“Were you drooling?” he teases, swiping his finger across my chin.
I swat his chest. “Hey, at least I don’t snore like a chainsaw.”
“I don’t snore,” he insists in mock defense.
“You most certainly do. I’ve shared enough hotel rooms with you, and you absolutely snore, Buttercup.”
He retaliates by tickling my ribs, making me laugh and squirm.
“Well, too late now. No take-backs. You’re stuck with all my noises.”
“I’ll take them all,” I tell him, turning in his arms. “As long as I get to fall asleep with you every night and wake up with you every morning.”
He smiles. “Deal.”
Then he kisses me, slow and deliberate.
The rest of the night, we stay wrapped in each other, not saying much. There’s comfort in the quiet, in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against my back, in the simple joy of knowing we’re finally where we’re supposed to be.
The next morning, I’m woken by the sensation of Aiden’s warm, eager lips trailing a path down my chest, his tongue leavinga cool, damp trail across my heated skin as he works his way down to my stomach, before enveloping my aching morning wood.
The wet sounds fill the quiet room, his talented mouth creating a perfect vacuum that sends electric tingles racing up my thighs.
“Oh God, that mouth,” I gasp, threading my fingers through his sleep-tousled hair as he works his magic; my muscles tensing and my toes curling into the sheets as my release builds and finally pulses down his waiting throat.
Looking up at me with heavy-lidded eyes and a shit-eating grin, he slowly wipes the glistening evidence from his reddened lips with his thumb, and my mouth waters involuntarily at the sight of him.
I beckon him with a crook of my finger, guiding him up my body until he’s straddling my chest, his thighs bracketing my shoulders as he feeds me his velvet-skinned cock.
I take him deep, savoring his musky scent as I work my tongue over his sensitive tip, tracing the prominent vein that pulses beneath my lips.
His breathing grows ragged above me, his hips making small, desperate movements until he’s spilling his warm release across my tongue.
“Mmm, baby, that’s the best way to wake up,” Aiden says, leaning down to kiss me deeply, our flavors mingling before he reluctantly pulls away and pads across the hardwood floor to the bathroom.
I’m still lounging in our bed when he returns, my arms propped behind my head on the soft pillow, my muscles pleasantly loose and unwilling to surrender this perfect moment of contentment.
“I’m going to make coffee and breakfast whenever you’re ready to get up,” he says playfully, his fingers finding my toes beneaththe tangled blanket and giving them a gentle tug. “All those boxes won’t unpack themselves.”
“I know,” I sigh, stretching, “I just want to be lazy for five more minutes.”
Before he leaves the bedroom, I voice what’s been on my mind. “Hey, we haven’t talked about where I’m going to set up for work. I like having a dedicated space, but we could put my desk in the corner of the living room, if that’s easier.”
Just because I’ve moved in, I don’t want to assume anything or cause him any inconvenience.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he gives me a warm smile. “What would you think about sharing the space with me downstairs? There’s that private room with a window overlooking the river right next to my office.”
“I’d love to keep my work and home spaces separate,” I reply, tracing patterns on his forearm with my fingertip. “But you don’t think you’ll get sick of being around me all day, every day?”
He gives my leg a firm squeeze. “Baby, it’s going to be a very, very long time before I’m remotely tired of having you near me.”
That’s exactly what I needed to hear. Beneath all the excitement of moving in together, there’s been a quiet undercurrent of fear.
Even though I’ve made progress in therapy, my doubts and insecurities still raise their ugly heads. But hearing him say that, seeing the love in his eyes, settles something inside me. I want us to go the distance, and I truly believe we can.
Chapter 25
Aiden
