I leaned back to look him in the eye, unsure where he was going with this. “What’s that?”
“I’m going to be right there with you. Not in the shadows, and not in a car watching. If you’re going to be front andcenter as Prince of Monaco for the whole world to see, then I guess Shepard O’Neil Winchester the Third is going to make an appearance too.”
“I always forget the O’Neil,” I said, then winked at him. “Such a mouthful.”
“Don’t change the subject. Do we have a deal?”
I moved up to meet his lips with mine. “We have a deal.”
19
SHEP
THEO’S MOUTH PARTED, and I swept my tongue inside to taste him, effectively sealing our deal. It wasn’t the outcome I’d wanted, but every relationship needed compromise, and I was realizing there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for the man who’d stolen my heart.
Fuck, I’d told him I loved him and hadn’t even realized the words had come out of my mouth. Obviously I’d known, had been trying not to say it until the right moment, but there was no controlling how I felt about Theo.
And he loves me too…
My chest squeezed, my heart feeling so full I thought it would burst, because holy shit. I was in love with Theo Rinaldi. Never in my wildest dreams had I expected the two of us to end up together, yet here we were, making promises in my kitchen.
Life was funny that way. Only a few weeks ago I’d felt more alone than I had in my life and didn’t see that changing anytime soon, and now…
I didn’t just have Theo in my arms with his mouth on mine—I had his heart.
“Say it again,” I whispered against his lips before dropping my forehead to his. This time I wanted to hear it,reallyhear it and soak it up.
Theo lifted his head, those stunning blue eyes meeting mine and drawing me in. He brought his hands up to cradle my neck. “I love you, Shep. I never want to know what it’s like to not love you.”
I didn’t know why his face began to blur until I felt his thumb brush under my eye, and then he pressed a kiss to the same spot.
“You’re mine now,” he said, giving me a smile that had that edge of mischievousness that was so Theo and exactly the man I’d fallen in love with. He drew his hands down my hoodie, then moved them up underneath to touch me. His hands were cool against my skin as he trailed his fingers up over my abs, then up my chest to pinch my nipples.
I bit down on my lip as the tweak of pressure shot lust straight to my dick, which, judging by the smirk on Theo’s face, was exactly what he’d wanted.
He pulled my hoodie up, and I lifted my arms, letting him take it off me and toss it somewhere across the room.
“Si sexy et tout à moi,” he said, and I cursed that I didn’t know what he was saying—other than the fact that it was clearly nothing bad, with him looking at me the way he was.
I needed to learn French—the sooner, the better.
“Let me guess,” I said, as he lifted his own shirt over his head and got rid of it, “you said something about how you want to lick every inch of me?”
“No, that would be:Je veux lécher chaque centimètre de ta peau.And I do.” His hands went to the waist of his pants, flicking them open. He slowly drew down the zipper, making a show for me that had my cock straining behind my jeans. “But I said, ‘So sexy and all mine.’”
“Damn French,” I said, palming my erection and giving it a rough rub.
Theo’s eyes heated at the move, and he shoved his pants and boxer briefs off and stepped out of them. “I can teach you.” His breath was a whisper against my lips as he moved my hand aside and slipped his own into my briefs. The second his fingers wrapped around me, I gasped. “Say,‘Je veux te baiser, mon amour.’”
The way he said it was a seductive caress, but when I attempted the phrase and stumbled over the pronunciation, completely butchering it, Theo’s lips curved.
“Sounds like you said you want to fuck me, my love.” The hand he had around my dick squeezed, making me moan, and then he said, “Permission granted.”
Fuck, that was hot, and I wasn’t waiting another second to get him beneath me. My mouth crashed down on his as I hauled him up against me, lifting him so that he wrapped his legs around my waist.
Thank fuck my bed wasn’t far, because I didn’t want a quick fuck against a counter—I wanted him writhing in my sheets.
When my knees hit the mattress, I dropped him onto it so I could get rid of my jeans. Theo scooted up the bed, that beautiful body still bruised, but getting stronger every day. He widened his legs in invitation, lowering his hand to his cock and teasing the head with his fingers as he watched me watch him.
