Obsession Falls (The Haven Brothers #1)

He opened his mouth like he was going to reply, but a flash of pain passed over his features.

“What? Josiah, for the love of everything, please tell me what you’re thinking. Why are you so convinced I’m going to leave you for a freaking job?”

“Because she did.” His voice boomed but I could tell he wasn’t yelling at me. “They both did.”

He didn’t say anything else right away, so I just waited, hoping he’d continue—hoping he’d open up.

“Cassandra, my ex-girlfriend, she did me a favor. I had a ring in my pocket the night she broke it off, but it would have been a mistake. She clearly wasn’t in love with me and I don’t think I was really in love with her. Just comfortable, so it seemed like the thing to do. She chose a promotion over me. Didn’t even give me the chance to decide for myself whether or not I’d go with her. My mother, though– ”

My breath caught.

“She didn’t do my dad the same favor. She took his ring, married him, had three kids. Then she decided she had dreams that didn’t include a husband and three little boys in a tiny-ass town in the mountains. So she fucking left. Tilikum wasn’t enough for her. My dad wasn’t enough. And neither was I.”

Realization washed over me and my heart broke for him. Of course his mother would have given him abandonment issues. And his ex-girlfriend would have torn that wound open again. If I knew him, that was probably the first time he’d ever admitted to anyone how much it hurt.

I marched over to him and threw my arms around his neck. His wound around me, like an automatic response, but his body was still stiff.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Sticking to you like Velcro.” I squeezed him and felt him start to relax. “I’m not leaving you unless you make me.”

His arms tightened around me. For a long moment, neither of us said a word. We just breathed together, existing in the same space, holding each other.

Finally, I pulled back and trailed my hands down his chest. I figured I’d be the one to keep going but he surprised me by speaking first.

“I want you to stay.” His voice was low and soft. “Stay for me.”

As if I could have refused him anything. “Of course I’ll stay. I don’t want anything else. I just want you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” The vulnerability in his face was so disarming. “I know I didn’t move to Tilikum because I wanted to be here. But I do now. Because this is where you are. I can’t imagine my life without you, either. I already turned down an interview on the east coast because I didn’t want to leave.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“About the job I turned down or that I want to stay with you?”

“Both.”

I laughed. “What was I supposed to say? Hey Josiah, we haven’t been together very long, but I’m thinking about rearranging my life so I can stay here with you. Are you up for that kind of commitment?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what you should have said.” His tone was vehement. “Then I’d know. You have to be straight with me. I don’t get subtlety.”

“So total honesty, no hiding anything?”

“Yes.”

I met his eyes, and with a deep breath, I said it. “I’m in love with you.”

All at once, he picked me up off the floor and kissed me. Hard. I held on, my arms around his shoulders, and let him devour me. He could have it all, every bit of me.

He set me down, his face still close, his nose brushing against mine. “I’m so in love with you.”

His next kiss was both softer and needier. The contrast made my head spin. In seconds, we were backing into the bedroom. Thankfully, Max was napping on his bed and didn’t seem to notice us leave.

We couldn’t get our clothes off fast enough. Josiah took control, moving me to the bed. I opened for him eagerly, desperate to feel his skin on mine. His lips, his tongue, his strong body. I wanted it all.

And he gave it to me.