“She sounds…great.”
“She was. And so were the boys. They each took on different roles. Grant became my tutor. Roman refused to treat me any differently and would heckle the hell out of me during my PT appointments. Chase, as you can imagine, was my biggest cheerleader.”
“And Sterling?”
“Yeah, then there’s Sterling. He watched and waited to see where he would fit in. One night, he realized I was having nightmares and couldn’t get back to sleep. The next night, he showed up with a list of at least a thousand different jokes. When I woke up gasping for breath, he just started reciting them until he found one that made me laugh.”
“You’re…lucky to have them, Valen.” If only things had turned out differently…
“I am,” he agrees. “And it’s because of Sterling that I have random jokes for every occasion.”
Laughter bubbles in the back of my throat.
“You ready for it?” He rubs his hands up and down my arms, the friction heating me against the cold fall air.
“Ready.”
He turns so we’re facing each other. “What’s the difference between a gentleman and a guy who wants to kiss you?”
“Ah…”
“A gentleman asks first.” He chuckles. “And remember, Sterling told me this joke, right before the asshole planted a wet kiss right on my cheek.”
I tip my head back, overcome by happiness that wants to burst free from the corners of my eyes. This is—this is everything I’ve needed. This moment. This man. This impossible, ridiculous, perfect?—
His lips press to mine, and my eyes snap open.
The world stops.
The kiss isn’t smooth. It’s not practiced. It’s just…necessary. Like breathing. Like coming home.
He pulls back to whisper against my lips. “I guess I’m not a gentleman either, but I remember this. The taste of you. The feel of you.”
And I know—I know—his body is giving back what his mind took away.
Panic and fear collide, attempting to build walls in my mind, freezing me for one second, two, three.
Then I’m kissing him back with every ounce of love and sadness and loss that I’ve kept buried for over a decade.
My hands fist in his hair as though I’m afraid he’ll disappear. It’s teeth and lips and tongue. The ever-present coldness that fills my body evaporates as every inch of me heats to unnatural temperatures. Everything I’ve been fighting, hiding from, or pushing away is forgotten.
Everything except this.
Him and me.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
VALEN
I’m drowning, and I don’t want to be saved.
I cup Clover’s cheeks, angle her face to the side, and fucking devour her. I’m a starving man, and she’s the only meal that will ever satisfy my hunger—I know that now.
Every stroke of her tongue against mine, every scrape of her teeth, every inch of her is trying to meld with me. It’s electric. Magnetic. Like every cell in my body has been waiting for this exact moment.
She doesn’t pull away. Doesn’t even hesitate. She just gives and gives until sanity deserts me.
With her, I don’t even need air. I don’t need anything except this—her mouth on mine, her hands fisted in my hair, her body pressed so close I can feel her heartbeat against my ribs.
