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Silence

"Dalton?"

A low snore rose up behind her

She turned slowly around to look at his face Eyes closed, brow seous lips parted halfway to allow his breath to escape, he hadn’t heard a word of her own confession

She watched hiled to decide if she should wake him

No She’d tell him tomorrow

It had to be done

Chapter twenty-two

Dalton lay awake and stared up at the ceiling The early-h the blinds and scattered dancing patterns on the honey-broalls

She was a cuddler She ain He’d expected her to be more like Amy Schumer’s character from the movie Trainwreck He’d prepared himself for a quick embrace after sex, then for her to roll over and fall asleep,sure there was plenty of space and distance between the over his chest, as if iainst his shoulder, and her thigh wedged fir erection Glorious waves of gypsy hair sprung in all directions, covering him in a silky blanket His skin felt hich confirmed she drooled in her sleep Why did he find that so da? Was he nuts?

She trusted him on an instinctual level that soothed the wild beast inside It was difficult to sleep soundly with a partner, especially in the beginning of a relationship Natural sluness to be vulnerable He’d rarely been able to grab an hour of light rest with other woral part of his past, he’d collapsed afterward into a deep sleep

He stared at her relaxed forhs and pushing slowly inside her Watch her orgasm between the delicate line of slu slowly, he slipped out of bed and padded naked into the kitchen Heto take a quick shohile it brewed Pulling on his jeans afterward and leaving the and stood by the atch the day bound into existence with joyful abandon The sun streah the s, and birds flew back and forth, playing hide-and-go-seek within the tree branches He sipped the stea to do

He’d practically confessed his deepest emotions and been met withsilence

How hts that bordered on the L word to him? Numerous? He was honored and humbled but had never felt even a hint of the sa with, the spark that he hoped would turn brighter always sputtered and died like a birthday candle blown out He’d never passed more than a hard like for another

Not with Raven He’d never shared the circumstances of his ht, so had broken inside hi her everything He wanted her to know more about him

He wanted her to trust hihter but turned into a raging forest fire, crashing through each of his barriers until he was left with a devastated landscape, coray to neon With her, he was coalloping, his dick aching It was so much more than like Soin love was?

Yet she hadn’t responded to his admission Was she scared because he didn’t fit in with her planned future ofherself? Did she still think he played games with her? Or even worse, did she just not feel the saroaned, squeezing his eyes shut He was a lovesick pup begging at her feet He hated it, but he didn’t knohat else to do He needed to explore and push further, to possibly see what else could blossoan insisted he convince Raven to co her on his own turf, around his family, would help her see hi her eat at his table, surrounded by his family He pictured her as part of his noisy, dysfunctional, loving circle and had no desire to run Maybe Raven needed more time with him so he could convince her she was different He still didn’t intend to , every "