Oh, how foolish we’ve all been, tormenting ourselves against the sharp edges of our heartbreak when the solution is staring us all in the face.
Intertwining my fingers in Lucky’s, I turn to the man who continues to brood beside us, his frown directed at the exact point where our hands meet.“We need to go back.”
Sterling’s expression falls, but I’m not letting him go so easily.Not now.Not ever again.I know what is in his heart, can see it clearer without the haze of my own fears.I will never leave him, nor will I let him walk away from Lucky a second time.
“Come with us,” I say, surer than I have ever been that he must.There is no other option.“We’ll have the wedding, as promised, and return together to Chance.As my guard, you would be permitted to live in the house.You could see us both.”
“Mia, what are you saying?”
I drop Lucky’s hand and kneel before Sterling, holding his face in my hands, the same way he did with me last night.“I’m saying, stay with us.”
Sterling looks over my shoulder with such naked hope on his face that it almost hurts.Waiting for Lucky’s response.
“Please,” Lucky says, his voice hoarse.“I don’t think I could lose you twice.My heart wouldn’t survive it.”
Blue eyes drop back down to mine, brimming with a storm of emotion.“This doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
“I know.”
He makes his decision, telegraphing it as easily as his strikes, and when he leans forward, I’m already there.Ready to meet him.Ready for anything and everything that comes next.
When we part, he rises, reaching for Lucky and crushing him in a kiss.I wait for jealousy to hit, but all I see is love, and it is beautiful.There is more than one way to find happiness, and bearing witness to their passion fills my heart.
Lucky pulls away, still gripping at Sterling’s tunic with clenched fists.In inches, as though it pains him to look away, he faces me.Steps closer, breathing fast, his expression broken open.Joy spills out and over the top, and it’s difficult not to bask in it.
I’m smiling as he cups my cheek.
“There’s no possible way to thank you, Mia.Except perhaps this.”
His kiss is gentle, almost chaste, but my body reacts all the same.Tingles spread through me from top to toe, cascading until I’m trembling with the need for more.I don’t ask, pressing up for another and another, which Lucky grants, deepening each kiss until the heat in my belly is licking at my skin.
When we part, he sounds as breathless as I feel.
“If we don’t mean to miss your wedding, we should leave.”
I reach for Sterling, finding his gaze dark and hungry.“As long as it’s together.”
“Always.”
THE END
* * *
start over
He presses me against the counter, his hands eagerly ridding me of my shirt.Then his.I can’t get enough of him—all that bare skin, scorching hot, lean and limber—and, my God, I can’t wait to see what he can do with it, but right now, I just want his mouth on me.
I need to be nakednow.
Some men kiss like it’s a test, like there’s only one right answer, and if they follow the formula, boom, they’ll get what they want.Two plus two equals sex.It’s uninspired, sloppy, and overly wet.
Lucky kisses with creative abandon.He dives in, adjusts, reacts, until our lips meet perfectly, uniquely, harmoniously, over and over, no wrong answers, only the pulsing joy of it reaching every inch of me.
“Wanted you ever since I saw you, ever since you bit my head off.”
“You were so arrogant.”Shit, his abs are amazing.Not an inch of body fat.“I didn’t know if I wanted to smack you or kiss you.”
He kisses along my jaw.“Could do both.I wouldn’t mind.”
