When his mouth touches mine, I melt into his arms.

Touching him hasn’t been the domino effect that I hoped it would, but I’m starting to realize that it was never about the physical touch at all. He’s letting me in because he trusts me‚ or he’s starting to, and I feel like a monster because now that I know his secrets, I don’t know if he should.

Chapter Fourteen

Rafe

Her hand is draped across my arm when I wake up the next morning. That’s not the weird thing. The weird thing is that it doesn’t bother me. As my eyes open, I let my gaze focus on her fingers resting on my bicep. It seems so trivial, to allow her skin to touch mine, but I cut that part of me off so long ago.

I know I could have worked through the touching thing years ago, but it was always my self-sacrifice. My own special brand of torture.

It was all walls built up and armor suits from a young age. The shame they made me feel for shit I didn’t even do yet...it was easier to push the world away than try to deal with that crap.

Now, she’s in my bed, and her hand is on my body. And the shame hasn’t brought me to my knees.

Maybe...just fucking maybe, I could do this.

She stirs, her eyes peeling open in the early morning light. Quickly, she pulls her hand away, like she did something wrong.

We didn’t do anything after the gym last night. I invited her in so I could feed her something that wasn’t wine, and while I was showering, she crawled into my bed. When I came out, she was snoring on my pillow.

I hate to admit how long I stood there and stared at her. She felt more comfortable in my bed than hers. She could have easily walked back to her own apartment.

“It’s okay,” I say, pulling her entire body against my bare chest. “I think I could get used to it.” Her warm body against my skin is nice. She’s in nothing but her sports bra and underwear, and I feel her smooth legs wrap around my body. A moment later, I feel her lips press against my chest, and goosebumps erupt everywhere.

“Is that okay?” she asks.

“You’ve had your lips on worse,” I say, my voice low and gravelly from sleep.

She laughs against my chest, and a smile breaks out across my face.

“And I’d be all for that if I didn’t have an appointment in an hour. I still have to shower.”

“Yeah, I should get to work too.” I haven’t been paying enough attention to my job. Shelby’s been a serious distraction, and it doesn’t take long before I realize that her brother might be behind all of this, and everything between us could implode if it’s on me to take him down—again.