“You know,” I say, straightening her tank top. “The night we met, I thought you were the most beautiful person I’d ever seen. I saw your eyes, and I didn’t think you couldget any more stunning. And then,” I pause, cradling her face in my hands, “you smiled. And then,” I say, kissing her cheek, “you blushed. And then,” I mumble into the skin behind her ear, “you laughed. And then,” I suck her pulse point, “you came. Every single day you do something that convinces me you’re even more beautiful than the day before.” I kiss her lips softly, and she hums again, that sweet, happy sound making my chest impossibly fuller. “I really need to clean myself up, but after, do you wanna come watch the sunrise with me?”
“I’d love that,” she answers immediately, sitting up straighter and looking toward the now-silent coffee machine. “I’ll make our coffee.” With a kiss to the tip of my nose, she stands and heads for the mugs.
I walk away, unsure of how I’ll survive when she does the same.
TWENTY-SIX
she’s a very good girl
Alice
While Arthur got himself cleaned up after what was easily the hottest sexual experience of my entire life, I got our coffees ready and put on his flannel shirt. As I’m washing Luther’s water bowl before I refill it, strong arms wrap around my middle, pulling me back.
“You’re wearing my shirt,” Arthur says, burying his face in my neck. I’m starting to think it’s his favorite thing to do. I giggle as his stubble tickles me, leaning into his touch, the forgotten bowl overfilling in the sink.
“Is that okay?” His response to my question is a groan I feel all the way down to my toes. “I’m taking that as a yes.”
“Never take it off,” he mumbles between kisses. “Well, maybe not never.” He pulls his face back, but hugs me up tighter, and the way his voice lowers makes me want to forget the sunrise and climb into bed with him instead. That thought makes me stiffen, and of course, Arthur notices. “You can tell me.”
“Um it’s—is this okay? I mean,wasthat okay? Isaid I wanted slow and then—” Ugh, how do I even say it? And then I walked in here and humped your leg?
Ever the calm one, Arthur turns off the faucet and spins me in his arms, taking my face in his hands. “I told you, I’m happy with whatever parts of you I get to have, at whatever pace you want to give them to me.”
I pull him closer, tugging on the material of his shirt and kiss him, hoping he can feel how thankful I am that he’s an anchor when I feel myself drifting away.
As is par for the course these days, Luther gets our attention by wedging his body between ours, and once he’s got fresh water and food—and decides he doesn’t actually want either—we all get into Arthur’s truck. He drives us to a spot on the ranch beside a small pond, and the three of us settle on the bed of the truck, watching the sun make its way through the foggy air.
I wonder how much it’s going to hurt when I fall.
Probably not as badly as when I leave and have to pick myself back up again.
As the week blurs by,Arthur and I have found ourselves working together more often as he passes his ranch coordinator duties to Paige and continues his training with Rosemary. Today is no different as we’re getting ready to take Cecilia out on Scout for the first time since this is now her fourth session.
Having all this time together has definitely helped ease any concerns I had about us not being able to be professional, because when we go home at the end of the day and he kisses me senseless, telling me he’d been thinkingabout doing that very thing all day, the giddy feeling that bubbles inside me is almost too much to take.
Almost.
Harder to take is the fact thatallhe does is kiss me. Since that morning in the kitchen, we’ve made out, and every night he kisses me sweetly in the hallway before saying goodnight and walking to his room. And every night I consider kicking down his door and climbing into his bed.
Naked.
Not that I’ve ever done that before, or that I would be bold enough to now, but I’m seriously considering a major personality change if it means getting under the covers with Arthur.
Car doors closing pull me out of my lusty thoughts, and I look up to find Gabriel and Cece walking toward where I’ve been waiting at the clinic’s entrance. I like to greet people at the door rather than having them wait for me. “Hi, you two,” I say with a wave, which they both return.
“Are we starting in the classroom today?” Cece asks, referring to the therapy room we were in last time.
“Nope. Straight to the barn today, Cece.” I look back to see if Arthur is outside, but he must be with Scout. “Your tio is in there, if you want to go see him.” Not needing any further convincing, the little girl takes off toward the barn, Gabriel and I laughing as we watch her.
“She’s not excited at all,” he jokes with an easy chuckle.
“Not even a little bit.” Looking up at Gabriel, I get to the reason I wanted Cecilia to go ahead of us. “Hey, thank you for sending me all that information on the fire damage and steering me toward the contractor. It’s been really helpful. I think I’m going to end up selling the house as itis, let someone else make the decisions on how they want to fix it up.”
“Makes sense. You probably don’t need to take on a house renovation right now anyway.” There’s no pity in his voice, only understanding.
“So do you want to come in or watch from afar today?” I ask as we start our walk to the barn.
“Mmm, maybe somewhere in between today. She told me I was hovering too much last week,” he says with another laugh.
