Page 139 of At First Catch

Maybe it’s this.

Hadley’s breathing against my chest. Her fingers drawing absent patterns along my side. The certainty that neither of us is going anywhere yet.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask.

She hesitates.

“You.”

One corner of my mouth lifts. “Good answer.”

Her laugh brushes warmly across my skin.

“And how scary it is that loving you feels completely natural.”

Fear flickers through me before I can stop it. Fast and instinctive. Apparently not fast enough.

Hadley pushes herself onto one elbow.

“What was that?”

I lift my brows. “What was what?”

“That look.”

I stare toward the ceiling and exhale.

“Hads—”

“Nope.”

A laugh escapes despite myself.

She smiles, pleased with the victory.

“You’re impossible,” I mutter.

“Yet.”

My hand slides up her back and settles against the nape of her neck. The touch steadies something inside me, although I’m not sure whether I’m grounding her or myself.

Probably myself.

“You loving me feels natural to you,” I state.

“Yes.”

The answer comes without hesitation.

I swallow.

“That scares me sometimes.”

The mischievous glint fades from her eyes. Not because she’s offended. It’s because she understands what I mean without forcing me to explain every ugly piece of it.

She studies me in the soft morning light, and I have the uncomfortable feeling that she sees straight through every defense I’ve ever built.

Then she cups my face between her hands.