buddy was joining the army, so I looked into it and decided I wanted to join the navy because I preferred being close to the water. ”
“Why don’t you think your parents meant for you to be so independent?”
I let out a deep sigh as I tried to find the words to explain my family.
“My parents are good people. They loved my brother and me, but they were always so busy with their own things that we often got left to handle everything at home by ourselves. My dad was a salesman so he was gone a lot, and our mom ran her own business that was fairly successful, but not successful enough that she could have a lot of employees, which meant she worked a lot. Most of the time it was just me and my brother, and we learned pretty quickly how to take care of ourselves. We’re no worse for wear because of our upbringing.
We still talk to our folks. We just don’t have that close of a relationship with them.
My brother’s always been the person I went to whenever I needed advice or anything. ”
“That’s how it is for me with Grant.” She rubbed her finger in a circle on my pec, looking lost in thought for a minute before she spoke again.
“My parents wanted to be celebrities. They would never admit that, but it’s true.
They were always going to Hollywood parties and trying to become friends with bigwigs in the entertainment industry.
The first time I sang was in front of all their friends.
I’d only learned to play guitar because I thought if I could perform for their friends maybe they’d be proud of me and spend more time with me.
They didn’t. I performed. Their friends oohed and aahed and then my parents sent me to bed so they could keep partying.
I remember going to my room and crying because I felt like nothing I did would be good enough for them.
Grant came into my room and held me until the tears finally stopped.
He told me they didn’t understand how special I was and that was on them, not me.
He was my biggest cheerleader, and when I started getting booked for gigs, he was the one that took me.
I didn’t even tell my parents because at that point I was afraid they’d only show up to see who they could rub elbows with.
It wasn’t until I got really popular that they finally found out. ”
“And let me guess… they wanted to show you off?”
Her lips tilted up into a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You would be right.”
“Do you talk to them now?”
“No. I cut them off when I turned eighteen. Grant did too.”
“I’m glad you have him.” The thought of her not having anyone in her corner made my chest ache.
When she smiled this time, her eyes lit up. “Me too. He’s only a few years older than I am, but I used to tease him all the time for being my dad because truthfully he kind of was. I don’t know what I would’ve done without him.”
“Now you’ve got me too,” I murmured against her hair as I dropped a kiss there. I never wanted her to feel like she was alone again. As far as I was concerned, I would have her back until my dying breath.
I was already picturing our future too clearly.
Her in a white dress, a honeymoon somewhere tropical, her stomach rounded with our children, her as a mom.
I bet she’d be amazing—her heart was too big to be anything but an incredible mother.
I could already picture family vacations, long nights with sick kids, watching our kids play sports or perform like their mom.
For the first time in my life, I could see it all with complete clarity.
And every bit of it felt right. It felt like this was where I was always meant to be, right here, holding this incredible woman in my arms and preparing to spend the rest of my life loving her with everything I had.
She pulled back enough so she could look me in the eye. “Do I have you?” Her words came out in a whisper, as if she was afraid I might still reject her after everything we’d shared over the last several days.
But I had no intention of breaking her heart. It was mine to protect, and I would protect it with everything I had.
“Completely,” I murmured before sealing my lips over hers and kissing her, hoping she could feel the depth of that word in my kiss.