“That’s us, baby. It’s never felt like that before. Never,” I assure her.
“How long until we can do that again?”
“I need a little time. Let me catch my breath.”
Her hands trail up and down my abs. “You said some stuff,” she says cautiously.
“Uh-huh.” I’m still having trouble breathing regularly. I wasn’t kidding when I told her she wrecked me.
“Was it the moment? I won’t hold it against you if it was, but I just… need to know.”
“Fuck that.” My words come out a little more forcefully than I intended them to. “I meant every word. You’re mine now. No man will ever feel your wrecking powers,” I say, making her chuckle.
“Maybe,” she says, a playful tone to her voice. “I reserve the right to amend my agreement after round two.”
“I’ll show you round two.” I stand from the bed to dispose of the condom, grabbing another from the drawer on my way back through. I proceed to prove to her over and over again all through the night, that her decision to stay with me was the right one.
Waking up in his arms is something I could get used to. My back is to his chest, and I can feel his hot breath against my neck. It’s comforting, and I never want to leave. I want to stay in this bed, with his strong arms wrapped around me. I want to live in this fantasy world we’ve created. Last night, he made a lot of declarations, ones he swears are true, but I’m not so naïve to know that things change in the light of day. I know that words are exchanged in the heat of the moment, and when that moment fizzles, when the intensity and the high are gone, regret takes its place. Me, I have no regrets. I meant every word, every touch, but Easton… well, he might not have. That’s why I’m lying here in his arms, still, afraid to move an inch, not wanting this fantasy to be over.
His lips press against my bare shoulder. “Morning, beautiful.” His husky voice washes over me. “How did you sleep?”
“Did we sleep?” I ask, teasing him. I lost count of the number of times we reached for each other in the night.
“We did. We did more than that,” he says, cupping my naked breast. “We should make this a nightly thing,” he suggests.
“You have practice in an hour. You’ll regret those words I’m sure by the time you’re done.”
“Never,” he says, pulling my body closer to his. “I could never regret anything when it comes to you.”
“Morning changes things.” I put it out there—the worry he’ll change his mind.
“You’re right. It does,” he agrees. I stiffen in his arms. I thought I was prepared for this, but I was wrong. “You’re even more beautiful today than you were yesterday,” he says, once again pressing his lips to my bare shoulder.
I release an audible breath and relax into his hold.
“I can’t explain it, Ris, but fuck, I don’t even want to. I don’t care that this is fast. I don’t care if someone thinks it too soon. It feels right. You feel right. That’s all that matters to me. You and P are… everything. That’s the best way I can describe it. I want you, both of you. I meant every word I said last night. No man…” He runs his hand over my belly, until he reaches my center. “…will ever be here.” He traces his fingers through my folds. “You’re mine now.”
“Does that work both ways?”
“Hell yes, it does. I don’t want anyone but you. You’re all I see, all I think about.”
“I have baggage,” I remind him. I hate referring to my daughter as baggage, but my life is not my own.
“You have a beautiful little girl who has stolen my heart.”
Turning over in his arms, I run my hand over the stubble that covers his cheeks. “Are you real?” I ask him.
He chuckles. “Yeah, babe, I’m real.”
“I just… the things you say, it’s—”
“From my heart.”
Tears prick my eyes as I remember his conversation with Paisley about always speaking from your heart. “Yeah?”
He leans in and kisses me softly. “Always, Larissa.”
“You need to get ready for practice, and I have to get ready for work.”