His brow furrows slightly. “Why would I do that?”
“Because it would be simpler.”
“Since when have I ever chosen simple?”
“That’s also a fair point.”
His hand lifts, brushing lightly along my jaw. “Frey…”
The way he says my name softens something inside me that I didn’t even realise was tense.
“I’m not looking for simple,” he says. “I’m looking for real. I am, and always have been looking for you. I was just too damn stupid to realise that for all these years.”
I swallow and will myself not to cry. And suddenly the fear that’s been hovering quietly at the edge of my thoughts finally finds its way out.
“What if this goes wrong?”
He doesn’t hesitate. “Then we deal with it.”
“What if it gets messy?”
“It probably will.”
“What if we hurt each other?”
His thumb brushes lightly over my cheek. “That’s the risk you take when you care about someone. But I would never knowingly hurt you Frey.”
I look at him for a long moment. Really look. At the man he’s become. Not the cocky boy I used to know. Not the chaotic rugby player everyone else sees. But this version of him. Completely unapologetic about the way he feels. And for the first time in a long time… I stop trying to overthink everything. My hands slide slowly up his chest, resting lightly on his shoulders. His body stills slightly beneath my touch.
“Okay,” I say softly.
His eyes search mine. “Okay?”
“Okay.”
A slow smile spreads across his face. “You sure about that?”
“No,” I admit honestly.
He laughs quietly, and before I can say anything else he lifts me effortlessly into his arms. Instinctively, my legs wrap around his waist as he captures my mouth in a long, consuming kiss. It’s the kind that steals the air from my lungs and makes the rest of the world fall away. He carries me up the stairs without breaking the kiss. The realisation hits me halfway up.Fuck.I have never, in my entire life, had a man strong enough to carry me upstairs like this. I’m not exactly heavy. I’m actually quite petite. But Rory lifts me like I weigh absolutely nothing, like I belong exactly where I am, and the sheer strength of it sends a shiver down my spine. It might be the sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced.
When we reach my bedroom he pushes the door open with his foot, the wood swinging wide as he walks straight inside before dropping me onto the bed with a soft bounce. I laugh breathlessly, pushing myself up onto my elbows.
“You asked me what I wanted,” he says, his voice low and rough. There’s something different in his tone now. Something darker. Hungrier. “Well,” he continues, stepping closer to the bed, “I’m about to take what I want.”
His eyes drag slowly over me, and heat floods straight to my stomach.
“Only this time,” he adds, “it’s not going to be on a common room sofa.”
I can’t help it. I grin. “I quite enjoyed the common room sofa actually.”
He laughs deeply, shaking his head slightly, but the look in his eyes tells me he’s already three steps ahead of me. “Oh, Frey,” hemurmurs, his voice dropping another octave as his hands move to the button of his jeans. “You’ve got no idea.”
He pushes them down his hips, kicking them aside along with his boxers, his gaze never leaving mine. And the way he’s looking at me makes it very clear that whatever happens next… I am absolutely not leaving this bed unscathed.
Chapter fifty-two
Rory
