Page 88 of The Honeymoon Hack

Chapter 34

Brie

My hand trembledon the door handle. I’d stood here for three whole minutes, trying to find the words, trying to find the courage. Rav was right; some riskswereworth taking, but that didn’t make the moment any easier.

I opened the door, and there stood Will—right there, his hands on his ID card, as though he’d just put it on. His eyes met mine, relief and uncertainty warring in his expression. “I was about to go looking for you.”

“Here I am.”That is not what you’d planned on saying, Brie.

“To be clear: I’m sorry if what I said hurt you,” he said carefully, his voice rough. “But I’m not going to apologize for how I feel.”

The careful distance in his tone made my chest ache. I’d done this—created this wall between us with my fear, my stubborn insistence that everything had to stay the way it was.

“I ran into Rav,” I said, taking a tentative step closer.

Will’s brow furrowed. “Okay?”

Two more steps. Close enough I had to tilt my head back to look at him properly. My palm found his chest, feeling the rapid thrum of his heartbeat through his shirt. “He told me aboutsomeone from his past. Someone he loved and lost because he was too afraid to take the risk.”

Will’s breath hitched, his body going rigid under my touch.

“I’ve been so scared.” My fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt. “Scared of change, scared of my life spiraling out of control, scared of everything. But you know what I’m more scared of now?”

He couldn’t seem to find any words. He just shook his head, his dark eyes scanning my face as though looking for a sign of hope.

“Losing you because I’m a coward.” The admission tore out of me. “I want to try. I want to see if we really could have what you think we can.”

“Brie,” he breathed, relief pouring out of him. He took my face in his hands, so gently. “Are you sure? Because I can’t— I can’t go back to pretending after this.”

“I’m terrified,” I whispered, leaning into his touch.

“So am I.” His thumbs traced my cheekbones. “But this past year, watching my mother fade, only having half of her left… it made me realize I can’t live with only half of you anymore. I need all of you, or I need to find a way to move on.”

The raw honesty in his voice broke something open inside me. “I want all of you, too.”

“The things I’ve dreamt of doing with you…” His eyes searched mine one more time, as though giving me a moment to change my mind. When I didn’t, he slid his hands up to my glasses, easing them off my face with infinite care. The world went soft around the edges, but Will remained crystal clear as he set them on the desk behind me.

“Show me,” I said, finally ready to stop denying myself what I wanted. “Show me everything you’ve imagined.”

The controlled, careful Will I knew vanished. He crushed me against him, his mouth claiming mine. This wasn’t performanceor cover or pretense. This was real—Will kissing me like he was drowning and I was air.

He walked me backward until my spine met the wall, his mouth traveling south. Heat exploded through my body—from my lips down to my core, settling as a deep, aching throb between my thighs.

“You have no idea,” he whispered against my throat, his teeth scraping along my pulse point. “I want to devour you whole.”

Holy shit.This was Will—my Will—talking to me like this, touching me like this.

My hands fumbled desperately with his shirt, suddenly clumsy with need. “Then take me. All of me.”

He lifted me effortlessly against the wall, and my legs locked around him. When he ground his hips against me, the hard length of him pressing right where I needed it most, I rolled my head back and moaned.

He wanted me. Desperately. His erection strained against his pants, imprinting itself onto my core through the thin barrier of our clothes. How had I never realized I affected him this much?

“Christ, you taste good,” his voice rumbled. “I want to taste every inch of you.”

“Will!” I gasped and dug my nails into his shoulders.

He carried me to the bed, and I was weightless, desired,wantedin a way I’d only been once before. When he lowered me onto the mattress and covered my body with his, I could barely think past the sensation of his weight pressing me into the sheets.