Colton wakes me up in the best way possible, with gentle kisses down my bare back. He shifts me to face him, but before he can kiss me, I put my hand on his chest.

“I need to brush my teeth,” I say.

He chuckles and tries to grab me back, but I break out of his arms and run to his bathroom. Realizing too late that I don’t have a toothbrush in here, I settle for rinsing with his mouthwash I find in the cabinet.

I’m completely naked, and my hair looks like a bird settled in it during the night. I try to tame it by finger combing the strands, and then I glance at the hickey on my neck. My entire body looks well-loved, and between my red lips and pink cheeks, my expression is the happiest I’ve ever seen it. The momentary thought of my therapy appointment later nearly takes away my calm, but I don’t let it. I push this afternoon out of my mind, and leave the bathroom.

As I walk across the room, I’m well aware of Colton’s eyes on me.

“You’re staring,” I say as I reach him. “Quit staring.”

He grins, his blue eyes mischievous. “I like to stare at you. You’ve got a smoking body.”

I hustle underneath the covers, pulling them up to my chin.

“I’ll follow your lead and go brush,” he says as he heads for the bathroom. Also naked, but a hell of a lot less self-conscious. Athletes have got to be the most confident people on the planet the way they waltz around with no clothes on. If I could take just a smidgeon of that confidence, I’d be thrilled.

Colton’s back under the sheets within minutes, his hands cupping my face.

“So.” His mouth goes to mine. “Where was I?”

I laugh as he tickles my side. “Quit it, Colt. You’re such a troublemaker.”

“I know.” His teeth graze my shoulder, and he makes his way down my body. “I always was.” His lips close around one of my nipples. “Do you like fucking a troublemaker?”

“As long as that troublemaker is you, then yes,” I say as I arch my back.

“I want to make you feel so damn good this morning,” he murmurs as his lips head down my navel, and then further south.

Once he’s between my legs, he hooks one knee over his shoulder. “You’re going to like this, Sky,” he vows, before his mouth touches the part of me that needs him desperately.

Every lick, and kiss, and touch, is purposeful and deliberate. Every second drives me into a frenzy. I claw at the sheets, shaking my head from side to side.

“Come for me,” Colton begs, his voice rough as it vibrates against my skin. “I want to feel you come against my mouth again.”

When I do, my orgasm rushes through me so intensely I forget where I am. I call out Colton’s name, and by the time I’ve finished coming down, he’s rolled on a condom and is pushing inside me.

He drives into me slowly, like we have all the time in the world. He’s actually leisurely with his thrusts, and yet he’s bringing me to the brink again. The place he reaches inside me when he moves this way —I’m clutching his back as he brackets his arms on either side of me.

“Skylar.” He says my name in the sexiest way as he falls apart, and I climax with him.

I don’t expect to, and my orgasm hits me abruptly. As it does, I let out a half-cry, half-moan.

“You okay?” Colton’s eyes widen in concern.

I start shaking with giggles. “I’m so embarrassed! That was the weirdest sound!”

He flashes his sexy smile. “As long as you’re okay.”

“I’m amazing.”

“Good.” He kisses me gently. “I could spend hours inside of you, Skylar Rosewood, and it still wouldn’t be enough.”

He shifts onto his side next to me, trailing a finger down my stomach and across my hip. “So. Sky.” His voice is neutral, and I can’t get a read on what he’s thinking.

“Colt.” I kiss his chest. “Something tells me you’re about to push my boundaries again.”

His naughty grin returns from wherever he puts it when he’s sweet. The thing is, I’m just as taken with playful Colton as sweet Colton. The two sides somehow fit on this man.

“What kind of boundaries are we talking?” he says, his breath hot on my cheek.

I lightly smack his shoulder. “Tell me what you were going to say, and quit being bad.”

“Let’s go on a trip together,” he says, taking my breath with the mere suggestion.

I barely get out, “What? Where?”

“To Boulder.”

I stare at him, his expression determined.

“Colorado?”

“Yep.”

“When?”

He takes my hand firmly in his. “Right now. I don’t start training sessions for a couple weeks, and you told me you have all week off. We could start driving to Colorado today, and spend a couple nights at the base of the mountains.”

My jaw must be on the floor somewhere, because Colton reaches over and gently closes my mouth.

I manage a laugh, and he chuckles.

“Um...I’m not sure.” I wrap my arms around myself. “I need a minute to…”

“Decide if I’m worth the risk?” he says lightly, the hurt in his eyes betraying his teasing tone.

I soften. “Colt, no. That’s not what I meant at all.” I can barely get the next words out, but I’m determined to be honest with him. Even if he looks at me differently, I have to keep things real between us. “The thing is, I was going to leave your house at noon, because…”

When I stop speaking, Colton nudges my arm. “Because…”

“I have an appointment,” I say hurriedly. “This afternoon. At one.”

“An appointment? On a Sunday?”

“Yes.” I fiddle with the blanket draped loosely at my waist. “It’s a doctor’s appointment.”

I say the last sentence quietly, but Colton obviously hears it, because he says quickly, “Sky? Are you okay?”

I hear the worry in his tone, and I rush to assuage him. “Uh-huh. I’m fine. It’s just…”

Oh, God. I’ve done so many things that could have scared Colton off since we first met up on the beach, between my penchant for running and how I managed to avoid seeing him in person for weeks. But this is the moment I’m the most worried about, the one where he won’t want to deal with my issues any longer. Just when I was starting to fall for him, hard.

“It’s an appointment with a psychologist. My therapist.” I say the truth with no shame, because I don’t believe working on your mental health is something anyone should be embarrassed about.

After what we went through in my family, my mom, brothers, and I all went to therapy. A lot. Group therapy, family therapy, and individual therapy. My mom became a huge proponent of making sure we all stayed in good mental health; she believes it’s just as important as physical health. Remembering the way my father’s eyes would go blank when he was in one of his rages, as if he disappeared and an evil creature took his place, I have to agree with her.

I am, however, not naïve to the fact that the majority of the population may not be as open on the topic as I am.

But Colton’s shoulders relax. “But you’re not sick? You’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay.” I tilt my head. “Aren’t you going to ask me why I’m seeing a shrink?”

He searches my face. “It’s none of my business. Of course, if you want to talk about it, I’m happy to hear. I want to hear, if you feel like sharing.”

Trying to focus on him rather than myself, I curl my hand behind his neck and run my fingers through his thick blond hair. “I have fears, sometimes in the form of nightmares, and sometimes I just freak out when I’m in the dark, from when my father attacked my mother. And from when he went after me. Sometimes I blend the memories in my dreams, where I’m my mother being attacked. Most of my trauma stems from when he assaulted her. Which seems strange.”

Colton pushes up onto his elbow and leans his head on his hand. “Maybe because when he went after your mom, you felt like you’d be losing the one parent you could trust to take care of you. That had to be pretty terrifying.”

I chew on my lip. “It was. And what you say makes sense logically. I just wish I didn’t have these fears still floating around in my head. I also detest that he’s out there on the loose. He could be hurting some other woman right now. Or he could be on his way to…”

Colton clenches his jaw, his eyes turning steely blue. “I pray he gets put away before that happens. I’ll help in any way I can. You, your mom—I know you said she has security, but what about you? I could have a system installed in your apartment tomorrow.”

“That’s so sweet, but I’m okay. And yes, my mom has incredible security. My brothers and I researched the best system for her house. She has cameras in literally every corner, and a personal detective on standby. Right now she’s got around-the-clock surveillance. Ben sells security systems, and he’s got friends in good places.”

“Good for him.” Colton nods approvingly.

“So. About your request.” I tug so hard on the blanket I pull a stitch. “Shit.”

“Don’t worry about the blanket.” Colton takes it out of my hands gently. “Tell me what you’re worried about. Because you’re clearly concerned. And not just about making your appointment, which of course you will do. We can leave after you’re finished.”

I force myself to hold the eye contact with him. “Colton, I’m just…I could barely get up the courage to spend the weekend with you in Malibu. The idea of leaving the state together is…” I let out a deep breath and say candidly, “It’s terrifying for me.”

He leans closer until his forehead is pressed to mine. “I know. But that’s why I want to do it, Sky. We have a chance to cut out all the bullshit—our jobs, the city, even the smog, and see what this is between us. Don’t you think we deserve another chance in Boulder, to do the things we never got to do the last time?”

“You mean like fuck?” The word is out before I can stop it.

Colton’s mouth finds mine, and for over a minute, all he does is make love to my mouth. Insistently and hypnotically, until I swear, I could come from his kiss alone.

“Yes, I mean like fuck,” he says, his shoulders shaking with laughter. “But I also mean more than that. I want to get to know all of you, Sky, and I want you to know all of me. What better place than where it all began?”

I look into his clear blue eyes that have never once lied to me or let me down, and something in me cracks open. I think it’s the concrete walls covering my heart, the protection I put in place as a child, and that I never planned to let any man penetrate. But a long time ago, a teenage boy found his way inside, and I never let him go. And I don’t want to.

“Okay,” I say in a whisper. “I’m in.”