Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother Chapter 155

It’s dark when I open my eyes. So, so dark.

The only light is the soft, flickering amber glow from the fireplace, casting shadows that dance and stretch across the walls. I blink, trying to adjust, my head heavy and my body wrapped in so much warmth I almost want to close my eyes again.

But then I realize what I’m lying on.

It’s not a mattress. It’s too hot, too solid, too alive.

It’s Asher.

He’s on his back, one thick arm locked around my waist, the other lying across his chest, his massive hand resting against my lower back. My legs are tangled with his, one of his muscular thighs pressed between mine. I’m cocooned in him, wrapped in his heat, his slow, steady breaths moving my whole body with each rise and fall of his chest.

It’s too much. Too good.

I wiggle a bit, trying to shift my body to get more air, to breathe better, but the second I move, he snaps awake.

Before I can even gasp, he flips me over, rolling us so fast the air whooshes out of my lungs, and suddenly I’m on my back, the blanket sliding off us, and he’s over me, his massive body caging me in, his hand braced by my head, his other arm still locked around my waist, holding me down.

My heart slams into my ribs, my eyes wide in the darkness.

“Asher—” I whisper, my fingers gripping his shirt, my breaths coming fast. “It’s me, it’s me.”

His chest heaves above me, his breaths harsh and fast, like a wild animal just pulled from a fight. I don’t even know if he can see me in the dark, if he knows who I am, if he’s still trapped in some nightmare or combat flashback.

“I thought you were falling,” he rumbles, his deep, sleep-rough voice vibrating through me. “I thought—”

“No,” I cut him off, my fingers flexing against his chest. “Your arms were just too heavy.”

He hesitates, his head tilting slightly, and then he breathes out slowly, his grip on me relaxing just a fraction. He rolls to the side, still keeping his arm around my waist, but now I’m lying on my side, pressed against his chest, his thick thigh slipping between my legs, one hand at the small of my back, the other slipping under my head to cradle my neck.

I close my eyes, try to steady my breathing.

I’m still sad. I still feel like my heart has been torn out, stomped on, shredded. My eyes burn from crying, my throat feels raw, and my whole body feels like a lead weight. But... I feel good too. Pressed against Asher’s broad chest, his solid frame, his hands holding me tight.

Safe.

He’s so warm, so alive, his breaths making my body rise and fall with his. I want to stay like this forever, wrapped in his arms, the rest of the world shut out.

“How do you feel?” he murmurs against my hair, his lips brushing my temple.

I breathe in his scent, close my eyes. “A bit better.”

He tightens his hold, his fingers rubbing small, soothing circles on my back.

“Thank you,” I whisper, my voice small, my heart clenching with every word. “For being here. For... everything. I know you’re always left to deal with me, to deal with my injuries or my drama with Tyler, and you’re probably sick of it, but I still... I still appreciate it.”

He goes still.

His arm flexes against my waist, his jaw tightening against my forehead.

“What?” he growls, the sound low and dangerous.

I swallow, suddenly feeling like I said something wrong. “I just... I know it must be annoying to always have to take care of me or—”

He rolls me onto my back again, his body sliding over mine, his weight pressing me down into the mattress, and my breath catches.

I can’t see his face, but I can feel him. The heat rolling off his body, the hard, thick planes of his chest, the solid muscle of his thighs bracketing my hips, his forearms pressing into the mattress on either side of my head.

“Penny,” he whispers, his breath warm against my cheek, his chest brushing mine with every harsh, ragged breath. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I just meant—” I stammer, my hands instinctively gripping his shirt, my heart pounding. “I know you’ve been through worse, that you’ve been in real wars, that you’re this... this human tank, and I’m not comparing myself to that, but—”

He reaches up, covers my mouth with his hand, and leans in even closer, his breath hot against my ear.

“That has never even crossed my mind,” he whispers, his voice rough and raw and so, so close.

My heart skips a beat.

“What?”

“I’m sad for you,” he says, his hand sliding slowly from my mouth to cradle my jaw, his thumb brushing my cheek. “I’m furious at my brother for hurting you. But there hasn’t been a single second in the past few weeks where I haven’t wanted to be right next to you.”

My breath catches.

“So don’t,” he murmurs, his lips brushing my cheek, my jaw, my neck, “ever say you’re a burden again. Because you’re what I want to wake up to and fall asleep to every day.”

My heart is a thunderstorm, my skin on fire, my body thrumming with a heat so intense it borders on painful. I want to wrap my legs around him, pull him down, feel the full weight of him, taste his mouth, breathe him in.

“Asher...” I breathe, my hands sliding up his chest, over his shoulders, my nails catching in the fabric of his shirt.

And then—

The door flies open with a BANG.