“I think you deserve a whole lot more than you give yourself credit for,” she says as I press my lips to her wrist. “And, as much as it hurt to find out the way I did, you weren’t responsible for that. You were asked to keep a secret, and you did. You’regood,Milo. You’re a good man.”
“I’ll try to be,” I say, nodding urgently. “I swear I’ll earn your trust back.”
“You’ve got it.” She tugs me down with a grip on my sweater before hugging me tightly. “It might make me foolish too, but I do trust you, Milo.”
I breathe her in, holding on to the back of her head with shaking hands.
“So, did you mean it?” she asks softly, leaning back in my embrace to look up at me. “You’re really going to stay? This little town could be enough for you?”
I lay my hand over her heart. “I’m staying,” I tell her. “Wherever you are,” I whisper, “is enough for me.”
“What does…” She bites her lips, pressing them together as her expectant eyes search mine. “What does that meanexactly?”
I smile at her, uncontrollably wide as I realize what she wants to hear, the three words I’ve been desperate to give her. “It means Iloveyou, Prudence Welch. It means that you are my biggestadventure yet. It means not running anymore, in order to become the man you deserve. It means thatyouare my home—the one I want forever.”
“Okay, good!” she says, nearly laughing. “I was really hoping you’d—”
I kiss her. I kiss her with all the love in my chest that’d been begging to break out, letting it flow between us in a way words alone cannot convey.
“I love you too,” she whispers against my mouth, brushing her thumb across my bottom lip to keep it from interrupting her. She giggles when I hoist her up, wrapping her legs around my hips as her hands find either side of my face.
“Say it again,” I say, my smile mirrored by hers.
“I love you, Milo Kablukov. I love you exactly as you are.”
Her words burrow a hole in my chest, slightly painful as they land but a relief just the same. “Thank you,” I whisper. “Thank you.” We kiss again as I sway our bodies side to side.
“Thankyou,” she repeats softly. Her fingers toy with the ends of my hair, fussing with the curled ends as I continue to hold her close to me.
I’m overwhelmed by a sense of peace, as if the ground underneath me is solid and welcoming for the first time in a long, long while. I realize then it’s because I have the world in my arms that I no longer want more of it.
“Whatever comes, Prue, I promise I’m going to be right here.”
“Whatever comes,” she swears back to me, kissing me just once. “Now…take me inside.” Her fingertips find my jaw, then my cheeks, steadying my face in her hands. “I want you to show me just how much you love me,” she says playfully, a small smirk finding its rightful place.
I press my thumb into the edge of her grin, nodding. “I can do that. Easy.”
I help her up the rocky steps, holding her hand in mine and the lantern in my other. She stops a few times, usually when she’s a step ahead, and kisses me, using the extra height to her advantage. I love it, the way she cannot go more than a minute without her lips on mine. I feel the exact same way, possessed by my need of her.
Once at the studio’s door, she drops my hand to punch in the passcode. I place the lantern down, and fill my hands with her hips, tugging her back into me. She giggles, opening the door as I pull her in close and nibble at her ear.
“I love your laugh,” I say, spinning her around as the door shuts behind us. Her lamps are on upstairs, and my eyes take a second to adjust before Prue’s beauty is visible to me once again. “I love your face,” I add, placing my hand under her chin. “I love your smile, and your frowns, and your fucking-with-me grins most of all.”
She blushes at my words but doesn’t try to hide her face as she walks us backward toward the staircase leading to the loft.
“I love that too,” I say, brushing my thumb over the pink hue across her cheeks.
I follow her up the stairs, watching her hips sway as we go. “I love these,” I say, reaching out to take hold. “And this,” I say, bringing my hands down to squeeze her ass. She giggles once more, looking over her shoulder to face me as she tugs her sweater off over her head, and tosses it over the railing. She’s bare underneath, no shirt or bra, and I lick my lips at the sight. When she reaches her bedroom, she turns toward me and walks backward, showing off her perfect tits.
“And youknowhow much I love those,” I say, reaching for her before she jumps back, smiling mischievously as she shakes her headno.
“Stay there,” she commands. “Watch…”
I do as told, stopping at the top of the stairs to watch Prue toy with the waistband of her leggings. When the backs of her legs hit the side of her bed, she pulls them and her panties underneath all the way down and off, not dropping eye contact for a second. Then, she lowers to sit on the edge of her mattress, one leg crossed over the other. “Now,” she says, cocking her head curiously. “Crawl to me.”
I smile, my head shaking as I drop slowly to both knees. “You liked that, huh?”
“Ilovedit,” she corrects.
