The Space In Between by Brittainy Cherry Read Free Book Online Page A

I’m so sorry.”
    I looked down at our hands and my heart picked up its speed.
I couldn’t stop thinking about what was going to happen next. What was going to
happen next?! He pulled me closer to him. So close I could feel his
breath against my cheek… So close I could have sworn our lips were
touching. I allowed my eyes to shut as he lifted my chin. With every exhale he
took, I inhaled his breaths. Time kept moving, but we stood still. Allowing our
breaths to be all that were heard, all that were felt.
    “I’m broken, Cooper,” I whispered. If he were to let go of
my hands, I was certain I would shatter into a million pieces. His touch was
the only thing holding me together.
    “Me too.” He inched my face closer to his, but he didn’t
kiss me. No, his lips lingered around my face as I slightly parted my mouth
more. When I lifted my eyes, they met with his. The intense green eyes I was
losing myself in made a small sigh escape me. He studied every part of my face.
He ran a finger across my upper lip and then traced the bottom. Over and over
again. Starting from the left and slowly moving to the right. I placed
my hands against his chest, not wanting to tumble from his simple gesture.
Yes…It was simple, but powerful, that small touch.
    He stroked my short hair behind my ears and kissed my
forehead. Gentle and loving caresses to my face made me long for his taste, yet
I knew he wouldn’t make the first move, out of mere respect. I pulled his lips
closer to mine and nodded, granting him permission.
    What was I doing? What was I feeling ? All I knew was
that whenever he touched me, I didn’t feel alone.
    He sheltered my mouth with his, which was enough to make my
body grow weak. Yet he was there to catch me. One of his hands traveled to my
lower back, his fingers massaging me. As his tongue began to explore mine, a
light moan escaped from my lips. All my life I had only kissed one man, but I
knew I could secretly get used to kissing the handsome soul in front of me. And
that thought alone terrified me.
    He led me to the couch, thrusting his body on top of mine.
His mouth began to travel down to my neck, kissing me with nice pecks and
sucking me gently with each new location. My toes curled into the couch cushion
and I couldn’t stop from arching my back as I longed for more. He placed his hand
on my bare leg and began to travel under the trench coat up to my thigh.
Everything inside of me heated up more and more at his touch. I lost all
connections to the real world. It was just the two of us. Sampling each other.
Discovering each other.
    “Coop…” I whispered. With immediate care, his eyes shot to
mine and he stopped his actions. A level of guilt filled his eyes, which made
him even more attractive. I shook my head, pulled his face closer to mine, and
murmured, “Bed.” His guilt vanished with the taste of my lips. He lifted me up
and carried me down the hall as I wrapped my legs around him and rested upon
his strong body.
    I needed Cooper that night and I could tell he needed me
just as much. It was our escape from reality. Time didn’t exist when I was with
him that night. There were no yesterdays and no tomorrows. There was no thought
involved, just passion. One kiss after another. One embrace made everything
else seem meaningless just for a few moments. My mind was emptied. The feeling
of overthinking every little detail of life vanished. The replaying of the
accident wasn’t happening within my head during those moments. Yes, we both
were in need of some space between our all too messed up realities. Real life
was too tough to face, and right now Cooper was forgetting about his drama in
the world and I was forgetting about Derrick.
    Derrick.
    My eyes slowly opened to find Cooper kissing my nose. We’d
finished our escape from reality. Our bodies spread out on my bed, clothes
scattered across the floor, and my eyes shifted away from the handsome man
lying next to me. And I remembered.
    Derrick. I felt