“I had no intention of letting so much time pass before we spoke about us, Miller.” I took a step closer, and he matched the movement, knocking his knuckles on the table.
“In fact, the date I went on after you kissed me was positively horrible.Iwas positively horrible, thinking you’d run away because I was too much of a dunderhead to realize how much I liked you. I felt like I should be freaking done with men and just adopt five siblings for Minerva and call it a day.”
“Dunderhead?” He chuckled, arching a brow that had no business looking as cute as it did.
“Shut up. The main character in the fanfiction I’m reading uses that word. Anyway.” I watched as his eyes left me and focused on the kitchen tile. “I can’t stop thinking about you, and I don’t want to stop thinking about you. I want you for the foreseeable future. Longer than that, if I’m being honest.”
My palms were sweaty, and I rubbed them on the satin fabric of my dress, suddenly frustrated I didn’t have the foresight to put on a damn pair of yoga pants before coming over.
“I’m sorry, Miller. I’m so fucking sorry I didn’t see what was in front of me. I didn’t see you—not the way you saw me. I searched and searched for someone, thinking it was what I needed to complete my life—but it was all a lie. It was you, Miller. All I needed was you. Can you ever forgive me for being so stupid?”
The silence was deafening, with nothing but my shaky breath and roaring pulse. I watched his heartbeat thrum in his neck, unsure if it was because he was searching for a way to let me down easily or drag me closer. The anxiety that had dissipated since the dinner came back tenfold, threatening to pull me under the riptide and suffocate my senses.
“Say something,” I whispered, mimicking his pose and staring at the floor. Maybe I’d read everything wrong, and when suddenly faced with exactly what he wanted, the prospect was terrifying instead of exhilarating.
“You told me not to.”
I rolled my eyes, unable to keep the small upturn of my lips from his words. Perhaps he wanted to torture me for a few more moments before ridding me of this plight.No.He wasn’t unnecessarily cruel like that. His silence came from a place of love—of wanting to give me ample time to speak before he filled the silence.
“You are absolutely an insufferable idiot,” I sighed, propping one hand on my waist and pressing the other against my cheek. “I should never have left you tonight. I should have grabbed you and held you and screamed that I was yours.”
“Oh, Emma. You love me.” He smiled back, taking another two steps until his bare feet brushed against my slippers. He phrased the words like they were a statement, not a question. Minty sweet breath ghosted over my face as he pressed our foreheads together, threading one hand through the hairs at the base of my neck. He pulled gently but with enough force to move my head and make my eyes meet his.
Those dark eyes saideverything.They said love and adoration. Hope and forgiveness. More than that, they showed our future. I could see it as clearly as I could see the small cluster of freckles on his left cheek that sort of resembled the constellation Cygnus. There was only one answer to give him. The truth—something I knew beyond reason—something I’d known for a while.
“Yes, Miller. I do love you.”
“Oh, thank fuck, Emma,” he said, pressing his lips hard to mine. This shaky, harsh breath escaped his lips as he closed his eyes and tightened his hand in my hair like he expected me to run.
“I love you so damn much I can’t breathe, baby. I’m so sorry I walked away and for blaming you for things that were my fault. I couldn’t bear the thought of screwing things up again. I wouldn’tdo that, even if it meant stepping aside for some prick who didn’t even have the decency to show up.”
My breath caught in my chest, replacing the uneasiness with joy as his hand tightened.
The nervousness that bubbled in my belly disappeared, steadying myself for what I wanted to say. The only other thing that mattered. The one thing that could solidify what we meant to each other.
“Miller. Kiss me. Please.”
My voice was barely above a whimper, but he didn’t need telling twice. He took the opportunity, crushing his lips against mine with a renewed vigor. I opened for him, tracing my tongue against his bottom lip as he growled—this animalistic noise from deep in his chest. Our tongues met and my hands went to his waist, digging into his sides to pull him closer.
Even though there was nothing separating us but unnecessary layers of clothing, it wasn’t enough; I needed more skin. More teeth. More touch. I needed him. He relaxed in my arms, trailing his hands along my back and breaking away from my lips to kiss down my jawline and to the pulse point in my neck. He bit down—hard—making me moan before he lavished the area with his mouth and tongue.
I knew there would be a bruise tomorrow. Iwantedit. Needed the reminder that this was where he had been, and this was where he belonged. The moans and groans he made as he owned my mouth and body were borderline obscene, and did nothing to temper my libido, which was currently somewhere above hyperdrive.
Without warning, he pulled back, keeping his hands against me, but removing that devilish mouth from my collarbone. His eyes were hazy with lust, and the sight had me pressing my legs together to relieve the steadily building ache.
“This is it now, Emma. No more fucking around.” His voice was low and thick with emotion as he met my eyes. I whimpered, unashamed at how much hearing him say that affected me—down to my core. My body broke out in goose bumps even as my skin felt tight and overheated, and he smirked. This maddening, infuriating, desirable mansmirkedas he watched me.
“I want to call you mine and take you out on a date. Let me love you, Emma.”
I bit my lip, unable to keep the smile from my face. Something possessive rose to the surface, making me want to bottle up his voice and this moment. It was too perfect and too private to share with anyone else. It wasmine.
“I want to come home to you every night and wake up with a mouthful of your hair every morning. I want to talk dirty to you until you scream my name, then hold you close as you drift off to sleep.”
My eyes widened, and I wrapped my arms around his waist, before I buried my head in his shoulder. Sweet coffee filled my senses, bringing with it a sense of rightness.
“It kills me to think of you with another man. The more dates you went on, the worse it got, making me realize I’m a possessive asshole. You’re mine. I want you all to myself.”
I should be offended that he spoke about me like I was a possession—but I wasn’t. Some deep part of me took absolute delight in him claiming me on such a carnal level, and I bit my lip harder to keep from dropping to my knees and begging him to help me relieve the tightening in my core.
