“I came while you were away, too,” he admitted shyly, his tone a soft whisper.
Groaning, I rested my forehead against his thigh. “You came without me?” I sounded like a whiny child but really?! He’d touched himself when I wasn’t here to enjoy it?
He chuckled. “I couldn’t help it. You looked too damn sexy in those leather pants.”
I perked up at that, clearly a slut for his praise. “Really?”
“Oh, yes,” he grinned. “Although, we might need to rethink when you should wear them again. They weren’t exactly easy to get off.”
I grumbled some gibberish and stood to my full height. “I can find other sexy pants to wear for you.”
Mike’s smile was pleased. “I don’t doubt that. Butnow,I really want to see your ass without any fabric in the way.”
My grin turned wicked as I turned around and dropped my boxers, letting my man have his fill of me. I might’ve clenched mybutt a little, too. Mike seemed to enjoy it. The sound of him groaning behind me was enough of a clue.
I walked with purpose into the shower, making sure my hips and ass were swaying as I did so. I heard Mike following closely behind, his eagerness clearly matching mine.
Once we were both inside the small shower, I turned and started lathering his hair. I knew it wasn’t where he needed washing, but I’d longed to do something as simple as just washing him and now I had my chance.
His wet eyelashes fluttered as he watched me work. “I can’t believe we’re bonded,” he whispered, his eyes landing on my lips briefly before they returned to my eyes.
“Me neither,” I whispered back, caressing his cheek, carefully so as to not get soap into his beautiful eyes. “But it’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten. You.”
He smiled, a truly breathtaking smile. “Truly?”
I nodded. “I’ve been in love with you for years, Mike. I just never thought I stood a chance with you.”
“I-In—” His eyes went wide. “Youloveme?!”
“I do,” I declared. “And I will do my best to show you every day for the rest of our lives.”
“I love you, too,” he whispered, tears now forming in his eyes. “I already loved you long before I returned home. Back then, I’d thought it was just friendly love. You were always on my mind, Dylan; the person I wanted to share everything with. Now I’ll get to share each second with you.” I didn’t care that a small voice said he’d only fallen so hard because I was his anchor. He wouldn’t have bonded with me if he didn’t already like me. So I ignored that small voice and decided to be happy instead. Mike loved me and there was no way I would ruin that by doubting his feelings. I trusted Mike. It was as simple as that.
Leaning in, I gently kissed his lips, wishing this moment between us would never end. We had the next three days to just be with each other, touching, kissing, loving, laughing. And then, we would begin our training.
Mike’s tongue met mine and I forgot it all and just savored my everything.
“I had no idea making pizza was this easy,” Mike said, spreading the tomato sauce over the glistening dough. Jackson and Pete were visiting us for dinner. I was weirdly nervous to face them now that I was bonded to Mike.
“I know, right? And the rest is just adding cheese and toppings and then making sure it doesn’t get burned in the oven. If you like the taste of these, we can buy a pizza stone for next time.”
“Aren’t there pizza ovens we can buy?” he asked, likely already envisioning us eating this once a week.
“Sure, and where would you put that?” My tone was teasing as I turned around in our small kitchen.
“Fine,” he grumbled. “But when we get a bigger place, I want a pizza oven in the backyard.”
“I love that we just know that when we move away from here, it will be together,” I smiled.
“Like I’d ever let you move without me,” he said, rolling his eyes. I chuckled at that and pecked his cheek.
We’d been bonding these last three days and things were amazing between us. Erik joined us some nights too, and I realized yesterday that I was gonna miss that ghost once he’d left us. I might not have been able to see or hear him, but our little notes together were always fun. Mike tended to do most of the talking between us, especially when we watched movies together, so it felt like I truly knew Erik.
Mike and I moved around the kitchen effortlessly, it was fun and rather domestic. I loved every second of it. The first pizza went into the oven and I eyed it like a hawk; too afraid I would mess up this last crucial step. Mike was on table duty, so he made sure the table was set and looked all pretty for company. It was just family coming over, but still. It seemed we both wanted this evening to go well. One important thing was that Jackson wasn't supposed to know about ghosts, simply because he was terrified of them. Pete didn’t want Jackson to know just yet. He’d told us that he’d give it a couple of years but would definitely tell him before they passed away. I was just glad that I got to work with Mike on his cases now. It had been tough on Pete when he’d had to keep secrets from Jackson. Now that theyowned the BDSM club, Pete didn’t have to lie to Jackson about his job.
“Mike!” I called, slowly opening the oven door. “It’s done!”
He came running into the kitchen, then leaned down next to me to watch. “It looks perfect!”
