God, how much candy did I get on my face?
“Put me down. I need to wash up.”
“Nope.” He walks into his bedroom, bypassing the bed and heading straight to the en suite. “I’ve been waiting hours to devour this beautiful body of yours.”
“You have?” I utter.
“Yeah.” He puts me down on my feet and turns on the shower. Deft fingers have my pajama top on the floor a moment later. “And I’m done waiting.”
He sinks to one knee and slides my pajama bottoms over my hips and to the floor. My panties disappear next. “Get wet with me, Celeste.”
His flannel shirt falls away, and he’s tugging his T-shirt off his body a second later. I slip a hand down his chest and then his hard stomach until my fingers hit the buckle of his belt.
“Is this another Christmas wish, Quin?”
“Not a wish, a demand.” His voice is gravel.
“Oh,” I breathe.
Warm, open-mouthed kisses trail up my thighs. “Fuck, these have been torturing me for hours. Every mile was too long. Every hour, excruciating...”
When he reaches my center, his tongue swirling around my clit, my legs fall apart for him. My hands gravitate into his hair. “I missed you, too, sweet man.”
“How much did you miss me, baby?”
He nips my clit, and the moan that slips out is breathy and heartbreaking.
“Way more than I should have.”
He pulls back, rocking onto his heels as his gaze studies my face. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
I tamp down the need to roll my eyes at him. “I-I... just—” I suck in a parcel of air but it’s too thin.
He pushes to his feet, hands clasping my face. “So you know, you have my whole heart. This man isn’t going anywhere. I’m not going to bail on you at the first sign of trouble.”
My chin wobbles. Why is my chest so heavy?
He adjusts his footing, closing in until his forehead is pressed to mine. “I’m not going to go out and not come back, Celeste. I’m right here. If there is one thing I can give you, it?—”
I press a finger over his lips.
“I don’t want anything from you, Quin.”
“But what do you need, Celeste?”
It takes me a moment to realize. Then the air vanishes from my lungs, the bridge of my nose burning. He’s literally on his knees asking me what I want, telling me he’ll give me what I need.
It’s the most intimate moment I’ve ever shared with anyone. He’s absolutely selfless. And I...
Inhale a shuddering breath.
“CC, please,” he rasps, hands gripping my hips.
“I—”
His head hits my stomach. I should say something. I need to say something. To tell him what I want. That it’s him and Maisey and this little family that we’ve had a glimpse of over the last month. The tiny town that brought us together is more comforting than the prospect of returning to the city and its myriad of opportunities that I’m sure I would only burn through. It’s a soulless existence.
Here, however . . .
