Trials Of A Heart | ✔️

25

~Brielle's POV~

"How many women have you been with?" I asked softly, peering up at him. He hesitated, and I could tell he wasn't sure if he should tell.

"Brielle...does it really matter?" He sighed softly, frowning as he met my gaze. I paused, biting on my lip. "Well, I guess not...but I still want to know. I-I'm curious." I said simply, giving a weak shrug of my shoulders. He bit his lip and pulled me into his side more, curling his body into mine. "If I'm being honest... I don't know." He muttered, making me cringe a little. Had he been with so many women that he couldn't even keep track? I didn't have a problem with people sleeping around, but it made me feel a little bit inadequate when I thought about it. He was so experienced and I wasn't at all.

"Don't get it twisted or anything, though." He said quickly, as if he knew what I was thinking. "The only reason I don't know is because I'm not the kind of guy that keeps track of that shit. But I won't lie. I-It's probably been a lot." He admitted. Although I didn't necessarily like the idea that he had been with other women because it made me jealous, I wasn't upset or mad at him. He and I weren't dating, and he wasn't mine to have claim on. "Okay." I whispered, fiddling with the fabric of his shirt. I could tell easily from the way his arm tightened around my waist, he was uncertain what my single worded response meant. "You're not angry at me, are you?" He asked with quiet hope.

I couldn't help but to giggle softly, shaking my head as I pulled away just the slightest bit. "No. We're not dating. You're not mine to claim or anything." I whispered, causing him to frown deeply. He narrowed his eyes down at me and I felt his arm tighten around my waist, not seeming to like my words. "If you really think I'm not snatching your ass up now that I have gotten this far with you, then you're delusional, Ellie. You're mine." He grunted, causing my cheeks to warm as heat spread up my neck and into my face. "Yours?" I echoed, biting on my bottom lip. "Was that a question or a statement?" I hummed, cocking a brow up at him playfully as I smiled. He smirked back at me and trailed his fingers down my waist, his touch making my skin line with goosebumps. "Can it be both?" He murmured, being so bold as to grasp my butt again.

For a moment I just pretended to think it over, biting the inside of my cheek so as to stifle a grin. "Depends. Can you ask me first?" I asked, letting a giggle escape accidentally. He snorted and rolled his eyes, rolling over on top of me again. His biceps flexed as he held himself over my body, letting his hands rest on either side of my head as he stared down at me. "Say you'll be mine, Brielle." He murmured, which was close to what I was looking for but not exactly it. I couldn't stop myself from smiling up at him, my hands inching their way up his arms to his muscular biceps. "That still sounds more like a demand than a question." I teased, grinning like a dummy.

Phoenix laughed and the sound of it mixed with the sight of his smile made me blush, my heart pounding intensely. I was sure there was no man who could be more attractive than him, and if there was, it wouldn't matter. Something about this man was so alluringly enticing that I was hooked on him.

"Okay, okay." He chuckled, the muscles of his biceps flexing as he lowered himself until his lips just brushed mine ever so gently. "Will you be mine, Brielle?" He finally asked.

Smiling uncontrollably, I nodded my head and felt my heartbeat only accelerate as he placed a kiss on my lips. "Fucking mine." He murmured as he pulled away, a possessive undertone to his voice that oddly gave me butterflies. Maybe with the past I had around the possessive, jealous man that my father was, you'd think I'd be against even being around a possessive man, and certainly against dating a possessive man. However, that wasn't the case here. Phoenix wasn't like my father. He wasn't, and I knew it, and there was no way I would let the trauma my father had put me through affect me so much that I couldn't even trust Phoenix when he'd never given me a reason not to.

"I r-really like you, Phoenix." I whispered, causing him to smile slightly and lower himself onto my body. His head landed on my chest and I giggled nervously as he buried his cheek into my breasts. "I like you too, but if you doubt it, I'd be more than happy to show you again." He said suggestively, flirting with me ever so casually.

The innuendo he'd snuck into his words didn't go over my head, primarily due to the fact that he'd just had his hand between my legs and his long fingers deep inside of me. I wasn't sure it was possible to even misinterpret his words after that. "Stop it." I giggled anxiously, gently pushing his big body off of me before I grabbed my panties and biker shorts from the floor by his bed, slipping them both on beneath the blankets so he couldn't see. He noticed my actions and looked at me, leaned onto his elbow. "Are you insecure in front of me?" He asked, making me pause. I just weakly shrugged my shoulders because, truthfully, I wasn't sure. Though, to be fair, I didn't feel as though it was him that made me insecure because it wasn't. It was more so just the idea that he had seen plenty of women naked before who I had no doubt were probably beautiful. How was I to measure up to that?

"What if I'm not as pretty as the other girls you've been with, or as fit or skinny?" I worried, biting on my bottom lip. After all, I was a curvy woman and working out definitely wasn't exactly my forte, so I had a bit of pudge on my stomach. Stretch marks lined my upper thighs and along the sides of my butt, even on my breasts due to how big they were. I wasn't perfect and, although this had never really bothered me like this before now, I couldn't help the way I was feeling. After all, he was perfect and a perfect man like him could easily have a woman who was better than I was. What if he realized that too, and decided he didn't want me anymore?

"Shut up, Ellie." Phoenix muttered, surprising me a little. He narrowed his soft brown eyes up at me, but they were hard and stony as he glared at me. "I don't want to ever hear that shit out of your mouth again. If I wanted someone else, don't you think I'd have them?" He almost scowled, making my cheeks flush. I ducked my head and laid back down in his bed after I had my clothes all on right, curling my legs up beneath his blankets. "I'm sorry." I whispered, embarrassed that I had shown him how insecure I could be at times. "I just don't understand what you even see in me." I admitted softly, watching as his eyes softened.

He reached out and gripped my face in his hands, a furrow in his brows. A little smirk hinted at the edge of his lips. "Everything." He whispered. "You could be everything to me, I think, if I play my cards right."