Page 82 of Unexpected Love

“It’s not the same, though,” I say quietly.

She’s quiet for a moment, but the next words out of her mouth break my heart. “I know I’m worthy of love.”

“Yeah, you are.” I cup her cheek in my hand, my thumb swiping at the tears that continue to fall. “I love you because of everything you are. Your strength and resilience. Your heart and your mind. I love you because of how you support me and everyone you care about.” I untuck and retuck the piece of hair she’s always messing with. “I love you because we fit together in a way that never felt possible. I love you because you gave me a life worth living instead of simply going through the motions. I love you because you give me peace.”

“Okay.” Ava places a delicate finger against my lips. The tears are still present in her eyes, but instead of anger and frustration at herself, I see love. “You can stop.” Her finger slips from my lips as she moves her hand to cup my cheek. “You give me peace, too. I forget everything else when I’m with you and I can breathe easily again.” She leans across the center console, bringing her lips to mine in a tender kiss. “Sorry?—”

“No,” I interrupt her, placing the thumb from the hand still cupping her cheek over her lips. “Don’t apologize. I’ll tell you every day why I love you if that’s what you need.”

“No,” she whispers, shaking her head slightly. “I’d rather you show me like you have been for weeks.” There’s a twinkle in her eye now, and seeing it has the tightness in my chest dissipating.

“I can definitely do that.” I smirk, touching my lips to hers in a soft kiss.

“Let’s go home,” she whispers against me, and I can’t help but capture her lips in a demanding kiss. I know we’re not there yet, but the fact that she could even think of my place as home has me desperate for more. She shifts in her seat, trying to get closer, but the pull of her seatbelt reminds us where we are.

Her moan—a mix of frustration and desire—has me tearing my lips from hers. “When we get home, your ass better be naked and in my bed within five minutes.”

Without waiting for her answer, I turn back to the steering wheel, buckle my seatbelt, and drive the last few minutes home with a raging hard-on in my pants. I want fast and hard with Ava, but I also want soft and tender. I want it all with her.

thirty-three

AVA

“Gage.”I laugh as he rushes around the front of the Jeep and lifts me from my seat. “I can walk, you know.”

“Yes, but it’s icy, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself. I have plans for us.” He nips at the skin of my neck as he kicks the door shut before carefully rushing up the porch stairs.

Without putting me down, he fumbles with the keys still in his hands, trying to unlock the door.

“Gage.” I push at his chest lightly, trying to get him to put me down.

He stops trying to unlock the door and sets me down but doesn’t let me go. His lips crash to mine in a searing kiss, and my mind goes blank. All I can focus on is the feel of him pressed against me—every solid inch of him. His chest, his thighs…his hard cock straining behind the zipper of his jeans. Everything about him sparks a fire inside me that I can’t ignore.

Without realizing it, Gage unlocks the front door, and we stumble inside. Somehow, without breaking our kiss, we manage to toe off our shoes and shrug out of our coats, leavingeverything in a pile on the floor. And then Gage is lifting me by the backs of my thighs, and my legs are wrapping around his waist while my arms wrap around his shoulders as he carries me up the stairs.

I can’t get close enough to him. I need him in a way I’ve never needed anyone else. Not just sex—though I want that, too. But I need him in every aspect of my life. The good and the bad. The small moments and the big ones.

I know it’s only been seven weeks, but I can’t imagine my life without him.

Okay, that’s not true. I can imagine my life without him, but I don’t want to.

“I’m never going to get tired of this,” Gage mumbles against my skin as he gently lays me on his bed. “The feel of you against me, the look of you sprawled across my bed. I want you in every way imaginable.”

“Gage.” It’s more moan than an actual word. I can’t focus on getting words out when I feel his hands slide against my skin as he pushes my sweater up, exposing my stomach. His lips trail a path up from the top of my jeans, over my stomach, and between the valley of my breasts. They aren’t frantic kisses; they’re soft and tender, almost like he’s savoring every second his lips touch me.

“I don’t know how I got lucky enough to find you,” he whispers as he lifts my sweater over my head. “But I will do everything in my power to keep you.” His lips mold to mine in a tender kiss, showing me how serious he is.

His hands slide beneath me, reaching for my bra clasp, and I arch my back to give him space to unclasp it. The second it pops free, he releases my lips and pulls away just enough to slide my bra off, his eyes darkening at the sight of my pebbled nipples.

“God. I’m a lucky man.” His hands move to cup my breasts moments before he dips his head to pull one of my nipples into his mouth, biting gently.

I can’t stop my moan, nor do I want to. One of my hands falls to his head, gripping his hair, while the other falls to his back, trying to pull at his shirt to feel his skin. I need the heat of his skin against me more than I need air.

“Please lose some clothes,” I beg after he’s had a chance to lavish my other breast with the same attention. “I need you.”

He lifts his head, bringing his lips back up to mine. “You have me.” He says it so confidently I don’t have room to doubt he means it. And the truth of it is, I don’t doubt him; I know he says exactly what he means.

Any doubt I feel is all about me and what I think I’m deserving of. But I’m starting to realize I’m worthy of all the good things Gage has brought into my life.

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