Chapter 33
Miles
E mma has me by the dick—figuratively and literally. I’m trying to slip out of her bed to pee, but every time I do, her hand darts straight to my shit with a baseball-bat grip. I will myself not to brick up, but my man is ready to go again, as am I.
“I’ll be back,” I whisper to the side of her face, like she can hear me through all that snoring. Em wasn’t kidding when she asked me to put her to bed. She’s out, mouth open, sounding like a construction site. It’s cute and oddly doesn’t grate on my nerves.
I don’t sleep with anyone, but tonight I’m breaking my rule, one of many I’ve already broken. Emma is different. She makes me want more time with her—even to listen to her engine-starting, snoring ass.
Brandice was never an option. I met her for one drink to make up for ditching her, told her goodnight, and watched a car take her wherever she went. We left it on a good note. Every woman I’ve dealt with was clear on what it was. I told myself until I get Emma out of my system, there won’t be anyone else. But after last night, I don’t want her out of my system. The truth is I never did.
Emma is my match. I felt it years ago but never understood the pull to her every time we were in the same vicinity. I avoided it as long as I could, not because I couldn’t develop feelings for her, but because I wasn’t sure if I could love her the way she needs to be loved.
Commitment doesn’t come natural to me, but I want to try for her. I haven’t got a fucking clue what I’m doing, but not having Emma close is no longer an option.
I tuck a loose curl behind her ear and smile at the thin line of drool falling from her plump lips. Emma would have a fit seeing herself so disheveled, but she’s never looked more beautiful.
She keeps herself together, always in some high-end outfit with heels and her hair, nails, and toes done. Tonight was the most casual I’d seen her, in that fluffy-ass robe with Justice’s name all over it. Now we’re both naked underneath the covers, and it’s a struggle to not imagine her in one of my shirts that would reach the tops of her thighs.
I’ve stared at her long enough to catch misdemeanors, so I remove her hand from my dick.
Does she feel the same way? Is she capable of opening her heart to let me in?
Emma cuddles against my chest, smearing drool. “Stay. Please.” The request is so faint that I doubt she realizes what she mumbled in her sleep. When she nuzzles into my side, I wrap an arm around her, kiss her hair, and close my eyes.
We have a lot to figure out, about us and our self-imposed deadline. I care for Emma, and I don’t want to hurt her. I’m also in over my head, swimming against a current of water I’ve never tread before.
Tonight, I hold her in my arms and get the best sleep of my life…after I slip away to pee.