Laughter is bubbling up inside me. When she mentions my brother, there’s none of that bitterness I would normally feel.
“You’re right—let’s save it for tomorrow. So what’s the plan for tonight?”
She winks at me. “Why don’t we work out those scenes I mentioned?”
I throw my head back and burst out laughing.
“Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Heartbreak?” I grin. “That chick was practically a nun. You’re more like a—”
“If you say ‘porn star,’ consider yourself a dead man.”
“You know, Hardbait would make a pretty good stage name,” I say, tilting my head.
She arches an eyebrow. “Wow. You’re just so clever.”
I smile again, my hands sliding up her cheeks as I draw her in toward me.
“I missed you so fucking much.”
I kiss her again, slow and hard. Hearing her moan against my lips makes it hard for me to think straight.
“So am I forgiven?” I ask.
“I’m giving you one last chance—but you’re going to need to up your game.”
“Got any workarounds for my super boring ending?”
Without giving her time to answer, I claw at her tights and hike her dress up just enough to wedge myself deeper between her thighs.
“How about something like that?” I breathe, rocking her back and forth, watching intently as she grinds on top of me.
“Lots of things like that, yeah.”
Our rhythm gets rougher, messier. She grinds down harder, and with every one of her movements, I can feel myself getting closer to the edge. Just as I’m about to completely lose it, I grab her ass, palms full, and surge up, lifting her with me in one motion.
As our eyes meet, she raises an eyebrow.
“Not here,” I rasp, breathless. “Not on a couch. Not this time.”
I capture her smiling lips and make a beeline for one of the bedrooms, cutting through the fastest possible route.
“Hurry up,” she pants, her breath hot against my ear.
I’ve spent so long fantasizing about this, obsessing over all the things we could do, so scared that I let everything we had slip away. It feels like I’ve waited a lifetime for this moment—long enough to make my kisses hungry and my touches rushed. But even as my mouth craves hers and my body aches for her touch, something deeper is uncoiling inside me. A rush of feeling spreading through my chest.Something that finally matches the feelings I’ve been too scared to name. It’s wild how I wasted so much time pretending I wasn’t already hers. How the hell did I wait this long to admit how much I love her?
Her breath is coming hot and ragged against my tongue. I clasp her to my chest, kneeling on the bed as I lower us down onto the mattress. Despite the layers of clothes between us, the way I need her right now has my head spinning. When she pushes me back into the pillow, I have no idea where I am anymore.
I look up at her.
“Strip. Now.”
Like I need any encouragement. Tossing my T-shirt on the floor, I realize Lois is still wearing her dress. I prop myself up on my elbows. Her eyes trail the length of my body.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen you completely naked,” she whispers, her eyes coming to rest between my legs.
“And?”
“You should’ve just shown up like this. I would’ve forgiven you straight off the bat.”
