Feels Like Love by Jenna Hartley

Chapter Twenty-Three

Istrained my ears, listening as Wren opened the door and said, “Hey, Arlo.”

“Heya.” There was silence, and I wondered if he was kissing her.

I was so tempted to stomp in and stake my claim, but I wouldn’t. As much as I’d demanded she stay, this had to be on Wren’s terms. It hadn’t escaped my notice that she’d never said I love you back. Now that I thought about it, she’d never agreed not to go with him.

I stood and started pacing. Oh god. What if she still intended to go with him, and she was just stalling so she could finish packing and let me down gently?

I crept to the door and stood in the opening, careful to remain out of sight. “I like your house,” he said, and I heard his footsteps against the wood floor. “It’s very cozy and cheerful.”

“Thanks,” she chirped. I could tell she was nervous. Could Arlo? I didn’t want to think he knew her that well. Yet she’d agreed to go away with him for the weekend. She’d gone lingerie shopping with him in mind. I was going crazy with ideas of how well they knew each other.

“Do you want to go outside?” she asked.

“Maybe another time. We should probably head out. I scheduled massages for us to kick off the weekend.”

I clenched my fists. The fuck he did. She wasn’t going. I slammed my fist against the doorframe.

“What was that?” Arlo asked.

“Oh. I’m sure it’s just the dryer. Sometimes it gets a little overheated.” I knew she’d raised her voice for my benefit. “Can you give me a sec?”

“Sure.”

I backed into the bedroom.

Wren came in in a rush, flushed and wide-eyed. “What the heck are you doing?” she hissed.

“Get rid of him,” I ground out. My patience was wearing thin.

“Will you calm down?” she whispered, glancing back over her shoulder.

“Not until I know you’re mine.” She hadn’t said it. Hadn’t given me any indication that she felt the same, and I was dying here.

“Bennett.” She placed her hand over my heart. “I’m yours. Okay?”

I relaxed a little, but I knew I wouldn’t fully until this situation with Arlo was handled. “I want you to delete the LoveBirds app.”

“Seriously?” She shook her head. “We can talk about it later,” she ground out.

“Wren.” I gripped her chin, thinking about the couples massage he’d booked. The lingerie she’d bought for him. “You have five minutes to get rid of Arlo, or I will.”

She glared at me over her shoulder. “Stay here. And stop telling me what to do. You’re acting like my brother.”

She returned to the living room and Arlo. “Sorry about that. Look, Arlo, you’re a great guy. And I’ve had a lot of fun with you.”

“Oh no.” He groaned. I felt bad for the guy, truly. If Wren hadn’t chosen me, I would’ve been devastated.

“But I haven’t been fair to you,” she continued. “And I think we need to talk…”

She was kind but firm when she broke it off with him. And despite his evident disappointment, he was a gentleman. When the door finally closed, I let out a sigh of relief.

When she didn’t immediately join me in the bedroom, I went out to find her. She was sitting on the kitchen counter, eating a cookie and wearing a contemplative expression.

“Can I join you?” I asked.

“Be my guest.” She pushed the box over to me, and I grabbed a cookie and hopped up onto the counter next to her. She finished off her cookie and glanced at the clock.

“You okay?”

She nodded. “Just need a minute to process…everything.”

“Are you upset about Arlo?” I asked.

She nodded, and my heart dropped. Shit.

“I feel really bad about the whole thing.”

I took her hand in mine. “These things happen.”

“Yeah.” She laughed. “They usually happen to me. I’m usually on the receiving end of a breakup.”

“Do you regret it?”

She sighed, dragging a hand through her hair. “No. It needed to be done. Arlo’s a great guy, but he’s not the guy for me. It would’ve been easier if he were…”

I laughed, hopping down from the counter and nestling between her thighs. “You’re right about that. Liam loves Arlo.”

“Then he can date him.” She draped her arms around my neck, pressing her lips to mine. “Because I love you.”

That was it. All the confirmation I needed. I picked her up and carried her down the hall to her bedroom.

“Naked. Now.” I growled, tearing at my clothes, tossing them aside. Watching Wren as she stripped out of her dress until she was wearing nothing.

“Mm.” I hummed, my body roaring to life at the sight of her naked skin. She was mine. All mine. I no longer had to share her with Arlo or anyone else.

“I have a confession,” she said when I laid her down on the bed, kissing her neck, her chest, everywhere. She was just as eager, touching me, kissing anywhere I could reach.

“What’s that?”

She smiled. “I loved you first.”

I peered up at her from her belly button. “Is that so?”

She nodded. “I’ve always had a crush on you. Ever since we were kids.”

I chuckled. “Mm. Interesting.”

“I’d always secretly hoped you’d be my first.”

I propped up my chin on my hand, my body resting over hers. “What happened with Kade? I mean, why him?”

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “I think he was the first guy who made me feel special. He was older and hot, and well, I was young and stupid.”

“I’m sorry I brought it up.” I kissed her stomach. “I know you don’t like talking about him.”

“It’s okay. I just… He really did a number on me. I trusted him, and he humiliated me. And it wasn’t just the fact that he left. Even while we were together, he was constantly breaking me down, tearing me apart.”

I gnashed my teeth. “That is not okay.”

“I know. I know that now. But he’d tell me things like, you’ll never find another guy who will love you like I do. You’ll never get someone as hot as me.”

What a sick fuck. My blood boiled at the hurtful lies he’d told Wren.

“Have you talked to him since?”

She shook her head, and relief coursed through me. “No. I see his parents around town occasionally, but he moved to Colorado years ago. He couldn’t handle the responsibility. The pressure. Did you know he tried to convince me to have an abortion?”

“I—” I swallowed, then scratched my jaw. “He what?”

She nodded. “He thought we could just pretend it had never happened.”

“You said you only slept together twice,” I said.

She rolled her lip between her teeth and nodded. “I wasn’t ready. I… Well, I thought we were just fooling around. And he clearly had other ideas.”

I swallowed hard and asked the one question I’d been afraid to all this time. “Did he force you?”

She threw her arm over her forehead and stared at the ceiling. “No. It was almost as if he just assumed we were going to have sex. He didn’t even ask me if I was on birth control. There was no talk of a condom. One minute, he was teasing my entrance. And the next, he was pushing inside.”

I inhaled slowly. Counted to four. And let it out.

Kade may not have forced her, but I wasn’t sure that was much better. To be so casual and careless about someone as amazing as Wren. To be so reckless with any woman was a sin in my mind.

“He pulled out both times, but clearly…that’s not the most effective form of birth control.” She laughed, though it was a nervous sound.

I gave her a minute then sensed she was done, and so I said, “What he did was wrong.”

She opened her mouth as if to protest, but then closed it. Finally, she nodded. “All these years, I blamed myself. And while I should’ve spoken up, he shouldn’t have assumed.”

“I wish I could’ve been your first. Your only.” I held her gaze as I kissed her belly. “But I can’t. So, I’ll settle for being your last.”

I didn’t wait for her response; I licked her clit, rendering her speechless. She was so sweet, so pure. And I loved taking her like this.

The pressure built quickly. Before I knew it, she was gripping the sheets, trying to keep herself from crying out. I worked her harder, faster, determined to make it as good for her as possible. And then I watched in awe as she arched off the bed, her release barreling through her.

I climbed up Wren’s body, kissing her as I did so. I wanted her to feel cherished. Loved. She smiled at me and cupped my cheeks, bringing my mouth to hers for a kiss. It was sweet and lazy and perfect.

“I love you.” Her limbs were loose, her smile dazed.

I grinned, loving her like this. “You love my orgasms.”

“That too.” She kissed me again as I ground against her, her body warm and soft against mine.

I straddled her, pumping myself a few times before grabbing a condom. I loved the way her eyes widened when I rolled it on. Every damn time.

I slid into her slowly, loving the feel of her body wrapped around mine. Pulling me in. Bringing us closer.

I brushed my lips against hers, needing our bodies to touch as much as possible. “I love you.”

She laughed, running her hands over my chest. “You know, I always thought it was just because I was Liam’s sister.” Her gaze was steady and soul-searching, searing in its intensity.

“No. It’s because you’re you.”

* * *

“Good morning,”Wren said on a yawn, rolling over to face me.

“Morning,” I said. I was supposed to pick up River in a few hours, but first, I was looking forward to spending more alone time with my girl.

She smoothed her hand over my cheek, her touch delicate and full of care. “You’re handsome.”

The door opened, and I heard Liam call out, “Bennett?”

Wren and I glanced at each other, wide-eyed. Her lips were swollen, clothes nonexistent. And we both looked guilty as fuck.

“What’s he doing here?” she whispered, hopping out of bed and searching frantically for her clothes.

“We were supposed to hang out,” I said through my teeth. “I totally forgot.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. I pulled on my athletic shorts—fuck the boxers—and glanced around, wishing I could magically disappear or something.

“Where are you?” I could hear Liam’s feet coming down the hall, getting closer and closer, each step like a nail in my coffin. He was going to fucking kill me.

She scrambled with her shirt, straightening it and her hair as if what we’d been doing wouldn’t be completely obvious. And then Wren gave my chest a little shove, and I fell backward off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. My eyes flew to hers.

“Hide!” she hissed, pulling on her shorts.

“Where?” I whispered, eyes darting from side to side. I was six foot two and weighed nearly two hundred pounds. There was no hiding. It’d be like asking a bear to squeeze itself into a rabbit’s burrow. Utterly impossible.

“Hello?” Liam knocked on the door, and it opened the rest of the way. “Anybody home?”

I am so dead.

At least I got to taste her lips first.

“Bennett?” His voice shifted, confusion taking over. “What are you doing in here?” I stared at the floor, wishing it would open up and swallow me whole. “And where’s your shirt?”

“Oh, um…” I hesitated. I didn’t want to lie to my best friend, but I also valued my balls. And my life.

“He was just helping me fix the bed,” Wren said. Was her heart pounding as hard as mine?

“Fix. The. Bed?” Liam repeated as if it made absolutely no sense. Probably because it didn’t, and he was right to be suspicious. “Wren?” He tilted his head. “What are you doing here?”

“I live here.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “Very funny, smartass. I meant, why aren’t you on your ‘romantic getaway’ with Arlo?”

“Oh, um…” Wren was breathless. And like the coward I was, I stayed on the floor, chest pressed to the wood as if it would protect me, shield me from his wrath. “Something came up.”

Liam frowned. “What’s wrong with the bed?”

“The frame has been squeaking.”

“Squeaking?” Liam’s voice went all high-pitched.

“You know how River likes to jump on things. He’s obsessed with parkour, thanks to you.” She laughed and did a little jiggle, which made the bed squeak. “The squeak is annoying. And I don’t want to end up on the floor one night because he flung himself on the bed too many times. Anyway…what are you doing here?”

She hopped off the bed, stepping over me. “Thanks, Bennett.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Liam joked. “Better you than me.”

“Yeah. Yeah. You’re welcome,” I muttered.

Their voices faded down the hall, and as soon as they were gone, I flopped down on the floor. That was close. Too close. And I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go on like this. I’d finally gotten the girl, but I felt as if I were on the verge of losing it all.