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“Happy New Year, Beckett.” My lips brush against his mouth as I pull back, hitting him with a beaming smile, hoping it displays even an ounce of what I’m feeling at this moment in time.

His eyes smile before he does and he connects our lips again before pulling away and reaching for my hand.

“Happy New Year, Lily.” He presses his lips to my knuckles before turning to Ava and dropping a featherlight kiss to her head. “And Happy New Year to you too, Miss Ava. Here’s to an incredible year ahead.”

Making a liar out of me, Ava wakes as Beckett’s carrying her to bed, but she’s fast asleep again by the time I’ve closed her door.

Beckett’s waiting in my bedroom when I’m done, and the second I step through the threshold, he covers the distance between us, pulling me into his arms.

“Now that we’ve broken her sleep, is she likely to wake up again and come in here?” he asks, cringing slightly.

A laugh escapes me as I shake my head no. “If she wakes, she’ll call out from her bed. She doesn’t like walking around in the dark.”

“Is she scared?”

“Surprisingly not. She stepped on some Lego once and that’s not something you ever forget.”

Beckett chuckles before schooling his features, his eyes alight with something new. “That’s good. Because I was torn between concern for Ava and wanting to do this.”

“Do wha—” He cups my neck with one huge hand as he settles the other on my waist, his lips meeting mine as he walks me backward to the wall behind me.

He kisses me like his life depends on it, his lips strong and desperate, his hands possessively holding me.

As our tongues dance, the tips of his fingers brush the skin under my sweater, and he curls his hands around the hem, only breaking our kiss to lift it over my head. He sucks in a breath when he finds me in nothing but a strapless bra, his eyes raking over me with an intensity I’m not used to.

“You’re stunning, Lily. Always.”

My breath quivers at his attention and I almost shy away from it, reaching out for his tee to distract myself.

He leans in and dusts a string of kisses along my shoulder, then brushes a path toward my breasts, releasing me from the cups of my bra so he can suck a nipple into his mouth.

Both my nipples pebble beneath his touch as a fire ignites between my legs, and a breathy sigh escapes me.

I follow his lead, bunching his T-shirt in my hands and dragging it up his chest, waiting for him to release my mouth before lifting it over his head.

With the lightest touch, I trace the lines of his abs, like I’ve often imagined doing, and his muscles bounce beneath my fingers.

A soft groan escapes him, and he reaches between us to my jeans, popping the button before sliding the zipper down.

We slowly undress until we’re both naked, our movements purposeful, taking our time to savor the moments, both acutely aware that it’s going to be a while before we’re together again.

By the time Beckett’s lining himself up with my core, I’m so worked up that a spark shoots through me, forcing me to cover my mouth as I cry out.

Our eyes locked, Beckett eases inside me, inch by torturous inch, both of us shaking from sheer desperation.

I hiss when he’s completely buried, and his restrained growl has my heart racing as fire burns inside me.

With slow, unhurried movements, Beckett rocks his hips and I meet his fervor, finally understanding what it feels like to make love. We may not have explicitly said the words, and it’s probably too soon, but the love reflected back at me is impossible to deny.

We kiss as our bodies tangle, our motions in sync, the world around us ceasing to exist.

His tongue clashes with mine as he lowers his body, his arms shaking while he holds his weight off me, connecting us as much as physically possible.

The warmth of his touch, mixed with the sensation coiling between my legs, has my body trembling, and it’s not long before my orgasm looms.

Without words, our tempo increases until we’re forced to break our kiss, our breathing ragged as I fight to hold off my release.

Sitting back, Beckett lifts my leg over his shoulder and I cry out, the new angle hitting deeper inside me, sending me spiraling into ecstasy.