A Long Time Coming (Cane Brothers, #3)(106)

I hate to admit it, but they might be right. Lia is comfortable being my friend because that’s how she knows me. But boyfriend? Being intimate? She’s not comfortable with that side of me just yet, so I might as well introduce her and make her comfortable.





Breaker: Are you home?

Breaker: You can either answer, or I can walk in on you doing whatever the hell it is you’re doing in your apartment. Either way, I’m seeing you tonight.

Lia: I’m taking a walk. Be home in ten.

Breaker: I’ll be waiting for you.





I lean back on her couch, wearing nothing but a pair of athletic shorts—got to show her the goods even if she didn’t ask for them—and I listen as she unlocks her door. Not sure she’s expecting to see me on her couch, but either way, I’m not fucking moving.

I gave Huxley’s advice some thought, and I agree with him completely, but I don’t want to fuck her right away. That would be far too aggressive. I need to ease her into it, which is exactly what I plan on doing.

Her front door opens and she walks in, headphones on her head, a light sheen of sweat coating her skin from the ninety-degree weather outside. She’s wearing a pair of pink athletic shorts and a Smurfs T-shirt that I’m pretty sure is from her youth. When she glances up, she stutters back from the shock of seeing me and presses her hand to her chest.

“Jesus, Breaker.” She removes her headphones and sets her phone down on the kitchen counter. “You could have told me you were in here.”

“I said I’d be waiting for you.”

“Well, I didn’t think in my place.”

I walk over to her. “How was the walk?”

Her eyes fall to my chest but quickly rise to my face. “It was fine.”

I cross my arms and lean against the wall. “What did you think about?”

Her eyes scan me again before she moves toward her bathroom. “Nothing in particular.”

“Oh, I see.” I follow. “So you didn’t think about the way I sucked on your tits last night?”

She stumbles into the bathroom door before looking over her shoulder. “Oh my God, Breaker.”

“What?” I smile. “It happened, might as well talk about it.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

She steps into the bathroom and goes to shut the door when I stop her. “Why not? Was it so good that reminiscing will only make you hot again?”

Her eyes grow angry, and it takes everything in me not to burst out in laughter. “No. I don’t want to talk about it because it was awkward. I don’t know how to be around you now, so bringing that up only makes it worse.”

“Interesting. I thought bringing it up makes it better.”

“It doesn’t.” She shuts the door and turns on the shower.

After a few seconds, I knock on the door and say, “Need help in there?”

“Go away, Breaker.”

I chuckle and move over to her bedroom, where I sprawl across her bed and place my hands behind my head. I wait there for a few minutes, and when I hear the shower turn off, I prepare myself. It might be awkward for her, but I’m going to make it way less awkward.

The bathroom door opens, and she walks into the bedroom wearing nothing but a towel around her torso. Her hair isn’t wet, but little droplets careen down her chest.

“Oh my God,” she shouts as she stumbles back into the bedroom door. “I thought you left.”

“Lia, you know me better than that.” I let my eyes travel down her body and back up. “New outfit? I like it.”

She rolls her eyes and goes to her dresser, where she pulls out a pair of shorts and a shirt. I hop off the bed and walk up behind her just as she’s shutting her second drawer. She stills when she feels me.

“What are you doing?” she asks as I drag my finger over the slope of her neck.

“You had some water right here,” I say, my voice growing deeper than usual from a simple touch of her soft skin.

She turns around so her back is against the dresser, and she’s facing me. “That’s what towels are for,” she says. Her chest is rising and falling at a more rapid rate.

“Seems like you missed it,” I say and then move my finger along her collarbone. “And here, you missed some water here.”

“I was quick with drying off,” she says as she leans back against the dresser.

“Yeah, why was that?”

“I don’t know,” she answers as she wets her lips.

“Well, you did a shit job, because you have some water here too,” I say as I move my finger along the swell of her breast.

Her teeth roll over the bottom of her lip as her chest rises against my finger. I take that as a good sign and continue to push forward. I move my hand to where the towel is tucked under her arm and toy with it, seeing what her reaction would be. When she doesn’t say anything, I give it a soft tug, loosening the terrycloth.

“What are you doing?” she asks.

“Helping you dry off,” I say. “Unless you don’t want me to help. I’d be more than happy to just watch.”

“Why, uh, why would you want to watch?” she asks. She slips into the mood, just like that. Easier than I thought, but I still want to move at a snail’s pace with her because I don’t want to fuck this up. I have one chance to make her mine, one fucking chance, and I’m not going to forget patience this time.