“Yeah,” I said quietly, brushing my thumb along her cheek. “And I’m not stopping anytime soon.”
“Even when I push you away?”
“Even then. I understand the pressure you feel to do well, I feel the same pressure on my shoulders every single day, but I’m not going anywhere, Emmie.”
Her fingers curled against my chest. “You promise?”
“I promise. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“Good, I’ve grown quite fond of you.”
I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, sobering. “Please, don’t push me away when things get hard. Next time, just talk to me, okay?”
“I promise I will. I don’t ever want to go through that again.” Her voice was soft as she moved a hand up to cup mycheek. I leaned into it, closing my eyes for a moment. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
I tugged her against my chest, burying my head into her shoulder. While there were still a few things we needed to fix and talk about, none of that mattered currently. The most important thing was that she was in my arms and that she loved me and I loved her.
I held her against me and didn’t let go.
38
MATEO
Two Weeks Later…
I stared at the beautiful woman asleep beside me. Her dainty hand was draped across my chest, her foot hooked around mine and mouth parted as she gently exhaled. Red hair fell out of the messy bun she had it in to sleep, strands spread across her pillow.
I tried to wrap my head around that this woman was mine.That, somehow, in a world filled with billions of people, Emmie James choseme.Even after two weeks, it didn’t feel real.
Two weeks since we admitted our feelings. Two weeks of waking up like this, her tangled up with me, like she fit there without even trying. Like she always had. And I’d never been happier.
It was nice having these last few weeks with her without any other commitments stealing our attention. No football, no skating. We spent most of our time in my apartment, only leaving to take Tucker out. We were in our own little bubble, and I loved it.
Now here we were, at the cute bed and breakfast in Toronto for my mom’s wedding.
I knew the quiet wouldn’t last much longer. Not with the rising sun starting to seep through the blinds and little kids bound to burst through the door like they had every single day we’d been here. There were plenty of wedding preparations to be done this morning before mom walked down the aisle, but I wanted to stay right here for a bit longer.
Before Emmie was whisked away by my sister-in-laws, and I was roped into keeping the kids occupied.
I glanced down at her body still curled into me. She looked so peaceful. For a second, I considered letting her sleep a little longer, but this would be my last chance all day to be alone with her, and I wasn’t about to waste it.
I gently slid out from under her arm, smiling at the way she rolled onto her front and held a pillow to her. Emmie was a pretty deep sleeper, so I had no problem moving the covers off to the side, leaving her in just my T-shirt she fell asleep in. The hem only covered half of her ass, which pulled a groan from my throat.
The last two weeks, Emmie had been gentle with me when it came to anything other than kissing, worried I’d overextend my bruised ribs. Don’t get me wrong, I’d never complain about having her straddle my lap, but I was more than fine to go down on her.
I moved onto my stomach, ignoring the wave of pain that went up my side. No amount of it was going to deter me from the view I had. There could be an earthquake, and I wouldn’t move.
I placed soft kisses up the back of her legs, fingertips tracing the crease where her butt met her thighs. When she shifted, I used that moment to snatch a spare pillow and place it under her hips, propping her up exactly how I wanted.
Emmie would wake up at any moment, so I grabbed her ass, kneading the flesh. It was just so perky and spankable—something I would have done if we weren’t staying in the same small house with my entire family. Emmie was anything but quiet.
The urge to taste her was too strong to ignore. Spreading her open, I dipped my head and licked a path up her pussy. A groan vibrated up my throat at the taste of her. Nothing compared to this.
I took my sweet time laving at her flesh, fingers digging into the globes of her ass while I kept her spread for me.
A moan muffled by pillows met my ears. I knew she wouldn’t be asleep much longer. Emmie lifted her hips higher, shoving back against my face so my tongue could go deeper. I swirled it around her clit, then dipped back inside her, eyes rolling to the back of my head. My hips ground against the bed, already hard and dripping.
