I’m gasping, my orgasm so intense that I can’t stop shaking and shivering. It’s not until Luca’s gray eyes widen and he shushes me, dragging me down to him, that I realize I’m crying. With one hand, he tangles his fingers in my hair, and with the other, he strokes my back.
My chest heaves against his with each shaky inhale I take. “It’s okay,” he whispers.
“I’m afraid to lose you,” I say, repeating myself.
“Look at me.” I lift myself up, locking eyes with Luca. “You’re not going to lose me. I promise.” I’m not sure how to believe that. I just fucking got him. What does he not understand about it? “Austin, you won’t,” he repeats. “You won’t.”
I nod, because what else is there to do, and lay my head against his shoulder, burying my face in his throat.
God, I hope he’s fucking right.
Wehadourfirstsnow of the season. It came way later than any of us expected, but since we’ve already gotten some overnight and they’re expecting more to fall every day for the next five, it’s almost a guarantee that we’re going to have a white Christmas.
“Are you nervous?”
I glance at Luca for a quick second. Thankfully, my truck isfour-wheel drive, because there’s no way Luca’s car would make it down the back roads we have to take to get to Mom and Dad’s right now. I shake my head, slowing a bit for a patch of snow. “No. Are you?”
Luca laughs. “To tell your parents we’re together? No.”
“Me neither.”
“Then why did you ask?”
I carefully pull into their driveway, then put the truck in park before turning in my seat to look at Luca. “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t having any regrets.”
“Regrets?” Luca blinks at me a few times, then smiles. “No. I told you once before, I could never regret you.”
My heart damn near flies out of my chest. “Then let’s go in and tell them. Wait for me.”
I climb down from my seat and walk around to Luca’s side to open his door and help him down. The driveway is basically a solid sheet of ice, so I hold his gloved hand in mine, leading him to the door.
Ma’s got it decorated like a winter wonderland inside, so when I push the door open and lead Luca into the house, he gasps. “Wow. I love this.”
I knew he would. His love for Christmas genuinely knows no bounds, and I’m so damn happy that for the first time since he was eighteen, he gets to celebrate it with people who truly love him.
There are already presents piled under the tree, and Ma even brought out the stockings Luca and I made when we were kids. They’re old now; the puffy paint we used to write our names on them has faded some, and the cotton itself is threadbare. But they’re still hanging proudly on the mantel.
“Wow. I can’t believe she still has these,” Luca says, pulling hishand from mine to go see them.
I stand back and watch as he runs his fingers reverently over the green paint his name is written in. The smile he gives me over his shoulder is stunning, and the way his eyes are sparkling in the lights adorning the tree has my breath catching in my throat.
“Boys! You made it!”
Ma pops her head around the corner, wiping her hands on her apron.
“We did.” Luca steps away from the mantel and directly into her arms. “Did Arlo accept your invitation?”
“He did.” Ma pulls back, tapping Luca on the nose. “He said he’s going to have Jasper bring him, since the roads are bad.”
“Is Art in the kitchen?” Luca asks, but he doesn’t wait for a response. He just takes off his gloves and steps around the corner like he’s at home, and in a way, he is.
“Hey, my boy.”
She steps forward, then gives me a quick hug. “Hey, Ma. Thanks for inviting Arlo.”
“He’s a good boy. I like him quite a bit.”
“We do too.”
