Chapter Ten #2
“I know. I have ... complicated feelings about my mom. Intellectually, I know it was extremely difficult to be a single mother, but for most of my childhood, she wasn’t really around much.
I had to learn how to make myself dinner, and I packed my own lunches for school.
Sometimes she made breakfast, but only if she wasn’t too tired from her night shift. ”
Britt inhaled sharply when Chad rolled her onto her back and hovered over her. She had no choice but to look into his eyes as he stared at her.
“Does this make you nervous?”
Furrowing her brow in confusion, Britt asked, “Does what make me nervous?”
“This. Me and you. In bed. Me over you.”
“Um ... no. Thunder is a trigger, not you.”
“Good. Because I want to kiss you, Britt. May I?”
Britt swore her heart stopped beating for a moment. “Because you feel sorry for me? Because I was so scared last night?” she blurted.
“Not even close. Because having you plastered against me while we’re both almost naked has me on edge.
I can’t think about anything other than how your lips will feel against mine.
Yes, I’m pissed about your upbringing, and the fact that you experienced something extremely scary, and neither your mother nor anyone else in your life saw fit to get you to talk to someone about what happened, so you could get over it. They didn’t, did they?”
She shook her head slightly as she stared up at Chad. For some reason, her hands had gone to his waist when he’d rolled them, and the warmth of his skin seeped into her fingers.
“Right. So yeah, I’m pissed at a lot of things right now .
.. but I don’t feel sorry for you. I pity your mother , because she didn’t understand what she was losing by treating you the way she did.
For not forming a bond that would help her get through the tough times.
You haven’t told me that you two aren’t close, I’m simply assuming, and I apologize if I’m off the mark.
I’m also worried about your extreme reaction to the storm, even if I understand where it comes from.
“But I’m so damn impressed with you, I’m practically bursting with pride.
You lived a childhood that could’ve broken you.
Instead, it built you up. Made you more resilient.
I’m not saying it’s right or fair, what you went through.
But you being the woman you are today is a miracle.
And I want to kiss you because I feel like if I don’t, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. ”
She’d assumed he’d be irritated that she’d acted like a baby last night.
Put off that she’d used him as a crutch for her debilitating fears.
Instead, he was anything but. She was overwhelmed by everything he’d said.
But more than that, she was turned on. It was crazy, but there it was.
Hell, she’d masturbated last night to thoughts of him.
She was the one who would have regrets for the rest of her life if she didn’t experience one of his kisses. But ...
“I haven’t brushed my teeth,” she blurted.
He studied her with such emotion in his eyes, it made her blush.
Then he smiled, and it transformed his face. “Right. So ... how about we both run and clean our teeth, then, and meet back here?”
Britt immediately regretted her words. Talk about a mood killer.
She wasn’t about to kiss this man for the first time and only be able to think about how bad her breath was, instead of concentrating on him.
But she had a feeling that as soon as she climbed out of this bed, reality would intrude, and she’d be too embarrassed to come back to his room and pick up where they’d left off.
“Okay,” she said belatedly.
But Chad didn’t move. He continued to stare down at her.
“Chad?”
“You amaze me, Peach. I hate what happened to you. I’ll say it again, and I’ll keep saying it ... you need a safe haven when there’s a storm, you come to me. I’ll take care of you. You never have to go through a storm alone and scared again.”
She couldn’t stop the tears from forming in her eyes as she nodded.
Then Chad rolled away from her and held out his hand as he stood next to the bed.
Britt could only stare. He wasn’t wearing anything but a pair of boxers, and while he didn’t look like a bodybuilder, didn’t have muscles upon muscles, he was definitely in shape. Working around Lobster Cove obviously went a long way toward keeping him toned.
He also had a slight farmer’s tan from working outside, and it made Britt smile.
She took his hand and stood next to him a little self-consciously.
The shirt she was wearing covered all her intimate bits and came down to her upper thighs.
She felt naked, but as his gaze swept over her, from her head to her toes and back up again, she also felt powerful.
Beautiful. All because of the look of interest in Chad’s eyes.
“Four minutes,” he said. “Do what you need to do, then we’ll meet back here.”
“We should probably get dressed and go start on breakfast ... if we want to surprise Evelyn, that is,” she felt obliged to point out.
“We will. After. ”
All righty then. Chad squeezed her fingers, then turned and pulled her after him as he went to the door.
There were two bathrooms upstairs, one half bath and one full. He walked them both into the full bath and grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste, which were sitting next to the sink. Then he dropped her hand and backed out of the small room. “Three and a half minutes now,” he told her.
Thankful for something to think about other than last night’s storm and how it made her feel, or the way Chad’s body felt against hers, Britt reached for her own toothbrush.