Page 53 of Heat Transfer
I was in love with Cormac Brannon.
I pulled away from the kiss and tipped my forehead against his, basking in his touch, his presence. “That was the best damn joke I’ve heard. Don’t you dare apologize.”
“Oh, so terrible puns are your style?” Cor cupped my cheek and stroked the side of my cheek with his thumb. “Good to know. I’ve got a storehouse of them from my family.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” The relief flooding my veins right now was so fierce I could barely breathe, but I didn’t pull away. Far too easily, I could imagine forever with this man, something I only let my mind wander to standing on the balcony of my apartment and staring out at the broad expanse of the city. All that vastness, all those people just made me feel like potential swarmed down there, waiting for me to find it.
However, it’d been in the form of one big bear of a man who’d sauntered into the sword fighting class I signed up for.
And he’d stolen my heart ever since.
“What do you say we move this party to the couch?” Cor asked. “My knees have gone numb. And I’m old and weathered.”
“You’re not even thirty,” I shot back, even as I started to test my legs. They were still weaker than normal, but I was able to push myself up.
“Okay, you try working as a contractor and see how ancient and decrepit your limbs become, IT boy.” His eyes sparkled with amusement, not the revulsion or pity I’d feared. Gratitude rushed through me again at how fast he’d switched to normalcy. How he teased me rather than hovering.
“Nah, I’d rather watch you get sweaty instead.” I batted my lashes for effect.
He shook his head and let out a groan. “You can’t tease me like that.”
“About what? Spreading your sexy cheeks and tasting you until you scream? Or taking your cock down my throat until you unload?” We’d frotted a hell of a lot, and he’d ridden my cock plenty, but a lot of times, the timing and locations didn’t lend themselves to taking him apart piece by piece with my mouth, and I was desperate to.
“You’re a monster.” Cor sank back onto his couch. He patted beside him. “Get over here and explain if there’s anything you need postseizure.”
“Mostly just some cooldown time,” I said, plunking down next to him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I cuddled against him, basking in the sharp vetiver scent. The man was pure sex, and mentally I wanted to fuck his brains out, but physically, I needed a few hours to just chill after what had happened. “You handled everything well. Do you have questions?”
My shoulders tensed as if bracing for an onslaught. Yet if I wanted anything more with him, I had to give him a chance. I had to let him in.
“You’ve mentioned the basics,” he said, the rumble of his voice against my ear soothing. “And I researched the rest online. You don’t get them often, right? And you seemed to have an idea it was coming.”
“Sometimes I get prodromal symptoms, and I sensed the aura when the seizure was about to happen.” I ran my fingers through my hair, my skin feeling pasty in the wake of everything. “It can get uglier than that though. Just so you’re aware.”
Cor arched a thick brow. “Is that your attempt at scaring me away?”
“Maybe a little bit,” I murmured. My heart was running off with me, and those three words I’d been gulping back bubbled to the surface, to the point that it physically hurt keeping them from him.
“Yeah, going to have to try harder than that. I’m not going anywhere.”
My heart clenched hard. Those words were everything I needed to hear from a partner and could’ve only hoped for.
Cor stared ahead as if searching for something, and his shoulders tensed. Tucked in the crook of his arms, I felt every micromovement, and I lapsed into silence. My heart beat a million miles a minute, and the urge to blurt out everything I’d restrained was so strong, but I also wanted to give him space to speak.
I was well aware Cor didn’t often carve that space for himself.
“In case it hasn’t been obvious for a while now, I’m in love with you,” Cor said. The words landed stark in the velvet quiet between us.
Wait, full stop.My brain was sluggish with processing, but my heart rioted in my chest. Giddiness burst within me, pure champagne bubbles and Pop Rocks.
“And this might bite me in the ass. This might not even be what you want, and that’s okay. But I’m tired of not speaking up,and I don’t want to let the potential for something amazing pass me by. I don’t want this to be fake anymore. Because it’s never been fake for me.”
My throat tightened as if a golf ball lodged there, and my eyes burned. This man. I didn’t believe life had much in store for me other than a lonely road, but Cor made me believe in more. He made me hope, made me dream.
I surged up and pressed my lips to his.
My eyes grew watery as I kissed him hard, gripping his nape. We twisted on the couch, and I forced my limbs into motion to climb onto his lap, straddling him. His hands settled around my waist, and my heart jumped against my ribs. Part of me had known, deep down, even if I’d tried to convince myself opposite. That Cor had always been mine. My chest filled with a swell of emotions unparalleled to anything I’d experienced before.
This was the elation of a home game win at the rink, the high of swords clashing in the middle of a match. It was every soft look Cor gave me, every time he melted around me. I drank in the euphoria coursing through my veins with this kiss, which was an answer, a promise, a benediction.