The Room Mate (Roommates #1)(52)

I licked my lips, gathering my thoughts. I couldn’t find the words just then to tell him that I loved him too.

“I have no idea what I’m doing,” I admitted. Not a clue—with my life, with his beautiful younger man who should have been out of my league, not with any of it. I hadn’t been in a real relationship in a long time.

His fingertips pressed against my lips. “It’s my first time too.”

He offered me a small smile, and relief flooded my chest.

“Come with me.” Cannon took my hand and led me into the living room.

We sat together on the couch, my head on his shoulder and his hand in my hair. I’d missed the physical closeness of him so much that I wanted to soak in every moment—although I knew our conversation was far from over.

Lifting my hand to his mouth, Cannon placed a chaste kiss against my palm. “I thought I should have been able to get over this, to move past it. That in time, my memories of you would fade. I thought I’d move on and do just like I’d been doing my entire life . . .

“Making lemonade,” I said, finishing the sentence for him.

He took my hands in his. “Yes. Only that didn’t happen. I missed you, Paige. More with each passing day.”

“I missed you too.” Summoning my courage, I met his eyes. “I’m in love with you, Cannon.”

“God, I’ve been waiting to hear those words for so long, princess.” He brought his mouth to mine, pressing a sweet kiss to my lips.

“Then why did you let me go so easily?” I asked, leaning into his touch.

“I didn’t want you to compromise your friendship with Allie for me. And you’re a grown woman, Paige. I figured you could decide what you wanted.”

I nodded. His answer made sense. “And what is it that you want?”

“You want to know what I want, princess?”

I gulped, nodding.

Suddenly he had me pinned beneath him on the couch, our wineglasses forgotten on the coffee table, the hard length of his body pressing into mine. I released a strangled groan when I felt the hard bulge of his manhood between my legs.

“I want you like this, every day for the rest of my life.”

His words were so brutally honest that I could only choke out a shaky breath before pressing my lips to his.

Claiming my mouth with a searing kiss, Cannon rocked into me, both of us breathing raggedly. “Christ, you’re so perfect for me, Paige. Say yes to this. To us.”

Pulling back just a fraction, I met his soulful gaze. I saw all the love, devotion, and commitment I’d ever dreamed about.

“What’s in it for me?” I asked playfully.

Cannon’s gaze turned sinful and he leaned in to kiss me, showing me exactly what was in it for me.

He had me naked and writhing beneath him in about three seconds flat, but from there, he took his time loving me—on the couch, the kitchen counter, and then in the bed until I was a boneless heap.

Falling in love didn’t feel like I thought it would—like I was losing a piece of myself to a man. No, it felt like I was gaining something else instead. Something bigger than just me. But I knew this something was so big and unpredictable that it had the power to completely destroy me if it went sideways.

For now, it seemed we had overcome our first hurdle. I just didn’t know what would happen next.





Epilogue


Paige




As I shampooed and lathered and shaved and exfoliated, I thought of nothing but Cannon. Mindlessly going through the motions, I scrubbed every inch of skin under the hot spray of water until I was pink and boneless.

He’d spent a twelve-hour shift at the hospital, and I was missing him like crazy. Today marked my two-week anniversary of moving to Denver. I would start my new job on Monday, and while I was a little scared, I was also ready to stop mooching off of Cannon. I’d always worked, and so this felt foreign to me. I’d spent two weeks almost bouncing off the walls, ready to be productive. Cannon told me to relax and enjoy my time off, but I’d struggled with that concept and was glad it was almost over. I also missed Enchilada something fierce, but he was living with Susanne, and I knew she needed him and his sweet companionship more than I did.

Living with Cannon was an easy adjustment since we were already used to sharing a space. But this time it was even better. Instead of two separate bedrooms, we shared one room. We’d grown closer than ever these past few weeks, even making plans to travel abroad and do the humanitarian work we were both interested in. And last night, Cannon had even brought up the topic of weddings, asking which type I’d prefer, small and intimate or an all-out celebration. I could only imagine it was his way of hinting that a proposal might be coming soon, an idea I was totally on board with.

Stepping out of the shower, I saw his towel hanging neatly next to mine. Last night we’d cooked dinner together, and then he’d left for an all-night shift, kissing me softly on the mouth before he went.

Wrapped in a towel with a turban on my head, I grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen, then sat down on the edge of our bed.

After blow-drying my hair and applying light makeup, I tidied up the apartment dressed only in my robe. I still had about twenty minutes before Cannon was due home.

As I rubbed coconut-scented lotion into my skin, I was suddenly struck by an idea. I quickly rummaged through the back of the closet until I found it—the sexy nurse costume I’d worn two years ago when Allie had talked me into that Halloween bar crawl. The night had been a disaster. Allie had run into an ex-flame from high school, and we’d hidden in the alley to avoid him. All the good this costume had done for me, escaping to the darkness for no one to see. We’d sipped our cocktails out of little plastic cups, cursing her ex’s name, and then left a short time later. I wasn’t even sure why I’d packed this in the move.