Chuckling, I pull her farther into me and kiss her hair. “If you have nightmares, I’m right upstairs.”
“Like I will ever be able to sleep after that,” she mumbles, looking worriedly over my shoulder toward her bedroom door while nibbling on her bottom lip.
“Right.” I lay down, dragging her with me as I go, and then adjust her so that half her body is on mine and her face is resting against my chest.
“What are you doing?” she asks, sounding stunned.
“Since you won’t be able to sleep in your bed, we’re going to sleep here.”
“Colton.”
“Gia,” I answer, grabbing the blanket she put there off the back off the couch and putting it over us.
“I think—”
She tries to push off me, but I don’t let her go. I just hold her tighter. “Stop thinking so much, Gia.” I run my fingers through her hair at the side of her head.
“Is this even comfortable for you?”
“I’m good,” I whisper, and she lets out a long breath. I can’t tell if it’s an annoyed or relieved one.
“Colton,” she murmurs, and I dip my head down to look at her when I feel her raise hers.
“Yeah?”
“I….” She pauses, looking unsure. “Never mind,” she mumbles, lying her head back down on my chest and tucking her hand under her cheek.
“Gia.” Running my hand up the side of her neck and her jaw, I wait for her to lift her head and look at me. Once I have her eyes, I wrap my fingers around her chin and lift my head while bringing her mouth to mine. The kiss isn’t wet or deep. It’s nothing more than our mouths meeting in a soft touch. “Sleep,” I say against her lips. After tucking her face back against my chest, I reach forward, grab the remote, and turn off the TV.
“Night, Colton.”
“Night, Gia.” I run my fingers through her hair and continue doing that until I feel her body go limp. Pulling my chin back, I look down at her through the dark and see she’s asleep, and then rest my head back against the couch, following behind her.
And for the first time in what seems like forever, I don’t dream about getting shot and almost losing my legs. I dream about making a beautiful girl, with eyes the color of emeralds, mine. When I wake up with Gia still in my arms in the middle of the night, I vow to make that dream a reality.
CHAPTER 7
The First Kiss Is Always The Sweetest . . .
Until The Second
Gia
BLINKING AGAINST THE BRIGHT light shining in my eyes, it takes a second for the sleep to clear away and for me to realize I’m still on the couch with Colton. Sometime in the night, we moved. Now my back is to the couch cushion, with his arm and leg over me, holding me prisoner. There is no escaping without me waking him up.
He kissed me.
My eyes close on that thought and my lips tingle. His lips were softer than I thought they would be, and I had thought about them a lot since the moment we met. He also didn’t try to take that kiss deeper, and I don’t know if that means he didn’t like the kiss, or if he’s trying to go slow for my sake. I need to call Nat and see what she thinks it means.
“Stop thinking so much.” Colton’s deep, sleepy voice breaks through my rampant thoughts and my eyes shoot open to meet his.
“You kissed me,” I accuse, which sounds dumb to even me, because last night, I didn’t fight the kiss or pull away. Even when it ended, I laid my head right back down on his chest, where I fell asleep and stayed through the night.
“It’s too early for this. Go back to sleep. We have at least another hour before we need to get up,” he says, tucking the top of my head under his chin. Staring at the column of his throat, I wonder what his skin tastes like then wonder if he would notice if I touched my tongue to it. Figuring he would probably notice that, I close my eyes and try to go back to sleep, but I can’t. I’m way too wound up to even think about sleep.
“Colton.”
“Yeah?” he asks, not sounding any more awake than he sounded minutes ago.
“I can’t go back to sleep.”
“Do you want to make out?” he suggests, and a shiver slides over my skin while my fingers tighten in the material of his shirt under my cheek.
“I don’t think that would be smart. Do you?” I ask, hoping he agrees with me while wishing he wouldn’t.
“I’m going to kiss you, Gia, and it’s going to happen a lot. So smart or not, it is what it is.”
“I—”
“Don’t deny there is something building between us, Gia. ‘Cause that will piss me off,” he warns, dipping his chin down so he can look at me.
“I’m not going to deny it. I like you, and I…” I pause, trying to get my thoughts in order, which is difficult, since he’s right there looking at me. “I just like you. But you’re my only friend here. I mean, yeah, I have Nina and Ned, but they’re older, so it’s not the same. I don’t want to lose your friendship if things go bad. If we don’t work out, that will happen.”
“If things don’t work out, we’ll worry about it then.”
“You can’t say that.”
“I can.”
“You can’t,” I deny, right before he adjusts us so my back is to the couch and he’s over me with one thigh between mine. “Colton,” I gasp, but I don’t get anything more out.
His mouth hits mine, and his lips are firm and demanding, the opposite of last night. My lips part, and when they do, his tongue sweeps in, his taste hits me, and a shiver of pure delight slides over my skin and through every inch of me. Kissing him back, I mewl when his hand slides under my skull so he can tip my head to the side and deepen the kiss. Listening to him groan, I slide my hands up the back of his shirt, where I’m greeted by warm skin.
“Oh shit.”
Hearing that, Colton’s mouth leaves mine.
“Ma, what the fuck?”
His mom? Oh, God!
I keep my eyes closed and squeeze them even tighter, wanting to melt into the couch and disappear.
“I’m sorry. I’ll just—”
I don’t hear anything more except the door shutting behind her. At least I’m pretty sure she left. Then again, she might still be here—not that I’m going to open my eyes to find out.
“That didn’t just happen,” I whisper, wishing it didn’t but knowing it totally did. His mom just walked in on us making out on his couch, where we spent the night.
“Gia.” His hand wraps around my cheek and I shake my head.
“I’m not here right now,” I reply, then feel his forehead touch mine.
“Look at me.”
“Your mom just walked in on us… making out.”
“So?”
I know by the amusement in his voice that if I open my eyes, he will be smiling. “She’s my boss.”
“Actually, I’m your boss,” he mutters, and my eyes fly open just so I can attempt to kill him with my glare. “Okay, it’s too soon to make a joke of it.”
“I can’t believe this.”
“She was bound to find out about us eventually,” he says, and my eyes widen. “I’m not going to hide the fact I like you and that I really like kissing you.”
“You are not allowed to kiss me in front of your mother,” I hiss, and he grins.
“Like I said, I’m not going to hide the fact I like kissing you,” he repeats, emphasizing that statement by kissing me again.
“Colton.” I shove at his chest, which does nothing at all to move him.
“Gia.”
“Colton,” I growl in frustration.
“Gia,” he laughs, sliding his fingers across my cheek. “I would love to continue this pointless argument, but I need to tell my mom that she can come inside and that she doesn’t need to stand out on the porch with her ear to the door.”
“I’m not doing that,” I hear through the wood of the door, and my cheeks burn.
“Come in, Ma,” he calls, pulling me up with him as he stands from the couch.
As soon as the door opens, Rose looks between us, and I pat my hair and adjust my shirt. “So how long has this been going on?” she asks, waving her hand out in our direction.