“Not anymore.” I’ll put my wedding band on after I unpack and I never plan to take it off again.
26
EVERLY
The sky overhead is dark, but something flickers between Grey and me. It takes on a shape and light of its own. Giddy excitement builds inside. I never expected to feel sparks of interest in my husband. Rule number two hundred nineteen of the Marriage of Convenience Club, do not fall for each other.
However, just when I think we have a breakthrough, Grey’s eyes drop to the ground. He shoves his hands into his pockets, suddenly shy.
“Where’d you go?” Did he float back into the clouds?
He scuffs the deck with his boot.
“What are you doing?” Desperation fills the space between the words because I thought we’d made progress. I’m afraid that I’m falling...and if he doesn’t say something soon, it’ll be smack dab on my non-Bruiser-butt.
Grey’s voice is rough when he says, “Everly, if I take my hands out of my pockets, they’ll be all over you. There will be no stopping me.”
My pulse takes flight. Falling? Nope, I’m flying now, at risk of floating away. That wasn’t what I expected to hear. “I’m willing to risk it, Grey.”
The flicker turns to flame when our gazes meet. I give a slight nod as the kissituation sails into my mind.
Grey’s large, rough hands grip my upper arms and he looks at me like he’s been offshore on his Viking ship longer than advisable. My breath catches in my throat, but my heart continues its persistent gallop. I can feel it in my toes.
Grey leans over and kisses my bare shoulder, the length of my neck, and then my jaw, where he pauses. It’s tentative at first, as though he’s dipping his toes into the cool water of the lake. Little pecks, one, two, three. Either that or he’s afraid of what’ll happen if he starts out too strong.
I may be smaller than him, but I’ve proved that I can handle this dangerous gentleman. “Trust me, I won’t break.”
His fresh split wood scent sends my eyes fluttering closed as I experience him with my other senses—smell, touch, taste as his lips land on mine.
I try to find my breath. The world has stopped spinning, time has slowed to a crawl, and it’s just the two of us at the center of it all. I no longer need oxygen. All I need is my husband’s mouth on mine.
My hands find their way to the back of his neck. It’s smooth and warm and welcome as I move yet closer to him. I’m on tiptoe, practically levitating off the ground, and our chests push together.
With this kiss, I want to show him how I feel, because, for all my talk about communication, sometimes words aren’t enough.
His hand cradles the back of my head as we move together.
It’s like we’re making a different kind of list. Awe belong togetherlist. Trusting each other is number one. Believing ineach other is number two, this kiss is number three. I can’t think about anything beyond that as the kiss deepens.
Grey’s beard is like a soft cushion against my skin, a nest where I can make myself at home. I don’t mind the bristle against my cheek either. I like that he’s a little bit rough against the smooth.
His hands knot into the waves in my hair, drop to my back, and race along my waist. By the way he explores my skin, I imagine he likes what he’s found.
My chest swells as I melt into him. The steady beat of our hearts reminds me that the kiss is real and it goes on and on to the beat of our hearts.
After I surface from the depths of Grey’s embrace, a different kind of sigh escapes him as though he’s enjoying himself, enjoying me, like he, too, can breathe again.
When we pull apart, we drop back onto the bench swing. I nestle under the crook of his arm and the rocking resumes.
The kiss we shared was the answer to the question I didn’t even know to ask. It provided the information I didn’t realize I needed. It’s the solution to a problem that had always been just out of reach.
“Everly, you asked if you should be worried—about me getting angry. No. Not at you. Never at you. I will only ever protect you. From men like Todd. You’re safe here with me. I promise.” His massive arm wraps around me and he gives me a comforting squeeze.
“As I said, you answered my question.”
The clouds disperse. Stars twinkle in the sky. I count them, wishing on each one for another kiss with Grey. But soon I lose track as they light up the sky. I take it as a sign that there’ll be many, many more kisses.
“I don’t know exactly what this means for us,” he says after a while.
