He kissed my jaw, my cheek, and the spot just below my ear that made my breath catch. “I love you.”
This time, he whispered it even softer, like it was either a confession or a vow. I tugged him closer because suddenly there was no such thing as close enough.
“When you said you had some ground rules, you realize you sounded like a bossy, cowboy hero, right?” I brushed my thumb along his lower lip. “Every time you’ve said it, that’s all I’ve been able to think about. I figure it’s about time you knew that.”
He shook his head, chuckling as those deep blue eyes blazed into mine. “Seriously? I was trying to keep us both sane and you were fantasizing about me being a hero?”
I gave him a smug, wicked little smile. “Hey, you still love me. You’ve said it three whole times already, so no takebacks. No matter what fantasies I may or may not have.”
“Three? Try twenty.” He kissed me again, like he wanted to savor me or memorize the shape of my lips. “I’m not stopping anytime soon either. I’m going to say it at least twenty more times before you fall asleep.”
My heart stretched wide in my chest, suddenly feeling too big for its own walls. He was touching me like I was something precious and breakable, but also something he knew wouldn’t shatter under his hands.
Loved, but not coddled. Cherished, but not controlled. Seen in a way I had never been before.
He rolled us gently, not rushing or demanding, but shifting until my body was completely covered in his. The weight of him settled over me and I let out a sound I hadn’t known was on its way out.
“I never thought I’d get this,” I whispered before I could stop myself.
He lifted his head, deep red eyebrows pulling together as he studied me with that quiet intensity of his. “Get what?”
“This,” I said. “You. Us. A future I actually chose.”
His expression softened and he leaned down to brush a kiss just above my collarbone. “You’ve always deserved to choose. To have anything and everything you want.”
I laughed softly. “I used to think I wasn’t built for that.”
“You’re built for everything good,” he murmured, kissing the other side of my neck with a tenderness that felt reverent. “You just never had anyone who saw that.”
“Until you.”
He didn’t answer, just kissing me again with long, lingering strokes of his tongue. Heat spread through me, growing steadily with every glide of his lips and every sweep of his hand along my waist.
All the while, he breathed “I love you” against my skin like a prayer. I stroked my hands along the ridges of muscle in his back, taking off his shirt and moaning shamelessly whenever I felt a sound bubble up in my throat.
With him, now, I had no more fear of disappointing someone or not being enough. I felt completely safe in his arms, in myown skin, and with my own dreams. He made me brave enough to be completely secure in who I was, and it was a pretty awesome feeling.
As he kept kissing me, my whole body arched into him and I felt his breath catch just slightly, his muscles tightening beneath my palms. He groaned, kicking off his shoes and whispering my name in a low, desperate way that made heat pool between my legs.
“Charlotte,” he repeated, and I suddenly realized that it wasn’t just a moan anymore. He wanted to tell me something.
I blinked my eyes open. “What’s wrong?”
As I asked the question, he rolled my shirt upward and over my head before returning to me, pressing his forehead to mine as he caught his breath. “I, uh, I think we’re out of condoms.”
My heart stuttered, my pulse tripping over itself. I shook my head slowly from one side to the other. “What?”
He groaned. “Contrary to what you might think, I don’t actually have a never-ending supply.”
Breathless laughter bubbled out of me, but I didn’t let go of him. “God, Nate was right.”
“Nate?” He screwed up his nose. “Why the hell are we talking about your brother right now?”
“Because he told me to make sure that I keep some of my own,” I explained quickly, wrapping my arms around Trent and pulling him down on me fully. “Needless to say, I didn’t listen, but, uh, I’m ready to go without.”
His body went limp with shock, settling over mine with the weight of him anchoring me, surrounding me, and lighting up every nerve in the best way. For a long minute, he just lay there, breathing hard with his heart pounding so violently that I felt it against my own chest.
“Do you want—” he started eventually, his voice soft and careful.
