He cuffs my neck and hauls me against him. With his lips brushing mine, he whispers, “I really like you too, baby girl.” His kiss is warm, his touch soothing. “Now open your present.”
Butterflies fluttering in my stomach, I flip open the box. When I’m met with a small bronze object, I choke on a laugh. “A key.” There’s disappointment in my tone, but relief too. Because yeah, now I know that I want him forever, but my initial reservation was appropriate. Not yet. There’s no rush. He’s not going anywhere.
“To my house,” he says, eyes holding mine. “Ourhouse.”
“Our house?” I repeat.
“Move in with me, baby girl.” He presses his forehead to mine. “I hate waking up without you. If I had my way, you’d be at my side at all times, while at work, while traveling. But that’s not realistic. This, though, could be. Move in with me.” The confidence in his tone, alongwith the hint of desperation, like he doesn’t even know where the words came from, like they just spilled from his lips, has me nodding along and agreeing.
“Okay,” I say, breathless.
“Okay?” His eyes widen in surprise.
“Yeah, I’ll move in with you. Okay.”
He hauls himself up in one quick move and tackles me in the bed. We’re a mess of limbs and kisses, scrambling to get rid of his clothes and free my legs from the sheets. In a matter of seconds, he’s pushing into me with a rough thrust. “Fuck, baby girl, what are you doing to me?”
I shake my head, tears stinging my nose. His expression is filled with awe. With what I can only hope is the beginnings of love.
“Whatever it is,” I say, “it’s happening to me too.”
“Good. Stay with me,” he says as he buries himself deep inside me.
“I’m right here,” I promise, my hand going to his heart as my walls clench around him.
He fucks me slowly, his fingers entwined with mine between us, our eyes never leaving one another.
It might not have been a ring, but this feels a hell of a lot more like forever.
THIRTY-THREE
CAMDEN
“Yes, right in the fucking net!”I punch the air as Maverick takes a victory lap. “He looks good, man. Really fucking good.”
Beside me, Daniel’s wearing a matching celebratory smile. “Yeah, he does. Kid doesn’t rest. Even sleeps with the damn stick at night.”
Affection for my godson overflows from me. “I remember those days.”
“Please, my husband still has those days,” Hannah says as she walks away. “I’m on raffle duty. Have to go make the money.”
She sways her hips suggestively, without a doubt knowing that he’s still looking, and Daniel hums in appreciation.
When she’s out of sight, he shakes himself from his stupor. “Okay, now that she’s gone.”
I whip my head in his direction. My best friend doesnotkeep secrets from his wife. Where is he going with this?
“When the fuck were you going to tell me that Savannah is Calliope?”
The air escapes from my lungs, and for a second, all I can do is stareat him. Then I burst into laughter. Definitely didn’t expect him to say that.
He grabs my arm, expression serious. “Did you not look at the article Noah sent you?”
I roll my eyes, unable to wipe the smile from my face. “Of course I did.”
“And? Aren’t you freaking the fuck out? She was pulling one over on you the whole time.”
I breathe in through my nose to keep from laughing again. “Yeah, she definitely was.”
