Chapter Seven #3
The heat from the fire feels amazing, wrapping around the room like a heavy blanket.
The comfort of the room, combined with the food and peaceful atmosphere, settles me in a way I haven’t experienced in a while.
And for the first time this week, the stress of my job and the background anxiety of my pregnancy—even though I’m feeling more relieved since the blood work results—fade into the background, and I feel very present in this moment.
I look over at Brody. He has his arm stretched along the back of the couch behind my head, his fingers resting casually near my shoulder. The fire highlights his jawline and the gold in his eyes.
He looks relaxed, but there’s an intensity in the way he’s watching me now.
It makes my heart flip under my ribs.
Brody shifts, sliding closer until his knee presses against my thigh, his hand slowly sliding off the back of the couch to rest on my shoulder.
“Are you warm enough?” he asks, his hand moving casually back and forth in a gentle rhythm.
“I’m perfect,” I say, hoarsely.
“Good,” he murmurs, his thumb stroking a slow line along my collarbone.
His eyes dip down to my lips, lingering there with an unashamed heat before dragging back up to meet mine.
“I’m really trying to be good, you know.
I’ve always been attracted to you, but every time I see you, it’s getting harder not to touch you. ”
“Is that right?” I breathe, my heart thumping wildly against my ribs. “I wouldn’t know it. You’ve been a gentleman.”
“Well, I try,” he smirks, leaning in another fraction of an inch until I can feel his breath against my cheek. “But sitting this close to you…having you here in my space…it’s like torture.”
Heat flickers in my core.
Well, this is something I haven’t felt in a while. I’m suddenly intensely…horny.
It catches me off guard a bit. The past few months, between the shock of finding out I’m pregnant and work, my sex drive has been non-existent.
Sitting this close to Brody, smelling him, having him look so goddamn gorgeous, and the raw heat radiating off of him…
I’m not sure I want him to be a patient gentleman anymore.
I want him…need him…to close the distance.
So instead of pushing him away, I reach out, my manicured fingers gripping the collar of his henley, and I pull him down the last few inches.
He lets out a rough sound, almost like a growl, as his mouth meets mine.
The kiss starts with a searing intensity, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself from taking this further.
His arms circle my waist, and he pulls me in closer to him so our chests are touching, and kisses me with a possessive hunger that makes my head spin.
His lips are warm, firm, and confident, sliding against mine in an intoxicating rhythm.
I gasp into his mouth, my hands running through his thick hair, bringing him in even closer. He deepens the kiss, his tongue sliding past my lips, and sending a sensation of liquid fire rushing through my veins directly to my pussy.
“Ellis,” he says against my lips, his hand sliding up my back to cup the nape of my neck.
He doesn’t rush me. He doesn’t press for anything more than the gorgeous, consuming slide of his mouth against mine. It’s passionate, heavy, and completely breathtaking, but he’s also being mindful of my space even as he consumes me.
I’m all but ready to crawl onto his lap when he pulls back an inch to let us catch our breath, his forehead resting against mine. His breathing is rapid, his eyes dark and blazing with desire. His thumb brushes over my lower lip, which feels swollen from his mouth.
“Fuck,” Brody lets out a gravelly rasp. “I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to do that.”
I let out a soft laugh, my hands still in his hair. “Well, I’m definitely glad you didn’t hold back tonight.”
“I really was trying to be respectful,” he smirks, his lips dipping down to press a lingering kiss against the corner of my mouth, then the line of my jaw, making my breath catch all over again. “I wasn’t really sure what the protocol was here in our situation.”
“I’m not really sure there’s a handbook on what I’m going through right now, but I can tell you… that a kiss isn’t going to scare me off,” I say, turning my face slightly so my lips brush his jaw.
“Good to know,” he whispers, his hand sliding back down to rest on my waist, his palm feeling like a brand through my sweater. “Because now that I’ve started…I’m not sure I can stop.”
We stay on the couch for hours, tangled up together, kissing, touching, but never going farther than that, even though my body wants me to.
The fire burns down to soft orange embers, and we both start to get sleepy. He keeps his arms around me, my head now resting against his chest, and he drops sweet kisses into my hair as I listen to the steady beat of his heart.
I can hear the wind outside, and a realization hits me. My life feels a bit out of order, like the wind. My career is demanding, I have a baby coming in the spring, and the path ahead is slightly messy, complicated, and completely unscripted.
But looking up at Brody’s handsome face in the dim glow of the fire, feeling the warmth of his body holding mine…I know one thing for certain.
This man is becoming more to me than just a friend and someone I can rely on. He’s becoming someone I can’t see my life without. I may thrive on control, but when it comes to Brody Vaughn, I'm completely unraveled.