“I love you,” he continued, spreading my fingers over his heart. “I loved you a little in class, and it only grew the more I got to know you. It’soverwhelming and healing and beyond anything I could’ve dreamed. You are love to me. You’re brave, caring, and sweet. I’ll fight for our future alongside you, knowing you believe in the best version of me—and I’ll do my best to make you the happiest version of you.”
“Oh, Angel. I love you too.” I launched into his arms as my tears fell loose. His embrace calmed the roar of adrenaline in my heart. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted to show him how much he meant to me, to thread it through our very beings.
Our kisses deepened from pecks of appreciation to lingering tastes of desire. He rubbed the small of my back, and as I ground myself on his lap, his fingertips began seeking skin.
“Are you sure you want this tonight?” he whispered, his forehead pressed to mine.
“I want you. All of you. And cake after,” I teased, glancing at his masterpiece.
He chuckled and hoisted me up with him as he stood.
I squealed, hugging him tighter when he carried me to the bedroom. This was even hotter than I’d imagined. He swept me away like I weighed nothing, but his grip was secure enough to make me feel like the most important thing he’d ever held. We fell onto the bed together in a shuffle of clothes and kisses.
As he dragged my cute, relatively new underwear down my hips, I couldn’t help but indulge a bit of nostalgia. “I’m so glad you walked into the Closette,” I said.
“And I’m glad you craved something sweet that day—and that that something could eventually be me.” He smirked, pressing those naughty lips and hands all over my skin until I was writhing and ready.
His breathing was shaky as he put on protection and aligned our bodies. Maybe he was holding back. Or maybe he was nervous, like I used to be. I cupped his cheek and tilted his face toward mine.
“Hey. Look at me.” I needed to know how he was doing.
His gaze darkened with worry. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Well, you are pretty big,” I admitted.
He chuckled, and our postures relaxed.
I caressed his face. “After a little bit, our bodies will adjust, and we can make each other feel good again, right?”
He kissed me. “I’ll make you feel so good, Tori.”
I flushed, gasping as he slid into me. My nails bit his shoulder.
It was a strange, overwhelming tension, a pinch, that quickly rushed into euphoric relief.
“Angel,” I moaned. He was inside me. Yet, somehow, not close enough.
“You’re so good.” He pressed soft kisses into my face and neck. “You feel good. I-I’ll try not to move until you do.”
I couldn’t really think. But my body knew what to do. I unlocked my hips and tentatively rocked them against his.
He groaned and gripped my thigh. “That’s it. Show me what you want.”
Love. Desire. Rhythm.
“You…” I rested my palm over his racing heart. “I want you.”
“Then you’ll have me. You’ll always have me, Tori.”
I embraced him and the promise of our future together, making love with the sweet promise of forever.
Chapter thirty-four
Valentine
Valentine’s Day, I made so much more doing deliveries than I would’ve selling lingerie. People were a lot more excited to see me too. Their faces lit up when they answered the door to my armful of chocolates and roses. Or maybe they appreciated the springy antennae hearts atop my holiday headband.
Today, I freelanced a bit more than usual. I’d made a post in some local groups about being able to do custom orders, not just from one place, for a bonus fee. At one point, those orders took me to the mall. Specifically, Cake Warehouse.
