I swallowed hard as I watched Victor’s gaze dazzle in surprise and wonder.
Victor’s breath hiccupped. “I hoped you’d come today. Thank you for sending your letters.”
“You read them?”
“Over and over.”
Kyle’s voice broke, “I missed you, Victor.”
Wrinkles around Victor’s eyes deepened into a startling smile, full of life. Love. “How much?”
Kyle smiled into a kiss.
My heart soared all the way through it and during the jubilant celebration afterward.
Everywhere, people were laughing, overjoyed. Hunter’s parents braved the inside of the gazebo; Jason grabbed a handful of Uncle Ben’s shirt and hauled him into a smooch; Hannah busily wrote notes. Liam tucked against Quinn’s chest, a genuine smile on his face . . .
Hunter snagged me onto his lap in the shadows of roses. “Look at you, so cocky.”
“Yep.” I buckled out a laugh. Would I ever get used to the tickling lightness inside?
“What’s that for?”
“Nothing much. This must have been an excellent morning for you.”
He quirked a questioning brow.
I stage-whispered, “There was so much cheese.”
Hunter tipped my forehead to his. “And there was my knight in shining armor.”
I snorted, then kissed the fuck out of him.
Chapter Seventeen
To go to bed or not to?
Shivers from Hunter’s sneaky looks shot through my chest to my toes.
It’d been nearly six months since saving the gazebo. Six months basking in the glow of being Hunter’s boyfriend. Six months living with him, studying together for exams, and working as a bartender at Phoenix for some extra cash.
Should I shut my laptop and jump him, or pretend his sexy looks weren’t distracting me?
I bit my bottom lip and concentrated on moving my knight into the witch’s cottage. AfteriMage, formerly DaMage, followed me and was quick to start plucking herbs and concocting a spell to ward off the demons on our tail.
I jumped into the chat box.
Me: Are you doing that on purpose?
AfteriMage: Preparing to save your ass?
Me: Scoping it out like you want to ravage it.
Hunter barked out a laugh from his end of the couch.
AfteriMage: Do you think I have a chance?
Me: You know you do.
AfteriMage: But you want me to blast these last demons away first.
Me: You’re so good at it.
AfteriMage: You’re not so bad yourself, Marc.
Even though I was one hundred percent open with Hunter, I still felt the urge to hide my flushing cheeks. “It’s bubbling up, Hunter, I’m about to say it. For the third time today.”
“Say what?” he goaded.
I narrowed my eyes, refusing to give in just yet. “Not now. Your geek-God ass has magic to make.”
Hunter bowed his head toward his computer, smirking.
I added, “But when you’re done, I’ll whisper it to you.”
Like I’d done the first time, the night after we’d saved the gazebo . . .
We’d slid into Hunter’s freshly changed bedsheets, light casting a bright glow. We wrestled for being on top, Hunter muscling me to the bed, both of us laughing, high and uncontrolled. Hunter’s tattooed arms flexed, hummingbirds fluttering like I was fluttering inside. Light and filled with bright relief and happiness. I grabbed a pillow and yelled into it.
Hunter drew it away.
“I could fucking live off your laugh.” I snatched him into a kiss, and he indulged.
He drew back staring at me, laughter morphing into something softer, deeper, far more intense.
His skin pressed against mine; I ran my hands over his back, cursing how beautiful he was. So much so that I had to leave a mark. On his neck, his shoulder, his nipple.
Hunter let out frustrated whimpers and commanded me to wriggle back up.
“Why?” I said, face to face again, grinning.
He pressed a soft kiss against the corner of my mouth. “I can’t get enough of this.”
I soaked in the miraculous feeling of his weight against me, cupped the back of his neck and drew him closer. His earlobe tickled my lip, and my breath crackled. “I love you.”
Hunter settled his laptop into his wheelchair, startling me to the present. “I magicked away the demons, while you . . . what were you daydreaming about?”
I smiled fondly at him. “The first time I said those words.”
Hunter beckoned for my laptop and set it aside.
He drummed the back of the couch. “You gonna tell me them again or what?”
I lunged into his arms and kissed all the smiles out of him. I was gonna tell him again, all right. Tonight, and every night.
I smiled against his temple, and he beat me to it. “I love you, too, Marc.”
~The End~