I kiss the top of her head. “I’ll remember that.” I rub her back and ask, “Do you want some coffee?”
“I’ll just drink yours.”
“I’m having tea.”
“Ugh,” she groans. “Fine, I’ll have some of your tea.”
“I can make you coffee.”
“No, that’s okay. I really just want to cuddle. And listen to the waves.”
“We can do that,” I say before picking her up and placing her on the counter.
“Dear God,” she says as she lifts her ass and hisses.
“What?” I ask, looking around.
“The counter is cold,” she says as she takes a deep breath and settles down.
“Sorry.” I chuckle, and her eyes snap up to mine in surprise. “What?” I ask.
Her expression softens as her hand finds my chest. “I don’t think I’ve heard you laugh in a very long time. I’ve missed it.”
I smooth my hands up her thighs. “It has been a long time. But it’s also been a long time since we’ve truly been alone. I’m at my best when I’m able to be with you.”
“Then we need to make sure we make that happen more,” she says as she cups my cheeks and leans in for a kiss.
I could easily get lost in her mouth right now, spread her across the counter, and bury my head between her legs, but she wants to cuddle and listen to the ocean, so I’ll give her exactly what she wants.
Reluctantly, I pull away and move over to the coffee machine to make her a cup.
“I said you didn’t have to make me coffee.”
“And I know you have better mornings when you drink some coffee.” She sighs behind me, and when I start her coffee, her foot pokes me in the back. When I glance over my shoulder, she smirks. “What?” I ask.
“You’re really hot.”
Forgetting the coffee, I move between her legs and grip her waist. “Yeah?” I ask, then bring my lips to her neck, reveling in her warmth. “Even with all of these new scars?”
“Even more so,” she says as I work up to her jaw. “They’re a reminder to me of how much you love me.”
I take a second to pull away. “How so?”
Her finger drags over the burn marks on my chest. “Because you were bound, chained, and abused, yet still found a way to not only pull through but to find me again. You went through hell, Keller, and the whole time, you were thinking about me.” She purses her lips. “Makes me feel like shit that I even considered going out with someone else.”
I grip her chin and force her to look me in the eyes. “You were trying to help Theo,” I say. “And Evan meant nothing to you, right?”
“Nothing,” she says. “I was so distraught from losing you. I honestly don’t think I would have been able to open myself up to someone else.”
“Good,” I answer. “Because nothing was stopping me from finding you and claiming you all over again.”
She smirks. “That much is obvious.”
I chuckle again, then fill up her cup with coffee. I grab her favorite creamer from the fridge and make her coffee just the way she likes it before turning toward her, catching her eyes scanning me up and down. Just the way that I like it. I always want her eyes on me. I always want to be her man.
I nod toward the couch. “Want to sit?”
She nods and hops off the counter. I set our mugs on the coffee table and go to the sliding glass door where I open it all the way up, letting the fresh air into the house. When I go back to the couch, I sit, then I pull Lilly onto my lap before reaching for our mugs.
