No kiss was just a kiss with this woman who held my heart in her hands. Every single one of them embedded themselves in my soul, digging her deeper under my skin and into my heart. I didn’t just love her, I adored her.
As the kiss heated up further and I rolled her onto her back so I could maneuver my body over hers, I remembered the little girl, fast asleep in her bed next door. If there was anything that would spoil this moment, it was that.
Pulling away from Heidi’s mouth, I fell onto my back and threw my arm over my eyes, willing my erection to go away and forget it ever existed. “We can’t do this.”
Heidi sounded hurt. “Why not?”
“Because Nemi’s right there.” I pointed with my other arm in the direction of the wall. “Your bed is loud as hell, and it’ll scar her for life if she hears it and walks in on us.”
There was a moment’s silence, and then she suggested, “What about the chair?”
Remembering she had a comfortable chair next to the bed, I rolled my head and looked at it, weighing up the pros and cons. It was a normal one you’d put in the living room next to a couch, a bit like a La-Z-Boy, but Heidi used it in here to read and relax in.
But then she said something that sealed the deal. “It’s a rocking one. You’d never guess it from how it looks, but it does.”
I was up and moving the second she was finished talking, dragging her across the mattress with me.
“Up you get, lady.” I smacked her ass with a wink, then moved to sit in it and waited for her to join me.
As she got close, I held my hand up. “Make sure the door’s locked and take your clothes off before you come back to me.”
While she was doing that, I took my t-shirt off and my boxers and sat back down. The chair was very comfortable, and now that I was sitting on it, I could feel it rocking soothingly. What I was about to use it for would be far from soothing.
Once Heidi was back in front of me, naked as requested, I held my hand out to her to help her straddle me.
Running her hands over my shoulders until they were on either side of my neck, she murmured, “I love having you here.”
Her face was soft, and her eyes were sparkling as she watched me, and for the hundredth time since we’d become us, I couldn’t believe my luck that she was all mine. The fact Nemi was part of the deal was the cherry on top, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Well, I’d definitely change her bed, but that was something I was looking into behind the scenes. The thing was like the soundtrack to a bad porn movie.
“I love being here with you,” I said back, placing a kiss on her lips. “I love falling asleep with you, and I love waking up with you. I love getting to hold you all night, safe in the knowledge that you’re all mine. I love how you curl around me while you’re asleep, and how soft your hair feels on my chest.
“But I absolutely love the hell out of the fact that, in the morning, we get to add a bundle of energy and attitude to our duo, and that I have a buddy when I’m brushing my teeth. You and Nemi are everything to me, Heidi.”
I swept her hair away from where it was resting on the side of her face so she could see how serious I was, while I also checked to make sure I hadn’t scared her.
“I think—” she started and then stopped, looking unsure of herself.
“I love you, baby.” The words burst out without me intending to say them, but I didn’t regret it, far from it.
If she didn’t feel the same way, I’d just have to work harder to make it happen. Not everyone felt the same way at the same time. It just wasn’t how life went. I’d wait a thousand years to hear the words from her, if that’s what it took.
A tear trailed down her cheek. “I love you, too, Bond. I didn’t expect to, and I didn’t want to, but I do.”
“Why didn’t you want to?”
“Because of the deal I made with myself about Nemi and college.”
Ah, that fucking deal. I was glad she’d made it because it made my part in their lives something special, and it was also a reminder that I couldn’t fuck this up.
“I swear,” I promised her seriously, letting Heidi see it on my face, “I won’t ever make you regret reneging on the deal.”
“I know.”
“Do you trust me?”
I held my breath while I waited for her reply.