“I love you.”
And I swore the room got lighter. Warmer. Like the shadows had been waiting for someone to flip the switch, and we finally had.
This wasn’t the end of our story. Not even close.
But it was the beginning of something holy. Something healed.
And we made love in that bed like we meant to keep it.
Like we meant to stay.
CHAPTER 17
June
“Holy fuck.”
It was about the tenth time he’d said it—still a little in shock over what we’d done tonight, I suppose. I was curled up in his bed, covers barely draped across my hips, my skin still humming. The room was lit from a small window over the bed, moonlight streaming in, the only other light coming from the kitchen.
Silas appeared in the doorway a moment later, the tupperware of ambrosia in one hand and two forks in the other. He was still completely naked—just utterly casual about it, like walking around bare-assed with fruit salad was part of his daily ritual.
He handed me a fork, then climbed into bed beside me, setting the ambrosia between us. “Holy fuck,” Silas muttered. “Just…holy fuck.”
“The ambrosia, or the literal holy fucking we just did?” I asked, scooping out a bite of my own.
He huffed out a laugh, one hand dragging through his hair. “Both…but mostly the second one.”
I grinned and took another bite, savoring the sweetness ofthe pineapple and marshmallows. It was absurd, really—sitting here post-coital, naked and sticky with sex and sugar, eating a classic southern potluck dish.
“I’m serious,” he said, watching me with this sort of dazed look. “I’ve had my world rocked before, but you just performed a whole exorcism with your thighs.”
I nearly choked on the ambrosia.
“Please put that on my headstone,” I said between laughs. “June Fontenot: minister and…sexorcist?”
“The exorcism puns have got to stop,” he laughed, shaking his head.
I looked up to kiss his cheek. “Never.”
We fell into an easy rhythm—spooning bites out of the container, brushing fingers, legs tangled together beneath the covers. This…thiswas heavenly—sitting in bed with a gorgeous man, eating delicious food, laughing.
It was exactly the kind of heaven my family would have told me to be ashamed of.
“Oh, you uh…” Silas paused when I looked up at him, “you’ve got?—”
He gestured at my collarbone—but instead of finishing his sentence, he ducked his head and dragged his tongue across the spot. I moaned softly, but he pulled back, smiling.
“You had some marshmallow,” he murmured.
“Ah…excuses,” I said, then pointed lower on my breast. “You know—I think I’ve got some marshmallow right here, too.”
Silas gave me that crooked, reverent smile. His hand skimmed down my side, then he bent his head and kissed the spot I’d pointed to…then his tongue darted out, and I felt it all the way in my toes.
“Mmm,” he rumbled against my skin. “Yep. Definitelymarshmallow.”
I let my head fall back against the pillows, laughter bubbling out of me.
“You’re insatiable,” I murmured, combing my fingers through his hair.
