Page 37 of Broken Saint
His chest decompresses in a rush, his breath washing over my face, making the loose strands of my hair tickle my neck.
“We’re not kids anymore. I can’t just jump into bed with you at the drop of a hat because it’s fun and forget that tomorrow exists. I’m not that girl now.”
“Ella,” he breathes, pressing his brow against mine.
“I’m serious. Fun, party girl Ella has gone. The person left in her place is?—”
“Perfect?” he asks so seriously my eyes pop open.
“No. She’s far from that.”
His hand slides up my thigh until his long fingers wrap around my waist.
I cringe, knowing that he’s not feeling the dip of my waist like he once used to, instead one too many rolls that I’d rather not be there.
His other hand tightens on the side of my neck, holding me in place at his mercy as our breaths mingle.
“Are you willing to give me the chance to prove you wrong?”
I hold his eyes, searching for the joke in his words. He’s never tried to prove anything to me since the day we met. Well, maybe just that he was going to be the best lay I ever had. But my previous experience wasn’t overly exciting, so there wasn’t much to be done in the way of proving himself really.
Other than that, he’s always been unashamedly himself.
Hotshot football player. Shameless playboy. Everyone loves Colt for his easy-going, laid-back attitude. He’s friends witheveryone and respected by even more, especially now that almost everyone in the country knows his name.
So why he would feel the need to prove himself to anyone, let alone me, blows my mind.
“Please. I promise to make it worth your while.”
“I don’t know how long I’m here for.”
“Then there’s no time to lose, is there?”
10
COLTON
I’ve taken Ella with me.
I promise I’ll take good care of her.
Colt.
Placing the note against the coffee machine while Ella goes to the bathroom and grabs her purse, I meet her in the hallway and lace my fingers through hers.
I can’t help myself. Now that I’ve felt how soft and warm her skin is, I want more. I’m like a junkie craving their next hit, and I need it like I need to fucking breathe.
I half expect her to fight me on it. To pull her hand from mine and keep some distance between us. But she doesn’t. Instead, she squeezes my hand back as if she needs the connection just as much as I do.
A laugh tumbles from her lips the second she sees my truck. The happiness in that one laugh is completely at odds with the expression on her face as she stared back at me on Kane and Letty’s deck. It’s a sound I remember, one that used to light me up inside in a way I’ve never felt with anyone else.
“Don’t tell me, you bought it the day you signed with the Saints,” she says, walking over to my electric blue Ford F-150.
My heart swells as my smile grows.
“You remember,” I whisper.
“I—” She looks away, cutting herself off.