Caged in Winter by Brighton Walsh

Author:Brighton Walsh [Walsh, Brighton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, New Adult, Contemporary
ISBN: 9780698170209
Google: xzFBAwAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2014-11-03T16:00:00+00:00

EIGHTEEN

winter

I didn’t think it’d feel like this. In all the times I let myself go down this path, indulge in this daydream, I thought there’d be waves of panic, a crushing weight on my chest, shackles chained to my ankles from being connected to someone. From being on the receiving end of someone’s love. There’s too much responsibility, too much faith lying in your actions, too much possibility of heartache.

I didn’t want any of it.

And then Cade came, sweeping his way into my life, imposing and relentless and persistent, and I’m not the same.

That’s the only possible conclusion I can come up with. I’m not the same, because as I lie with him in his bed, his fingers trailing up and down the bare expanse of my back, I don’t feel the need to flee. The urge to run, to hide, doesn’t overcome me, even after experiencing what we just did.

I’ve had sex before. Plenty of sex with guys I knew and some I didn’t. And it was always fine. Sometimes I got off, sometimes I didn’t, but it was never anything more than just sex—two bodies meeting for a common need. With Cade it’s so different. It’s emotional and all-consuming. It’s . . . transcendent.

“What’re you thinking about?” His voice is low and throaty, his lips brushing against my temple as he speaks.

And even though I saw the look in his eyes while he was inside me, even though I know he feels this crazy connection like I do, I can’t share this with him. Not yet. I might be changed, but old habits die hard. He told me he was in love with me, and I still haven’t mustered up enough courage to reciprocate. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to say it back. I don’t even know if I feel it, because I’ve been too scared to take stock of my emotions.

What if I don’t?

What if I do?

Instead of divulging my thoughts, I say, “You lured me over here for homework, and somehow we wound up naked in your bed.”

His lips curve against my head as he smiles. “I was studying.”

I snort. “Studying what, how many different ways you can make me come?”

“Yes,” he says as he turns over, pinning me to the bed. “I’ve counted five so far. Are there more?”

Laughing, I push against his shoulders, and he rolls off me easily. “You are impossible.”

“Irresistible, you mean.” He’s on his back, completely naked, arms spread over his head. My eyes are drawn once again to the designs on them, and while I want to know, while he said he’d tell me about them anytime, I’m not sure I’m ready to hear their stories. Because I know, with Cade, it’s going to be deeply personal. I don’t know if I can handle that so soon after what just happened between us. If I have any hope of not ruining this thing between us, I need to move in baby steps.

“You did promise me study time.”

“I think I also promised you food.

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