“What was that?” Oliver growls.
“My door. That better not be you or I’m going to make you bandage the shin I just smashed into the coffee table.”
“It’s not me, Rina.” Oliver’s voice rises in agitation. “Check who is there, but do not get off the phone with me.”
“Oliver, I’m not a goddamn fool.”
“Never said you were.”
I roll my eyes and limp over to the door, my nerves ratcheting up the closer I get. I’m not expecting company, and no one goes out in this weather unless they have to. “Hello?” I call out, pulling up my camera app on my phone.
“Rina, it’s me. Brecken.”
His face illuminates on my screen just as his strong voice carries through the thick wood door. I shake my head incredulously. “Brecken, what are you doing here?”
“I came to check on you. I wanted to make sure you were okay without power and heat.”
I blink at the door before mumbling into the phone. “I have to go, Oliver. Brecken is here to check on me.” I disconnect the call not even caring if he’s pissed and then unlock the door, swinging it open to find Brecken standing on my stoop, wearing a puffy jacket, jeans, and a Bruins hat, absolutely soaked through with icy rain.
“Hey,” he says, licking his lips and staring up at me through dark lashes and the brim of his hat. He looks me up and down but makes no move to come in out of the storm. “I don’t know what I’m doing here. I was home in my pajamas working, but then the power went out and I got worried that maybe you weren’t okay. I know I shouldn’t have just shown up like this. I should have called or texted, but I—”
Cutting him off, I grab him by the front of his puffy jacket and haul him into my house, slamming the door behind him. I lock it up tight, set the alarm, spin around, catch his cold, wet cheeks in my hands, and crush my mouth to his. He responds instantly, mirroring my hold on him while pressing me back against the wall so he can devour me the way he wants.
His tongue dives in, dancing with mine as our lips slip and slide and feast hungrily. Clumsy fingers fumble with the zipper of his coat, but I need it off now, so I don’t even care about the small ripping noise I hear. I’ll replace his coat with a dozen more if I have to. Right now, I just need to feel him.
“Rina,” he breathes into me as I shove the coat from his shoulders, letting it drop to the floor with a wet splat.
“Who does that, Brecken? Who gets dressed in the middle of an ice storm and walks down dark, frozen Boston streets just to check on someone?”
His teeth catch my top lip and them my bottom, sucking it into his mouth and licking it with the tip of his tongue. Teeming with voracious hunger, his words carry on our breathy moans. “I wanted to see you. See your face, not just hear your voice. I wasn’t going to stay.”
Fuck him. Just fuck him for doing this. For making me like him so goddamn much. For being considerate and coming to check on me at the most perfect of moments.
He has no idea.
No clue.
I needed this, even though I felt like I shouldn’t. Like I should weather this storm—literally and metaphorically—by myself. I am brave and strong, stubborn and determined, but sometimes, despite that, I ruefully admit I need someone there. Someone to share my space without stealing my light by their hovering presence.
Brecken doesn’t even know the full extent of what I went through. That’s not why he’s here. He’s here for me. And I no longer care about anything else. Right or wrong. Should or should not. All I know is I need this man with an urgency and desire I’ve never faced before.
“I want you to stay.”
He growls low in the back of his throat, tilting his head and taking my mouth at a deeper angle. My fingers rake through his hair, knocking his hat back and off his head so it can join his coat on my floor. Wet, hot kisses trail down my neck while his greedy hands explore the skin of my stomach just under the hem of my shirt.
Deep inhales race exhales as he pulls back, his gorgeous face taut with lust while intense eyes feast on me. The pad of his thumb scrapes along my bottom lip and I take it in my mouth, sucking on it, nipping on the soft flesh while his eyes watch. Enraptured.
His touch unravels me with no way to stop it.
Without a word he plunges back in, his mouth taking over as he rips my sweatshirt from my body. My hands attack his clothes, first his shirt then the button and zipper on his wet jeans. His jeans prove troublesome, and a bubble of laughter jumps from my throat as I try in vain to yank them down.
He’s having the same problem with my fleece-lined leggings, a breath-stealing smile on his face. “Come here, Angel. Change of plans.” In his next breath, he scoops me up bride style, carrying me toward my stairs. He looks up once he reaches the bottom. Then leans forward, glancing up the stairwell as he hoists me up even higher on his chest. “Shit. You really do own all three floors, don’t you?”
“Yep,” I laugh the word, unable to stop my smile.
“And your bedroom?”
“On the second floor.”
“Oh, thank god.” He adjusts me in his arms like I’m the heaviest thing he’s ever held, and I playfully smack him upside the back of the head. “Only kidding. You’re lighter than a feather and I’m stiffer than a board so let’s get this show on the road.”
“Oh my god, I cannot believe you just said that.”
He winks at me before running full steam up the stairs like the devil himself is chasing him. I scream out, wrapping my arms tighter around his chest and clinging to him for dear life.
“I won’t drop you.”
“Better hope not. The last thing I want is to go to the ED and have Margot and Drew treat me for a broken ass.”
“Definitely not happening. Drew will never set eyes on your ass.” We reach the landing, and he looks around the spacious hallway at all the doors. “Christ, this place is massive. Which way?”
I point left and he instantly marches on, hardly out of breath at all. He crosses the threshold of my room, looks around the way he did before, nods like this will do, and then sets me down.
“Jesus, it’s dark in here.”
“Don’t move,” I order, heading straight for my nightstand and pulling out the small flashlight I have there. Switching it on, I set it so that the beam of light is facing up toward the ceiling, creating a soft glow throughout the room.
“Nice room. I like that you have a bench seat at the foot of your bed. I plan on using that.”
“Did you talk this much the first time we were together?”
He turns to me with the most adorable, boyish grin, complete with dimples and all. “I don’t think I was as nervous then as I am now. Something about this, about you, about being here tonight feels different.”
I peel off my leggings, tossing them into a nearby chair before I saunter over to him wearing nothing but my bra and panties. He rakes over every inch of me, heat gliding across my skin with every shift and swipe of his eyes. My hands hit the smooth, hard planes of his pecs before dragging up his shoulders and into his damp hair.
I stare into his eyes and it’s so much easier than I thought this would be.
“I like that you’re nervous. There’s a lot of different sides to you that I didn’t expect when we first met. I like Mr. Sexy Voice best, I think. Or Mr. Wonderful. Mr. Arrogant can sometimes be a little too full of himself.”