“And then we crossed the line into something else. Something so much bigger, so much more…breakable. The thought of us not working out and losing you? Not having you in my life at all? That fear took over. I should have been worshiping you, should have been taking you home with me so I could fall asleep with you in my arms instead of pushing you away. I should have kept chasing after you immediately instead of waiting until the next day.” He finally stops moving and turns to face me. “I’m so fucking sorry, Amelia. I fucked up, and now I’mbeggingyou to let me make it up to you. I’ll prove how much I love you every single day if you let me.”
Torment fills his eyes as mine fill with tears.
That night broke me, but maybe it broke him, too.
“You’re not the only one who fucked up. I ran and kept running. I haven’t stopped running. I’ve been too afraid to. Because I can’t go through that pain again, Alex,” I murmur, shaking my head. “I should have at least talked to you at some point since that night, but then you walked into my parents’ kitchen, and everything multiplied because you’re Bean’s dad and it’s all just so complicated.”
Breathing is hard. My heart is heavy in my chest. I feel like a sink hole is opening under my feet, ready to swallow me up.
Chapter 36
It's 5, if you're keeping count
Alex
When Amelia’s eyes go wide with panic, and she starts hyperventilating, I jump into action, rushing over to her and cupping her cheeks in my hands.
“Breathe, sunshine.” Her eyes close, and tears gather on her lashes. I kiss them away and rest my forehead on hers. “Maybe things around us are complicated, but that doesn’t mean we have to be.”
Her breathing evens out, and she opens her beautiful blue eyes, locking them with mine. They’ve lost the tortured look I’ve seen so much of over the last week.
“I love you,” I tell her again, just in case she didn’t hear me the first time.
“I love you, too, Alex,” she whispers. “So fucking much.”
I slam my mouth to hers and kiss her passionately. Breathlessly. I kiss her with everything I am. My mind races with all the ways I want to sink into her, make her mine, and show her that I’m hers.
But I know I need to use the words, too. I break the kiss, leaving just enough room between my lips and hers to speak.
“I should have said it every single day for the last year. I love you. I love how you tease me. How you keep track of the littlest things that don’t matter to anyone else but are a big deal to me. How sassy and goofy you are. I love you, Amelia Sinclair.” I take a deep breath. “But I’m not done. This weekhas made me fall even more in love with you. I love how you wrangle half a dozen kids, even ones that aren’t related to you. I love your playlists, and what a good friend you are. I love Minnie Sinclair, too.”
Digging my fingers into her hair, I gently force her head back so she’s looking up into my eyes. “You make me a better version of myself. You make my heart jump and race and fly. You own me. My soul is yours. You’re it for me, sunshine. You’re fucking it for me.”
There’s fire and lust in her gaze. “Prove it.”
She wraps my tie around her hand to pull my mouth to hers, and fuck, if that isn’t the sexiest damn thing in the world, I don’t know what is. I moan and start peeling her dress off her body, hearing it tear in my impatience to have her naked in my arms. Once it’s on the floor, I unhook her bra and toss it away, leaving her in only a pair of lace panties. My hands grip her ass cheeks, and I pick her up. Her legs wrap around my waist, and her arms around my neck as she lets out a small shriek.
“I fucking intend to. Over and over.”
Turning, I walk to the bedroom and lower her to the middle of the mattress. I follow, grinding my cock against her center.
“Mine. You’re mine, Amelia.”
Nodding, she arches her back and rocks her hips with a low moan. I can’t get enough of the noises she makes. She tugs my shirt out of my waistband and runs her hands under it, over my chest, lightly dragging her nails across my skin as I hiss with pleasure, just bordering on pain. I take one of her nipples into my mouth, lavishing attention on it with my tongue before moving to the other.
“Alex,” she breathes, writhing beneath me.
“You can be loud here, sunshine,” I tell her before kissingmy way down her stomach and run a fingertip over her panties with a groan. “You’re fucking soaked for me.”
“I always am around you. I brought extra panties to work every day for a year.”
Well, shit, that’s life-changing information…With a low growl, I rip the flimsy fabric and toss it away. “You didn’t let me taste you the other night. And I’m starving for you.”
My fingertips dig into her hips hard as my mouth drops to her pussy. I dip my tongue inside her and then drag it up to focus on her clit. I circle it, flick it, and nip it between my teeth, bringing her closer and closer.
Her hands dig into my hair. “Oh, fuck,” she gasps.
She comes hard and I keep my tongue on her, wringing every drop of her orgasm out of her. Even then, I continue. She squirms and whimpers as a second orgasm builds.
