Caspian (Carolina Reapers 8)

I laughed. “I fell in love with you over a lifetime. That last month just pushed me over the edge.”

“So you just…moved here.”

“Yes.” My stomach didn’t flip or twist. I felt steady as a fucking rock. “In my entire life, I’ve only fallen in love once, Ryleigh, and I’m planning on it lasting forever.”

“You did all of this,” she motioned to the jersey. “Without even knowing if I would say yes?”

“I figured I had a reasonably good chance of convincing you. Now what do you say? You want to give this a go now that we just canceled out all that long-distance shit? Because the rest of it still applies. The early mornings and the games—”

“The homework and the late-night projects.” She wound her arms around my neck.

“All of it,” I agreed.

“All of it,” she replied.

Then our mouths collided, and I kissed her with all the longing that had built up over the past couple of weeks, licking into her mouth and groaning at the taste of her.

“I fucking missed you,” I said against her mouth, already carrying her to the bed.

“I missed you,” she echoed, stripping me naked as I peeled every layer of clothing from her body, only stopping to kiss and caress the skin I exposed.

“If you don’t like anything in the apartment, you can change it,” I promised, my mouth against her stomach as she stood at the side of the bed.

“I like it all.” Her fingers tangled in my hair. “Especially my roommate.”

“Hmmm.” I split her thighs and delved between them with my tongue, working her relentlessly toward her orgasm.

“Caz,” she groaned, falling against the bed.

I grabbed the backs of her thighs and lifted her ass to the edge, keeping her legs spread wide so I could settle my shoulders between them. I’d missed the taste of her, the feel of her under my hands, my tongue. I’d missed her putting me in my place and laughing with me. I’d missed her brutal honesty. I’d missed everything.

Once she’d come twice, my name echoing off the empty walls of our bedroom, I climbed onto the bed and into her arms. Our eyes met and held as I slid inside her. Home. I was home. It didn’t matter what city this was, or what jersey I wore on my back. I wanted to be wherever she was.

“I love you,” I swore against her mouth, as my hips took over, driving into her again and again as she squeezed me tight. The pleasure of it was almost unbearable.

“I love you,” she promised, capturing my mouth for another kiss and hooking her incredible legs around my waist, locking her ankles at the small of my back.

Everything else, we said with our bodies, communicating with every sigh and moan as we found our completion within each other.

Afterward, soaked in sweat, and radiating happiness, Ryleigh braced her head with her hand and leaned over me with a smile. “I definitely think we should keep the bed.”

“Agreed.” I flipped her over and started again, worshipping every inch of her. It was going to be my personal mission to make sure it was the most-used item of furniture in the apartment.

In our home.

Epilogue

“What are you up to?” I asked as I came into the kitchen, finding Caspian hustling to and from the fridge, then the cabinets.

“Making your lunch,” he said, the excitement in his voice evident.

I think my heart might have melted a little. “You? Caspian Foster, star NHL player, gagillionaire, is making my lunch?”

“Ha, ha,” he said, sticking things into a gray lunch box before zipping it up. He turned to face me, sliding his arms around me when I came into reach. “It’s your first day of class,” he said. “I don’t want you to get too wrapped up in it and forget to eat. So, I made sure I packed your favorites.”

I smiled up at him. “How the hell did I get so lucky?” I asked, still unsure how I landed someone as amazing as him.

“I’m the lucky one,” he said, dipping his head lower to brush a kiss over my lips.

He pulled back too quickly. “Nuh uh,” I said, grabbing his neck and hauling him down again.

He laughed against my lips, but quickly shifted gears, claiming my mouth in the way that made me forget everything outside of him. His hands slid around my hips, jerking me against him, sending warm tendrils of need soaring through my body. One second, I was standing, the next? He’d plopped me on the counter, spinning us so he was between my thighs, all without breaking our kiss.

“Caz,” I sighed against his mouth, relishing the taste of him, the way he teased and sucked and tortured me.

“Ryleigh,” he mimicked me, his hands roaming over my body, teasing me over my clothes. I’d had him so many times, so many different ways since he’d bought this place, and still it was never enough. I wrapped my legs around him, locking him in place, but he jolted against me. “You’re going to be late,” he said.