Chapter 15 #2
“Owen… I—” I hesitate. “I want to apologize.”
I pause and look up to find his brows pulled together, confusion flickering across his face.
“For what?”
I fidget with my hands.
“For last night,” I say quietly. “For… coming on too strong or making things weird.”
Get it out, Meadow.
Let it all out and get this over with.
“I definitely had too much to drink, and I just—” I shake my head, rushing through it now. “I’m sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable or pressured or—”
“Wait.”
Owen cuts me off, his tone firm but not harsh.
He zones in on me, narrowing his eyes to little slits like he’s trying hard to understand what I just said.
“You’re apologizing to me for last night?”
I nod.
“Yeah,” I answer.
“Meadow… are you out of your goddamn mind?” he asks in disbelief. “Why on earth would you apologize?”
Oh.
“Last night was one of the best nights of my life,” he continues, his eyes darting between mine. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to kiss you?”
Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to kiss you?
I stop breathing at his confession because holy shit .
Part of me is starting to believe that he’s also been feeling the same painful yearning that I have all these years.
His emerald eyes drop to my mouth for a beat before lifting back to mine.
“Do you have any idea how much I want to kiss you right now?”
Oh God.
I want that too. I want that so bad. But if he were to kiss me right now, I would die of embarrassment. I probably taste like absolute death right now.
I swallow thickly, utterly stunned by his confession.
“Uh, yeah,” I start awkwardly, “that’s not happening. I would probably poison you to death from the smell of my breath alone.”
He leans back as I’ve offended him.
“You think I care about that?” he arches a challenging brow.
“Owen, seriously—we are not going there right now,” I say, laughing nervously and trying to force the blood rushing to my cheeks back down.
I draw in a breath, circling back to the reason I started this conversation.
“I just…” I trail off, glancing down at my hands. “I’ve been spiraling all morning. I didn’t know if I ruined things between us, and I… I need to make sure we’re okay.”
My words come out quieter than I intended. Full of raw emotion.
Owen’s stare could burn a hole through me as he shifts closer on the bed. The mattress dips beneath his weight until the space between us disappears, and his legs brush mine through the comforter.
My skin prickles with awareness when his hand comes up and cups my jaw, guiding my gaze back to his.
Gently, so gently, he brushes his thumb along my cheek.
“Meadow,” he says softly, almost a whisper.
His eyes move between mine, like he’s making sure I really hear him.
“Things are more than okay.”
My heart reaches for him.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about last night,” he admits, voice low and gravelly. “Every second of it.”
His thumb stills against my skin.
“You want to know what I think?” he adds. “Everything feels right in my life right now. After four long years, I finally woke up not having to hide the way I feel about you.”
Jesus Christ.
This man is breaking my heart and putting it back together all at once.
“I don’t know,” I exhale, still feeling the need to apologize. “I had a lot to drink and I just… I don’t normally act like that.”
“Like what?” he retorts. “Confident? Free-spirited?”
His lips curve up in an easy smile.
“You were having fun, Meadow. You let yourself relax for once in your life. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Yeah, but…” My voice falters as I stare up at him through thick lashes. “You pulled away.”
He leans in closer, cupping my face with both his hands now.
“I didn’t pull away,” he defends, eyes searching mine. “Meadow, I kissed you until we almost got kicked out. We shut the place down.”
My breath hitches.
“I kept kissing you at the club, and only there, because I knew it was safe. But you have no idea how hard it was for me to stop.”
His jaw clenches like he’s still trying to hold himself back.
Yes, I do, I think to myself .
I do understand because it almost killed me when he stopped.
“It wasn’t because I didn’t want you,” he continues
He pauses, my core tingling as he slides his thumb along my bottom lip.
“I stopped because you mean too much to me. I care about you too much for last night to be something you regret or hate me for today. But I want you, Meadow. I fucking want you more than I can breathe most days.”
Oh my…
No way he just said that.
I must still be dreaming, because there is no way Owen Brooks just muttered those words to me.
I suddenly feel like a fool for not taking a shower and brushing my teeth the second I woke up. Because I would give just about anything for this man to rip my clothes off and drill me into this mattress right now.
But my mind also gets caught on something else he said.
“You think I would’ve regretted it?” I whisper.
“I don’t know,” he admits lowly, shaking his head. “But I wasn’t willing to risk it. I wasn’t willing to risk losing you.”
I wasn’t willing to risk losing you.
Desperately needing to touch him, I reach for his t-shirt and curl my fingers into the fabric at his waist.
Owen reaches up and brushes a loose strand of hair away from my face before placing a featherlight kiss on my forehead. So tender and sweet, it almost breaks me.
“I don’t want anything between us to be a drunken decision,” he croaks.
“Then what do you want it to be?” I ask, my voice barely audible.
His eyes darken in response to my question.
“Something we both remember clearly. A moment we’ll never forget.”
Good God.
I almost rip my panties off and throw them right at his feet. The hungry way he kissed me last night, combined with the tender way he’s speaking to me right now, is enough to make me spread my legs for him right here and now, to hell with brushing my teeth first.
I slide my hands up his warm chest and wrap my arms around his neck, pressing my forehead to his. I’m sure he can smell my morning breath, but honestly, I don’t care. I need to be as close to him as possible.
“Thank you,” I rasp. “Thank you for not letting last night be a mistake. And thank you for taking care of me.”
A half smile tugs at the corner of his mouth as he brushes the tip of his nose against mine.
“Nothing about last night was a mistake, Meadow,” he says lowly. “Not a second.”
I nod against his head.
“I feel the same way.”
“Good,” he smiles, placing one last kiss to my temple. “Now drink up and eat some food so you’ll feel better. I’ve got plans for you, Mrs. Brooks.”
He leaves me with a knowing wink before pulling back slowly. A wink that promises his plans involve the cooperation of our lips and bodies.
Even though his tone is playful, there’s a hint of darkness and seduction behind it. I press my thighs together, my core clenching as my mind thinks of all the filthy plans Owen Brooks could have for me.