“Get naked, sugar,” he said, his voice low and rough.“Dinner can wait.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
For half a second, I just stared at him.Then I laughed softly under my breath.“Bossy,” I teased.
“Effective,” he corrected.
I shook my head, but my hands were already moving.My shirt went over my head, and I tossed it somewhere by the fridge.Next, my pants.
Not rushed.
Not nervous.
Just… certain.
His eyes tracked every movement, every inch of skin I revealed, like he was committing it all to memory.Like he wasn’t ever going to get enough.
“Careful,” I murmured, stepping closer to him.“You keep looking at me like that, and you’re going to end up naked, too.”
His hand came up, fingers curling around my hip, pulling me flush against him.“That is exactly what I was going for.”
My breath caught.“Swift,” I whispered.
He dipped his head, brushing his mouth along mine—slow, deliberate, like he was giving me time to pull back.
Like he was still making sure.
I didn’t pull back.Not even a little.
My hands slid up his chest, feeling the heat of his skin, the strength there, the way he tensed under my touch.“I’m not going anywhere,” I said softly.
His forehead rested against mine for a beat.Then his hand came up, cupping the back of my neck.“Good,” he murmured.
And then he kissed me.
Not rushed.
Not careless.
Just… sure.
Like he meant every second of it.
Like this, us, was exactly where he wanted to be.
God knew it was right where I wanted to be.
Chapter Twenty
Swift
The bar looked like hell, but it was the kind of hell that meant progress.
Boards stacked along the wall and fresh drywall leaned in corners.The charred section in the back had been cut out, cleaned up, and was now nothing more than a scar waiting to be covered.The smell of smoke still lingered faintly, mixed with sawdust and cleaner.
It wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t broken anymore either.
Tempi stood at one of the tables with Britta, papers spread out, bottles lined up like they were taking inventory for war instead of a bar reopening, which, honestly, wasn’t that far off.
