Page 36 of I Could Be Yours (The Toronto Terror #6)

ESSIE

N ate is clearly in a state of shock as I guide him away from Connor and his mother.

“Where do you want to go right now?” I don’t want to make assumptions, especially with how fragile he must be, but Brody is rooming with him. I worry about what could happen if Nate shows up there, looking destroyed.

“Back to your room.” His voice is thready with anguish. “Unless you don’t want me there. I’ll understand if you don’t.”

I stop and turn to face him. “I’m here for you, however you need me to be, Nate, okay?”

He nods once, eyes sad and watery.

When we reach my room, I pass my wrist in front of the sensor and usher him inside.

His broad shoulders cave in as he crosses the threshold. His head drops and he runs his fingers through his hair, gripping tightly.

I flip the safety latch and move to stand in front of him, settling a palm on his chest. “I’m so sorry, Nate.”

“Everything was going so good, and she had to ruin it,” he whispers. “I fucking hate what she did to our family. She broke us all. ”

“I wish I could take away the hurt,” I admit. “What can I do to help? What do you need?”

“You.” He closes his eyes, covers my hand, and steps closer. When his gaze lifts to mine, longing and apology are reflected back at me. “I want to forget she was ever here. I need out of my head.”

I wish I could get him to open up, to talk to me, let me in, but this is a deep, raw wound. Pushing could break him, so I move closer, sliding my hand up his chest to the back of his neck. “Show me how I can help you with that.”

He lowers his head, and his soft, needy groan hums across my lips as he slants his mouth over mine.

His hand tangles in my hair and the other winds around me, pulling me tight against him.

He deepens the kiss, despair shifting to hunger.

I want to siphon out his pain, kiss it all away, help him forget.

Eventually he stops to breathe, thumb brushing the edge of my jaw. “I need you, Ess. I’m sorry.” He drops his forehead to mine. “I just need to feel you.”

“It’s okay. I’m here.” I hold his face in my hands. “Let me make it disappear.”

“Please.”

I rid him of his shirt, and he peels me out of my dress, pushing my panties over my hips.

I undress him the rest of the way, struggling to stay focused as his fingers whisper over my skin.

When we’re both naked, Nate leads me to the bed, pulls the sheets back, and lifts me onto the mattress before he stretches out beside me.

The walls between us are crumbling, and I see so clearly the man before me. His shattered heart is in my hands, and I desperately want to mend the broken parts of him.

His eyes never leave mine as he traces my curves with gentle fingers. “I want to see you come apart for me, Essie.” He dips between my thighs.

“Whatever you need, Nate. I’ll be that for you,” I promise. Even if it ruins me .

His brow furrows. “Just be you. That’s all I want, just you.”

My heart stutters, and my body lights up at his earnestness and soft touch. His fingers move between my thighs, lips brushing over mine. His expression turns reverent as he finds the spot inside that makes me melt and moan for him.

His thumb circles my clit, and everything tightens. “That’s it, Ess.” He kisses me softly. “Let me see those pretty eyes when you’re coming for me.”

Heat funnels from my center as a rush of pleasure overwhelms me, spinning me out. And I have no chance to come down from the high, because Nate fits himself between my thighs, his erection sliding over sensitive skin.

I reach for the condoms on the nightstand.

He pushes up, fingers drifting over my cheek. “Can we…can I… I just want to feel you.” His voice is rough with need.

He’s seen my birth control pills on the bathroom counter. “You want to go bare?”

“I haven’t… I’m safe. I don’t want to pressure you, though.” He kisses my chin and then my lips.

Sex with no barriers is different. It speaks of trust and intimacy. Of more. And I want it, even though it terrifies me. “I don’t feel pressured. And I’m safe, too.” I shift my hips until the head nudges my entrance.

He exhales in a rush and frames my face with his wide palms. His brows pull together, and his mouth drops open as he fills me. Relief passes behind his eyes before it’s usurped by euphoria. “God, Essie, you feel so good. You always make me feel so good.”

I smile softly, hooking my feet at the small of his back. “So do you.”

He rolls his hips, and we both moan. This is nothing like the escapism fuck from this morning. He doesn’t hide from me, doesn’t drop his head or close his eyes. His gaze stays fixed on my face, one hand at my cheek, the other bracing his weight as he moves over me .

That shift I felt this morning happens again, and the air between us becomes electric.

We’re not just two bodies joined by pleasure.

He’s not just inside me; I’m inside him, too.

It’s more than my arms winding around him, it’s our souls twining—this connection we share is so much deeper, and it’s not just sex anymore.

I’m losing my heart to him, to this broken man who moves above me with veneration. This doesn’t feel like a distraction from his pain. This is me falling. Fallen. And I’m powerless to stop it.

“You are so beautiful,” he whispers against my lips. “Every part of you.”

“So are you.” His heart is battered and bruised—I know now how badly—but I still want him.

Warmth spreads through me as I contract around him, and still I don’t look away, don’t break the connection as bliss pulls me into the undertow. He joins me, tipping over the edge, lips on mine. Even after we’ve floated back down to earth, he stays inside me, kisses soft and slow.

Eventually he pulls back and brushes my damp hair off my forehead. “Can I stay with you?”

“Of course.” I’m relieved he doesn’t want to leave, and that… Well, it speaks to how much it will hurt when this week ends.

“I’ll be right back.” He carefully pulls out and pads to the bathroom, returning a minute later with a damp cloth.

He cleans me up, then climbs back into bed, curling his body around mine. Nate holds me close, lips pressed to my shoulder. This has become something so much bigger. I’m not supposed to fall for the man who doesn’t believe in love.

That’s the last thought I have before I drift off into a fitful sleep.

And I wake the next morning alone.