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Brock gathers me in his arms, pulling me against his side. I find that I fit perfectly there and I love being near him. My arm is around him, my body pressing against his. It makes everything else in the world that I worry about vanish, at least for the immediate moment. I’m sure it’ll come rushing back soon enough, but for now, it’s nice to just… be.

I feel his fingers glide against my hip, drawing small circles there, and then he taps me gently. I’m sure he wants my attention, but right now, I just want to snuggle. I can’t believe that this is real. That I’m here, in his bed, wrapped around him, and it’s all… really real.

When he taps my hip again, I reluctantly lift my head and look at him. “Do you regret me yet?” he asks.

The question catches me slightly off guard, but I’m not sure if it should, because we’ve had a lot happen all at once and now, we’re in the quiet where everything seems to be becoming reality and no longer an idea, a theory… a fantasy.

“After that?” I ask, trying to keep things light.

He chuckles. “In general. This life isn’t anything conventional. It never will be, and your family is very much conventional.”

I think it’s hitting him just like it’s hit me. We’ve just taken a gigantic leap with little planned. We just did it. A few hours ago, when we were making said jump at my parents’ house, it felt necessary, like there was no other choice, but now that the dust has settled, it’s weighing heavily.

And then there’s the whole clubwhore thing that I didn’t even know was a thing until tonight. Just thinking about it makes my stomach clench. I want to believe that it’s just part of his past. It’s just something they do and is part of their culture as a club, but it’s not like these women vanish the moment one of them gets a woman.

The tits are definitely still out.

I hum, not sure how to respond. Resting my chin against his chest, I look up into his eyes, searching them with my own. I decide to mentally table the clubwhore thing, hoping that it’ll be a nonissue and stay that way. In my fantasy world, it is a nonissue, so that’s how I’m keeping it. So I shift my focus to the topic of conventional.

“I’m not, though,” I whisper. “I never have been… conventional, that is. Maybe on some things, but not everything. I don’t need my life to be wrapped up in a pretty package and bow. I just want to live and be happy.”

There is a moment of silence where we stare into one another’s eyes. His fingers don’t stop moving against my hip. I love the way he looks at me. It’s a mixture of disbelief and lust. It’s perfection, just like him.

He’s perfect for me.

He’s wild, untamed in the best ways, and maybe in the worst ways, too. I’m not sure yet, but I can’t wait to find out. He isn’t saying anything, so I decide to continue because maybe he needs to hear this from me. I never imagined men actually need to hear things, but he’s human just like me.

“I don’t regret you. I could never regret you, Brock. You gave me Thea, but now I have even more than that.”

He dips his chin slightly, his mouth touching mine, and then he growls before his tongue slips inside my mouth, tasting me, consuming me like only he can. He only breaks the kiss when we’re breathless and practically gasping for air. I would give up my air just to kiss him, though. I love the way he feels, the way he tastes.

“I don’t deserve you, Keely. I don’t deserve to have you right here with me, but here you are anyway, and I want you to be happy. I want to make you happy, because I’m fuckin’ keeping you, babe.”

My lips slowly curve up into a smile. They’re words I’ve dreamed of for over a year, and they didn’t seem like they could ever come. Like it was a fun little fantasy inside my own head, something I would think about on silent nights when I was feeling bad and distraught about my situation.

When I wanted someone to save me but knew I had to save myself. I don’t know if I’ve saved myself yet, but I’m here with him, and I feel like this leap is a step toward that… hopefully.

“You make me happy, Brock. Being here with you makes me beyond happy.”

But then the thoughts of the future start to swirl around in my head. They almost consume me in an instant. When his arm flexes around me, pulling me closer to him, they vanish… poof.

If I could melt into his body, I would. Right here. Right now.

“Everything about you and Thea makes me happy as fuck, babe. But there’s something on your mind that you’re not telling me.”

He’s right. I’m not telling him something. It’s nothing detrimental or anything, but it’s… How in the hell am I going to go to my job? I need to call Clare and ask if I can bring Thea, but I have a feeling she’s going to tell me no, especially since it’s because I moved out of my parents’ and in with Brock.

Instead of hiding or keeping it from him, I decide to just say it. “I don’t know how I’m going to get to work tomorrow night, or the rest of the week.”

His brows shoot up, his lips twitch, and his eyes dance. “You got a car, babe. You need gas or something? I’m planning on leaving you cash before I go in the morning on my trip.”

“It’s not money. It’s actually working. My parents were the ones watching Thea, but I can’t leave her there again, not after what happened.”

“So quit.”

CHAPTER

THIRTY-EIGHT