I smile and tenderly stroke his cheek with my thumb. “And so are you.”
His body crushes me and I revel in the way he consumes me. Despite his afflictions, he’s strong and powerful in his own unique way. Warren McPherson is a force to be reckoned with. He’s a dark storm, raging from his inner demons. I have an appetite for his destruction. My soul craves to be completely overtaken by him.
Lucky for me, though, War would never hurt me. He may be chaos, brewing and festering on the inside, but with me, he handles me with surety and gentleness. My War protects what belongs to him as if it is precious.
I am precious to him.
“How many breaths?” I question as he pulls out of my body, his hot cum running from me and warming a trail between my butt cheeks as it leaves.
He grunts as he climbs off the bed in search of a towel. “I was at three breaths before time stopped.”
The bathroom light flicks on and soon I can hear the water running in the shower. He returns with the towel, the light silhouetting his muscular frame. His hands make quick efficient work with the towel as he cleans me before guiding me out of the bed.
“Time stopped for you too?”
He stops before opening the shower curtain and regards me with a crooked smile. Dear God, this man has the most handsome face. The silver scar along one side from his accident only serves to intensify his rugged appearance.
“Time stopped for me the moment you sat down inside my car that night. With you, I could finally take a break from the maddening chaos ticking by, second by second. With you, I could breathe. With you, I could be happy.”
I stand on my toes and press a kiss to his cheek. “Our own little world.”
“Don’t ever leave our world, Bay. Stay with me forever.”
Tears well in my eyes, but for once, they aren’t from worrying over my parents or Gabe or anything else for that matter. They’re happy tears. “I wouldn’t ever dream of leaving.”
He drags me into the shower and I let out a moan as the scalding spray washes away the evidence of our lovemaking.
“Baylee…”
The voice is wrong.
It doesn’t belong to my War.
I look around but he’s no longer in the shower with me, the steam from the water growing thicker and thicker, obstructing my view.
Our world has dissipated and darkness cloaks around me, blinding me.
“War…” I call out with a sob. “War!”
“Baylee!”
I blink open my eyes and stare into two dark green orbs. They’re not my War’s icy navy blue ones. The warmth that had only moments ago surrounded me is replaced by a chill I can feel all the way to my bones.
The voice again. Raspy and ragged. Choked and angry. And still not belonging to the man from my dreams or the person I’m wrapped around.
“Brandon?”
I close my eyes to rid myself of the confusing dream and reopen them, hoping it will be War instead. But, my gaze fixates on Brandon’s intense glare.
“Who is War?”
The blood turns to ice in my veins and I shiver. Brandon hugs me tighter to him. We’re sprawled out on the couch with my back to the cushions and him facing me as we lay on our sides. One of his big hands is resting on my ribcage, his thumb running back and forth along the underside of my swollen breast. His knee is between my thighs, resting against my *. The hardness of his erection presses against me alerting me to the fact he’s enjoying our contact.
It all feels like a betrayal to War.
“Brandon,” I murmur, dragging my gaze away from his, “he was…”
His knee moves and I let out a whimper. My dream was so vivid and my nerve endings are still alive. The simple touch of his nudge sends my heart racing.
“He must’ve been something to you, babe,” he says in a hushed tone, a hint of revulsion in his voice. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have been riding my leg and moaning his name.”
To reiterate his point, he drags his thumb over my nipple and I gasp, my hips involuntarily bucking against him.
“Brandon, stop,” I whimper.
He groans but his hand leaves my breast and underneath my shirt to rest on my hip. “I thought you were dreaming about me.” His voice is husky and I can sense the feeling of betrayal in it.
“I…” I trail off, not sure of how to explain this to him. “He…”
“Did you fuck him?”
I flinch at the harsh way he spits out the crude words.
“It wasn’t like that. I loved him,” I choke out with a sob.
“Like you loved me?”
A tear rolls down my temple and our eyes meet again. “I loved him differently.”
He swallows and breaks our stare. His face is a storm of emotions. Eyebrows pinching together in anger, followed by sorrow as if he might cry. Nose flaring with each upset breath. Lips pressed into a line to keep from spewing words of hate at me.
“I searched for you.” His voice is a mere whisper. “This whole time, I searched for you when nobody else would.” When his watery green eyes meet mine, I ache to soothe the boy I once loved. Our love was simple and easy. Our love was nothing like the otherworldly, all-consuming love I had with War.
Had.