The Best Kind of Forever (Riverside Reapers Book 1)

AERIS

When I wake up in the morning, I’ve slept the best I have in a long time—dreamless and well-insulated thanks to Hayes’ freakishly warm body. Sunshine spatters the tops of my shoulders, and imprints from the sheet tattoo my arms and torso. I also apparently passed out before I had the chance to get dressed.

I jostle around in the bed, though I don’t get very far once I notice Hayes’ arms braceleted around me.

“Good morning,” he grumbles, the gruffness in his morning voice making me squeeze my legs together. Despite my pussy being sore from last night’s escapade, she’s ready to jump right back into action, and the close proximity to the droolworthy specimen that is Hayes Hollings has my hormones gearing into full drive.

Braying laughter somersaults out of me. “It’s a good morning for someone,” I say, pushing my ass back against the hardness gliding between my cheeks.

He unwraps his hand from my ribs and seizes my bare breast, circling over my areola with his finger. “I have a beautiful, naked girl in my bed. Can you blame me?” he whispers.

I let out a keening moan, feeling his erection fully seated against my asshole. “If this is the kind of treatment I get in the morning, I might have to wake up earlier.”

“Mmm, is that so?”

The twittering of my heart makes for a staccato beat in my ears, and lust boils deep in my belly. “Oh, yeah.”

I feel Hayes shift beside me, and cold slithers down the curve of my now-exposed back. I turn on my side and prop my head up with my elbow, my eyes gravitating toward the somber expression on his face.

“I talked to my dad. In person. For the first time in years,” he tells me, and I can’t decipher whether his tone is rooted in happiness or disappointment.

I chew on the inside of my cheek. “What did he say?”

“He told me that he wanted to make things right between us—that he wanted to be in my life again. And Faye’s.”

“That’s…good, right?”

“Yeah, I just wasn’t expecting it. I want him to be in both of our lives again. I’m tired of resenting him.” A sigh falls from his lips, heavy, as if crippled with weight.

I reach for his hand and hug his fingers between mine. “You deserve to be happy, Hayes. I’m sorry that you didn’t have your father’s support growing up. You always take care of those around you. Now it’s time for you to let yourself be taken care of.”

Hayes squeezes my palm, and the dark clouds in his eyes lift slightly, only enough to allow me a glimpse of the clear blue underneath. “Thank you, Aeris. I just hope I’m not making the wrong decision—letting him back in,” he worries.

“If he fucks up again, that’s on him. None of it is on you, okay?”

“But I—”

“No buts,” I interject, shaking my head. “You’re too hard on yourself. Remember when you told me you hoped that I’d see myself how you see me one day? I’m asking you to do the same. I’m asking you to see that selfless older brother, that incredibly gifted hockey player, that considerate best friend and teammate who’d do anything for the people he cares about.”

With his free hand, he tucks a stray tress of hair behind my ear. “I think you may know me better than anyone in this entire world, Aeris Relera.”