Perry squinted at me and tilted his head from side to side. “You’re thinking that you want to take me home and fuck my brains out.”
“Hmmm, close. I was thinking that I want to take you home and worship every last inch of you.”
“Then what are we standing around here for?” He broke our loose dance form and tugged me in what he must have thought was the way back to the start of the garden.
“The exit is the other way,” I told him, laughing when he pivoted and tugged me in the right direction.
We went back to my place, the drive seeming to take forever, especially because Perry had reached across the center console and rested a hand on my thigh as I drove. He didn’t move his hand or try to tease me or distract me. He just rested his hand there, and it was all I could do not to beg him to touch my cock. But I wanted to get us home in one piece.
“That was cruel,” I said once we were inside the house.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Perry bent over and unlaced his dress shoes, then to my surprise, he knelt on the floor at my feet and unlaced mine. I lifted my foot and he helped me out of one shoe, and then the other. He looked up at me, and I knew that I wanted to see this face every day for the rest of my life.
I was so in love with Perry that it hurt to breathe sometimes because it felt like my whole body was full of love for him, leaving no room for anything else. Not even oxygen.
“Let me,” he said, reaching for the button of my pants, popping it open. He untucked my shirt next, pulling it free before going back to my zipper. I’d thankfully crated Danish before I left, so he’d be fine and out of the way for a while yet. Which, good job on thinking ahead. I’d have to remember to pat myself on the back later.
Perry dragged my zipper down.
“Wait,” I said, my heart hammering in my ears.
Perry met my gaze and seemed almost afraid of what I might say next. So I told him the truth, because if I didn’t get it out, it was going to tear me apart. “I need you to know that I love you.”
He sat back on his heels and the breath whooshed out of him.
“I love you, Perry. I’ve loved you for weeks now. I know how we started, but this is the most real thing I’ve ever felt for anyone. And?—”
Perry cut me off. “Rex, stop.”
I stopped, my heart seized in my chest, and I held my breath, waiting for him to speak.
“I can’t tell you that I love you too if you don’t stop talking long enough to let me speak.”
“You—” I bent down, holding his face in my hands. “You do?”
“For weeks now,” he said, echoing me. And then he grabbed me, cradled my face, and pulled me down into a kiss.
TWENTY-EIGHT
PERRY
Rex’s smilemelted against my lips. His hands were warm on my face as he kissed me. His confession had made me brave enough to return it. I’d been in love with Rex for weeks, and I hadn’t known what to say or do about it because this was supposed to have an expiration date. The wedding—well, the non-wedding—was supposed to be our last date.
I hadn’t realized how relieved I was until the tightness in my chest loosened, and I was able to draw in a full breath. Rex loved me. Rex loved me, and I wouldn’t have to stop seeing him. He loved me, and none of this was pretend. Maybe it never had been.
Right from the first time I met him, there’d been something about him that drew me in. Rex was easy to be around. Easy to know. He was honest and straightforward and kind. He said what he meant, and he didn’t play games. And he was okay with my career. It felt like Rex was some kind of unicorn that I’d managed to capture.
He deepened the kiss, and I clung to him, this desperate little part of me suddenly curious if sex with Rex would be different now. If it would mean more. I’d fucked a lot of people, but I’d never loved any of them. Now, with our feelings out in the open, I didn’t have to hide anything. There was no reason to avoid his gaze lest he see the love in my eyes staring back at him.
I fumbled for his shirt, my body shaking, making my hands tremble as I tried to undo the buttons on his shirt. When Rex realized what I was doing, he stood and took care of the remaining buttons himself.
He stared down at me with this soft expression on his face. His gaze felt like a caress. No longer content to be on my knees, I got to my feet and shoved the shirt off his shoulders, but left it part way down his arms like a temporary restraint.
I grabbed Rex and kissed him. With both hands on his face, I slanted my mouth over his and backed him up against the wall. Our kisses grew in intensity, in desperation. There was a sharp, frantic edge to them, like we needed to touch and kiss and be inside of each other before we exploded.
With Rex against the wall, I pulled his shirt off him the rest of the way. I loved his body. How broad and furry his chest was. I loved the little treasure trail that disappeared into his pants. Rex was stunning in his normalcy. Confident as hell, he never so much as tried to shy away from the attention I lavished on him.
Our tongues tangled and I worked his pants down, freeing his cock, but that wasn’t the part of him I was after.
