“Well, perfect timing. You can keep this old bear company now, and I can jet.” Finn jogs to the back door like he can’t get gone fast enough. “I’ll grab my stuff inside and leave out the front. See you later, kids.”
He shuts the door behind himself and then sticks his meaty fist between the blinds of the window next to the door and gives me a thumbs-up. I don’t know if he meant it to be stealthy, but Sam chuckles as she watches him extricate his hand gracelessly.
“He’s…” She shakes her head, a small smile on her beautiful face as she turns toward the fire and takes a seat in the chair next to me, rather than the one Finn just vacated.
“He’s something.” I sigh, though I’m playing it up a bit.
“He’s sweet. And a little wild. And he seems like a great brother.”
“All true.” I like her answer so much, it’s stupid.
It’s emblematic of how I feel about her, no doubt.
I hold out a hand, and she slips hers into it without a moment’s hesitation. Then I tug, catching her eyes. “Come here.”
She bites her lip but rises, coming to stand between my legs.
“Have a seat.”
Her eyes dart down to my lap, then jump back up. Her lips part, but she bites the bottom one again. She’s not sure if I meanon me, and she’s nervous.
I nod. “Anywhere you want.”
When she dips her chin, I add a touch more pull toward me, and then, she settles her knees on either side of my hips, her bottom seated on my thighs. I guide the hand I’ve been holding up to press a kiss into her wrist, then rest her hand on my shoulder. She takes the signal and raises her opposite hand on the other side.
She’s so tentative, and I want her comfortable. I want her weight on me, every ounce of her. I’m hungry for it.
My hands find her waist, and I slide her closer, almost force her down so her thighs are no longer lightly holding her above me.
“If you’re good, I’m good.” I won’t have her worrying, and I won’t have her stay here if she’s not comfortable.
“I’m good.” Her shoulders relax, and her thumbs graze along my neck.
“How was your movie night?” Look at me, completely casual and not slowly burning from the inside out from having her this close.
“Good. Love that Mr. Darcy.”
One of her hands threads into the hair at the back of my neck.
“Not Bingley?” She named her cat after the guy. “All sunshine and cheeriness. Has it bad for Jane but too scared to say it?”
Interest flickers across her face. “He’s the sidekick. I like him because he’s straightforward, and I thought it might be weird to name my cat after my favorite romantic lead.”
One of my hands slides around to her back under her jacket. It takes all of my self-control not to urge her even closer. “So Darcy then. Guardian to a young girl. Fairly surly.”
She tips her head closer, her lips now a scant few inches from mine. “From a rich family. Judgy at first, problematically protective of the people he loves, then unmistakably kind and self-sacrificing.”
“Sounds unbearable.”
We share a breath, eyes locked together in the way we always end up, and then she moves as she speaks.
“I promise you it’s not.”
Then her lips are on mine. Thrill and pure need shoot up my spine when she deepens the kiss within seconds of starting it, her desire for me evident in the way she’s pulling at my shoulders to get closer.
And then we are—bodies pressed, kisses fire, hips rocking even as the chill of the night nips at the edges of our frame. But it’s all heat between us, soft moans andyesand more, until we’re both out of our minds and a sharppopfrom the fire has me coming back to earthand realizing the girls could come out and see us any moment. It’s been a while since Poppy’s last nightmare, but you never know.
I pull back and she blinks open her eyes. There’s a beat.
