Page 53 of Loving Trent (Love in the Bootheel #5)

Thirty-Two

SHAWN

Staying away from Trent isn’t possible any longer.

The need to hold him in my arms is a physical thing, tearing away at the very fabric of my being.

Crossing the room with everyone’s eyes on me as my chest burns from the lack of oxygen seems like it takes forever.

It’s as if the hardwood floors have transitioned into quicksand, but I push through it all.

Harley unwraps her arms from Trent’s waist as I wrap my hand around his biceps.

Uncle Joey moves to plaster himself to the cabinet as I yank Trent backwards.

Someone laughs from the living room, but it’s like static to my ears as I maneuver Trent in front of me and push him toward Emilee’s old room.

I think I’d like to become a Foster even more.

As soon as we cross the threshold of the room, my foot kicks the door shut, Trent spins around, and is in my arms where he will be for the rest of his fucking life. His cheeks are still wet as they press against my neck, and his body trembles with the leftover waves of his heart-wrenching sobs.

“I’ve got you, Baby. I love you and I’m never letting you go.

” My lips brush his shoulder as I repeat myself over and over.

I’ll tell him all of this every single day for the rest of my life.

My last words on this earth will be those if that’s what it takes to make sure his demons never get their claws back into him.

Slowly, I pull him away from me because I need to see his soul melting eyes.

Pushing Trent’s thick hair away from his forehead, I press my lips to it.

I breathe in his woodsy smell, which I now know comes from his body wash.

He isn’t a big cologne guy, but doesn’t need it.

“Did you mean it?” I mumble, my lips brushing against his skin as I refuse to remove them from him for a second.

Trent pushes his body harder against mine, his arms tighten around my waist, and even his legs squeeze mine tighter as if he doesn’t want an inch between us. “All of it.”

My heart does that stupid fluttering that it did minutes ago when he said he wanted to become a Foster for the first time.

That was the first time it didn’t feel like an invisible hand was crushing my heart since Harley peeked inside and saw Trent breaking down.

We all rushed inside to make sure he was alright.

Which only served to triple my love for my family.

Hearing how scared he was that all of this would be ripped away from him because of his shortcomings almost brought me to my knees.

They were shaking so badly that had Sammy not grabbed my hand, I would have crumbled to the floor.

“Me too,” I finally say after pushing away the sight of him crying.

Trent looks up at me with bewilderment in his eyes. “That doesn’t scare you?” I don’t answer that ridiculous question with words. Instead, I give him my best what the fuck look. “Shawn, it’s only been a couple of months?—"

I place a finger to his lips to shut him up.

“It’s been two months of living together.

Being together almost twenty-four seven.

If you take that and put it against a couple that doesn’t live together.

Who only goes on, let’s say, two dates a week for four hours, then we have been dating for…

” I do some very quick calculations in my head and hope I’m right as I say, “Almost four years.”

He tries to speak, but I push my finger against his lips harder.

“Trent. I’ve been in other relationships.

Hell, I thought I’d been in love before, but I was so fucking wrong.

I’m not going to question what we have between us, and I’m not going to let the intensity of what we have scare me.

I’m not proposing to you right now. All I’m saying is that I see a future with you, and that future is something that I really…

” I replace my finger with my lips for a short kiss before saying, “Really fucking want.”

My body goes lurching forward as Trent moves backward toward the bed.

The room spins as he turns us quickly, and then I’m falling.

My thighs open, and he wastes no time settling himself between them.

I’m positive that dinner is almost done, and soon someone will be busting through the door to get us, but that doesn’t stop me from wrapping my legs around his waist. “How can you be so fucking brave?” Trent asks, running his nose up my throat.

My eyes close as pleasure blooms in my stomach at the feel of his weight pressing me down.

I grab a hold of the soft light gray sweater he’s wearing and try to pull him closer.

“When it comes to relationships of my own, I’m usually not,” I tell him, my breathing turning ragged as he holds himself up with one hand while the other pushes up under my sweater. “But you make me brave.”

“I make you brave?” Trent’s question hits me hard, not only because as soon as he asked it, he licks the shell of my very sensitive ears, but also because he sounds so unsure of himself.

Over the last two months, I’ve seen glimpses of another side of him.

It happens typically late at night when he doesn’t notice I’m still awake, but sometimes I swear I see a broken boy trapped in his eyes.

I dig my blunt nails into his chest and love the shudder that goes through his body.

“Yes. You are exactly what I’ve always wanted in a partner.

I searched for the way you make me feel among all those other boys, but never found it.

The moment I found you, I knew that in order to have you,” I thread my hands through his hair and pull him away from my neck.

His eyes are almost entirely black. “I knew that if I wanted to keep you forever, I would have to be brave.”

I don’t stop him when his gaze lands on my lips, and the intent is clear as day in his eyes.

I let him press his lips against mine even though my mind turns to mush every time he kisses me.

He nips at my bottom lip, and my already hard dick twitches and aches.

I lick the seam of his lips, begging for him to let me in, which he does.

He pulls away first, his hot breath fanning over my lips, making me ache to continue feasting on his lips.

“You are everything that I wanted. It’s been you long before I even knew what this was,” Trent says, and even if I couldn’t hear the truth in his voice, I would believe him because I feel it.

To the outside world, we might not make sense, nor will everyone understand how we can be so sure of each other, but that’s the great thing about all this.

The outside world doesn’t matter. No one’s opinion of how quickly we have moved in our relationship matters.

Not to me, him, or our family. This… us…

our love isn’t for anyone else but me and him.

I will never understand how anyone thinks they should have an opinion about someone else’s love life.

I understand that everyone has their beliefs, and they have a right not to like something or agree with someone else’s decisions.

But as long as whatever that person is doing isn’t hurting someone, people need to learn to keep their mouths shut.

Us loving each other is hurting no one, and I will never not stand up for my right to love him.

We are both adults who have consented to do this, and that is all that matters.

A soft knock interrupts my thoughts, but Trent doesn’t move an inch away from me. He is lying on my chest with his body flat against the bed in between my legs. “Yes?” I say loud enough that whoever is standing on the other side of the door hears me.

“Can I come in?” I thought it would be Harley or Nana, but I’m shocked that it’s Sammy.

“Yes,” Trent says, turning his head toward the door.

The smile on Sammy’s face when she sees us is bright, like the sun coming out after a rainstorm. She leans against the door frame and sighs. “I love all of this,” she says, waving her hand in the air.

I smile at her and kiss the top of Trent’s head. “So do I.”

“The food’s done, and Nana would like Trent to cut the turkey,” Sammy says before turning around and letting the door shut softly behind her.

“That’s a huge honor in this family,” I tell Trent as he tightens his grip on me instead of getting off. “Come on. We don’t want Nana coming in here with her wooden spoon, do we?”