He withdrew and carried her in his arms to the bedroom where he gently cleaned her up, more than satisfied to have left part of him inside her. Thoughts of a baby jolted him into a new reality, the idea he could have a wife and family, someone he loved and who loved him, possible.
Then he told himself not to get too excited because the blasted woman still hadn’t committed to moving in with him.
After he’d cleaned up and stripped naked, he joined her on the bed. “Well?”
“Definitely a 10,” she mumbled. “Man, that was wild. You wore me out, Mr. Mad. Are you still mad? I hope not. Because if that’s how you make love when you’re angry, I’m always gonna wanna fight.” She sounded sleepy and satisfied.
He grinned and pulled her hair from her face so he could see her. “That wasn’t making love, Erin. That was some hard fucking. Making love involves a lot more kissing and touching.”
She hissed a breath when he took her nipple in his mouth and did just that.
“Oh.” She clutched his head to her chest. “Did you mean it about moving in with you?”
He pulled back to stare down at her, totally in love with Erin Briggs and her bright eyes and wide smile.
“I totally meant it.”
“Can I tell you yes tomorrow, so my answer isn’t clouded by great sex?”
His heart thundered, his feelings so fucking joyful he could barely contain himself. But he tried to act casual about it. “Oh, uh, sure.” Smith cleared his throat. “So, do you want me to go down on you again? Or you want some straight up missionary?”
Her eyes widened. “Again? Right now?”
“When I get my second wind.”
“Oh good. I need a tiny break.” She laid the back of her forearm over her eyes. “But I won’t stop you from nibbling on the rest of me to wake me up. Then we should do sixty-nine, because I haven’t tried that yet.”
Now he was the one looking stunned. “You can’t be serious.”
“Hey. We aren’t all as experienced as Big Dick Ramsey.”
He laughed so hard he cried. “Can I use that name with the guys? I love it.”
“Shut up.”
“Sixty-nine is a sacred number.” He grinned. “Oh, Cupcake. You have so much to learn…”
Erin wonderedif she’d made a mistake. If her nights continued like the past one, she might just turn bowlegged. In the morning, she gave Smith her tentative yes, and he swung her around until she grew dizzy.
But at least she knew he did in fact want her to stay.
The next few days passed in a blur. She would drop Smith at work in the morning, then cook for Tilly and Tilly’s helper, after which she’d take the food to Rupert’s. She edited her agricultural magazine articles during the day and filmed her cooking show at night at Tilly’s, threatening Smith on pain of death to keep away.
But after editing her video, she’d decided to try another angle and asked him to film her making an assortment of Halloween treats she intended to share at the next night’s Hall-o-ween.
He kept making her laugh until she smeared her mouth with chocolate and kissed him.
The only time she’d ever seen him cringe when kissing her.
After the segment, he congratulated her. “Wow. That was totally cool. It felt like I was on the set of a real televised cooking show.” He nodded to the tripod she normally used when filming with her phone. Then he shot her a sly look. “Ever filmed yourself having sex?”
“No. Just no.” She grabbed her phone and hugged it to her chest. “With my luck, I’d accidentally share it on YouTube, or worse, my parents would see it.” She cringed.
“Okay, but you don’t know what you’re missing.”
She paused. “You have?”
“In my wilder, younger days.” He laughed.
