Coffee was the only thing I stopped for on the way home. It was still early when I pulled into Garnet Bend. Barely time for Cori to be getting ready for work. I wanted to talk to her now. Right away. No waiting.
Her truck was parked in front of her house, but my curiosity was piqued. Had she used the key? I’d drop off my suitcase, and if she wasn’t in my house, then I’d go next door.
As soon as I walked in, I knew she was here. The light perfume that was a combination of vanilla and cinnamon hung in the air. Her shoes were near the front door, and her coat was on the rack.
I set down my suitcase and toed off my shoes so I could be quiet. Not to sneak up on her, but she was probably still asleep.
The morning sun was coming through my bedroom window, painting her with light. Cori was perfectly asleep, sprawled over the pillows in one of my T-shirts. It was huge on her but had pulled up in her sleep so I saw her panties underneath it.
That sight did things to me that I couldn’t explain. Seeing her in my bed and my clothes like she belonged there. She did belong there. My chest swelled with satisfaction seeing her like this. Cori felt safe here because of me.
The sight of her spread out like that made me more than happy. It turned me on. I was harder than a rock. But she would have to go to work soon, and I needed to tell her everything.
Slowly, I sat on the bed next to her. She stirred, sensing the movement. Drawing my hand down her arm, I enjoyed the feeling of her skin. It hadn’t even been a day, and I was still craving her. The smile on my face…I couldn’t stop it.
Holy fuck, I was in love with this woman.
“Cori,” I said softly.
Stretching, she opened her eyes and startled before realizing it was me. “You’re here.” She relaxed.
“And you’re in my shirt.”
She flushed pink. “Is that okay?”
“Okay?” I laughed softly and leaned down so I could kiss her. “If I had my way, I’d throw out your entire wardrobe so you could wear nothing but this.”
“I don’t know if that’s very practical.”
My hand drifted lower, over the bare skin of her hip, where I let my thumb curl under the fabric of her underwear. “I don’t know, it feels pretty practical to me.”
Her body arched under my hand. “I see the appeal.”
“As much as I want to follow this path, I need to talk to you.”
Cori’s eyes cleared of the haze of lust that had been in them. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” I said, squeezing her hip. “Everything is good. I saw the doctor this morning. About my spine.”
She bit her lip. “I thought it might be, but I didn’t know if it was okay to ask.”
“You can always ask me anything. I promise.”
Her hand fell on mine, and I resisted the temptation to move my hand to her ass and dive headfirst into making her scream. “The doctor I saw was a surgeon. I haven’t been handling my spine properly. Nothing was helping, and I didn’t want to deal with it. I’m changing that now.”
Cori met my gaze hesitantly. “Because of me?”
“Partially. And partially because the piece of shrapnel I have in my body is moving. Eventually it will bury itself in my spine, and that could paralyze me.”
She froze, squeezing my hand.
“This surgeon is one of the best in the country, and she’s confident that she can remove the shrapnel. But there’s always a chance that things could go wrong, and I end up paralyzed anyway.”
Slowly, Cori sat up and ran her hands through her hair. She was adorably messy, turquoise hair everywhere. “If you want to get the surgery, you should,” she said. “Obviously, I understand the urgency of it, given my family. I just… I don’t want to lose you.” Her cheeks were aflame, and she was looking down at the bedsheets. “Don’t get me wrong, I know that surgery doesn’t have a high probability of death, but that thought is terrifying because I’m…” She slowed to take a breath. “I’m in this with you.”
That was as close to a declaration as she could make. I tilted her face up to mine, stealing a kiss. She was breathtaking.
“The reason I’m telling you this, Cori, is because I’m in this too. With you. I told the surgeon I needed to think it over, mostly because I wanted to discuss it with you.” I lowered my voice. “Because of how important you’ve become to me.”
Cori looked everywhere but at me. She was fidgeting nervously, and that felt a little off. But then, given that I’d just told her I could be paralyzed, it was to be expected. It wasn’t easy news to hear.
“I want you,” I told her. “All of you. I want to be with you, and I want to take this as far as it goes.” Now I made her look at me. “I mean that.”
Her breathing sped up. I hoped she understood what I was trying to tell her. “But until after the surgery, I’m not going to make any true commitments.”
“Why?”
I shook my head. “The last thing I want to do is to drag you in too deep and then leave you alone. Or suddenly make you a caretaker for a partner who can’t move. That’s no kind of life for you.”
“That’s my choice, Grant.”
“It’s my choice too,” I told her. “And I don’t want that for you.”
She smiled. “It won’t matter. Because everything will be fine. Nothing bad is going to happen.”
“I hope so.”
I kissed her again and savored the way she melted beneath me. So fucking perfect I couldn’t stand it. “Nothing bad,” I whispered. It was both a prayer and a promise. “How long until you have to be at the clinic?”
“I don’t have anything until eleven,” she smirked. “Figured I’d sleep in a little. Eat some breakfast.”
Pushing her back onto the bed, I covered her body with mine. “I don’t think sleeping in is on the agenda.”
“No? That’s too bad. I love sleeping.”
I made a sound low in my throat, kissing along her neck and drinking in the scent of her. Her breath was short when I reached that spot where her neck met her shoulder. That spot drove her wild. Already, she was arching into me, gripping my shoulders and pulling me closer.
“Do you want to go back to sleep?” I asked roughly.
“What happens if I say no?”
Reaching between us, I grabbed the hem of my T-shirt and pulled it up. Over her head so her arms were tangled in the fabric. And I left it there. “I’ll make up for the fact that I wasn’t in this bed with you last night.”
Her words were breathless. “I thought that was what the office was for.”
“No reason there can’t be both.” I pulled my own shirt over my head and tossed it aside. “Because I woke up reaching for you, and you weren’t there.”
Cori stilled underneath me. “Really?”
“Really.”
She swallowed. “Suddenly, I’m feeling very, very awake.”
I laughed and lowered my lips to her skin. It was the only thing to satisfy the craving, and I was going to take my time.