Page 34 of Living for Truth (Broken Shelves #2)

Morgan

S he wants to date me. She wants our relationship to be real.

My head swims with those three little words, the ones that would be too soon to say. My mouth aches from the force of holding them back.

She likes me.

Asters and yellow daffodils: Two symbols of love. She was going to give them to me to convey her feelings.

She wants to be with me.

I was going to take her to her house, give her a kiss goodnight, and leave. But now—now I’m thinking half with the head on my shoulders and half with the head in my pants. Aly’s sleeping at Olivia’s tonight, so I don’t need to worry about her.

“Um, Morgan? This isn’t my exit,” she says, still gripping my hand.

“I know. I’m taking you to my place, Hannah. We’re going to talk.” And then, I might finally get a taste of you.

“Okay.”

The rest of the drive is silent, and when we pull into the garage and I put the car in park, the tension becomes so thick I swear it could be spooned out of the air.

I exit the car, open Hannah’s door, and lead her into the house.

She toes off her shoes by the door and sets down her purse, then stands there, looking up at me.

Her lip stain is a bit faded, and her hair is a little more wild, but she still looks absolutely gorgeous.

I step forward and brace a hand above the wall like I did at her apartment. Only this time, I bring a hand up to cup her jaw. I watch her throat work on a swallow as our eyes lock.

“I thought we were going to talk,” she whispers.

“We are. Tell me again you want to do this for real.”

“I want to do this for real.” Her voice doesn’t waver one bit.

“I want that, too.” I drag my thumb across her cheekbone, watching her little pink tongue drag across her lips. “Can I kiss you, Hannah?”

She tilts her face up to mine in silent agreement, and I lower mine to meet her halfway.

The instant our lips touch, it feels like a puzzle piece fits into place. A piece of my heart that had been rattling around waiting to be put back by the right person.

I kiss her slowly, wanting to memorize everything about this moment. Savoring her like a fine wine, I take long, luxurious sips so I can discern every flavor and let my palate memorize them.

I tease the seam of her lips with my tongue, gently asking if she’ll open up for me, and she eagerly does, our tongues dancing in a way that’s so new, yet so familiar..

She tastes like coconut rum and my future wife.

I want more, want to take this slow, want anything she’ll give me.

I press my body against hers, bringing the hand on the wall down to grip her hip and groan into her mouth at how amazing she feels.

She’s so fucking soft, so lovely. I want to feel her everywhere.

I pull back, and she whimpers. But I need to ask her. Need to know if she’s feeling as desperate as I am.

“I know we just made this official, and I don’t want you to think I only want you for sex but—”

Meow!

“What was that?” she asks, peering around me. “Oh!” She startles when the black void of fur rubs against her legs.

“That would be Bean. Resident black cat asshole.” I sigh, trying to pick him up.

He hisses at me and swats at my hands.

“Awe, he’s just a baby. Aren’t you a sweet baby?” she coos, bending down to let him sniff her hand.

The little demon rubs himself on her leg like they’re lifelong friends and lets her pet him. When she tries to pick him up, he lets her.

“Are you made of catnip or something? He’ll only let Aly pick him up. No one else in my family is even allowed to touch him besides her.” I watch as Hannah cradles him like a baby, and he nuzzles into her breasts.

I’d really like to do that, too, you little beast.

“That can’t be true. He’s such a sweetheart. Aren’t you, Bean?” She plops a kiss on his head, and I swear if cats could smirk, he’d be smirking at me right now. Like he knows I was trying to get intimate with Hannah and decided it would be fun to intervene.

Meow. Bagel ambles in, and Hannah gasps. “Oh, the other one! Are you and your brother best friends?”

Resigning myself to letting her love on the cats for a little bit, I make my way over to the couch and sit down, motioning for her to sit by me. She does, and Bagel immediately hops onto the back of the couch to sniff her.

When he’s done his sniff-spection and deemed her safe, he curls up into her lap while she still cradles Bean.

I didn’t think anything could make me love this woman more, but watching my asshole of a furbaby cuddle into her makes me want to drop to one knee right the fuck now.

“Sorry, I got distracted by the cats.” She sighs, looking a little timid.

I give her an unimpressed look. “Are you really? Because you look pretty comfy over there.”

“I had a cat growing up—Cheddar. My mom spent a fortune on a Siberian cat because they’re supposedly hypoallergenic.

She would have him groomed to look like a lion.

He was kind of dumb, but he was the sweetest thing.

He would curl up on my lap while I was studying or when we’d watch a movie.

I think he could tell I needed a friend, so he would get on the end of my bed and sleep there some nights.

I was devastated when he died, and my mom wouldn’t let me get another cat.

“I wanted to get a cat with Liam, but he always refused. Said we should save our money for more important things. We always conveniently moved to places we couldn’t have animals, or he’d say we should focus on having a baby instead.”

I grab her hand and squeeze. “You can come cuddle these two anytime. Or you can get your own cat. I think your landlord would be lenient.”

She stiffens a little and stops petting Bean, who lets out a meow in protest. “Can we even date if you’re my landlord? That’s got to be a breach of lease—”

“We don’t have a lease—”

“Oh God. What if we break up and you don’t want me to live there anymore?”

“Hey.” I gently squeeze her hand. “Look at me.” She turns and meets my eyes. “I don’t plan on breaking up. Okay? And if for some reason we did, I would never jeopardize your living situation. If you’d like my lawyer to draft up a lease, I will do it. But know your living arrangement is safe.”

“Sorry, that was probably overly dramatic, but I just really don’t want to have to live with my parents again.”

Apparently bored with our serious conversation, Bean and Bagel simultaneously leap off the couch and dart from the room.

Hannah continues, “I don’t need a lease. I trust you.”

I nod, unsure of what else to say. I love that she trusts me, and I hope I never lose that trust.

“So… before we were interrupted,” she turns and faces me, using her sock-covered foot to run up my leg, “you were saying something about wanting me for sex?”

Just like that, the tension in the air is back, and my cock stirs, remembering how perfect she felt against me.

I run a hand up her thigh. “I was saying I don’t want you to think I want you only for sex, but if you were interested…” I trail off, feeling the heat of her skin under my palm. If I slid my hand up just three inches my fingers would be able to feel the heat of her pussy, too.

“I’ve only ever been with Liam. I might not be… good,” she whispers, like it’s a shameful thing.

I shake my head. “First things first, Hannah. I never want to hear that douchebag’s name—or any other person’s name for that matter—when my hand is so close to your pussy. Second, that doesn't bother me. I want to pleasure you. I want you. Exactly as you are.”

Hannah pulls her bottom lip between her teeth while she thinks about it.

It feels like hours before she finally grabs my face in her palms and says, “Please be gentle with me.” Then she brushes her lips against mine.