Page 119 of Control Freak

He pushed my shoulder, knocking me onto my back, then leaned in to kiss me again. We kissed until it was time for him to leave for work, and before he did, he took hold of my hand and slowly raised it to his face.

He laid my palm along his cheek, holding my eyes while he did. “I want everything with you.”

“Then you’ll get it. Whether it’s this year or twenty years from now, I’ll be here. I’ve got everything I need with you.”

He lowered my hand from his face, blowing out a breath. “Okay.”

“Do you believe me?” I asked.

He held my gaze, searching for the answers, then nodded. “Yeah. I really do.”

I didn’t have school, so I let Holden get ready for work first. By the time I showered and dressed, the brothers were all gone.

Emory was rinsing breakfast plates and loading them into the dishwasher when I entered the kitchen.

“You missed breakfast,” he said with a knowing smile. “This is becoming a habit.”

I made a beeline for the coffeepot and poured the dregs into a cup. “Maybe I’m just not a morning person.”

“Oh, I think you like mornings quite a lot,” Emory teased. “We could hear how much.”

I raised my cup and took a sip, watching him over the rim. “Where’s the shy guy who blushed like crazy when he walked in and saw me naked?”

“Well, you’ve got clothes on now. And I’ve had to put up with alotof teasing about me and Gray, so I’m just paying it forward.”

I grinned. “Fair enough. Holden and I had other priorities this morning.”

Emory ran another plate under a stream of water, pausing to scrub a streak of ketchup with a sponge before setting it in the dishwasher.

“Things seem to be going well with you two?”

I set down my coffee cup and moved in to take the next plate from his hands and place it in the dishwasher. It didn’t feel right to stand around and watch him clean up.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“That’s all you’re going to give me?” Emory said. “I sensed something was a little off the other day. You were…careful with each other. I don’t know. It was just a vibe.”

I nodded. He was perceptive.

“Holden pushed a little too hard. Had a bad reaction. I didn’t take it well.”

Emory looked concerned. “Is he okay?” He paused. “Are you? That must not be an easy position to be in.”

As if a dam had broken, everything poured out of me.

“I got so scared of hurting him,” I blurted. “I freaked out more than him, I think.” I laughed at myself, shaking my head. “The tattoo session helped, though. We’re doing good.” I thought of the crazy hot morning sex. “Better than good.”

Emory closed the dishwasher, and by some unspoken agreement, we moved to the sofa. I settled into the corner, and Emory sat on the other end but turned sideways to face me.

“I peeked in a few times while you guys were with Cyrus. You touched Holden some, right?”

“Yeah, Holden wanted to reassure me by doing some touch therapy in a more controlled environment. Mainly because I was scared after…”

Emory’s eyes softened. “That’s understandable.”

“Is it? Because I feel like I made it all about me when Holden is the one who has this terrible trauma, you know? I need to be there for him.”

“And you are,” Emory said. “But you’re in this relationship too. It’ll never work if you put Holden’s needs above your own.”