Page 102 of Fall Apart

I carry her down the hall, past her room, barely taking a second to breathe when our mouths aren’t hungrily searching each other’s. Her hands roam my body, practically ripping my bowtie off and unbuttoning my shirt, letting it fall to the floor in our wake.

She pulls her lips from mine. “Wait, we’re going toyourroom?”

Last night when Grace stayed over, it finally dawned on me that we slept in Lizzy’s room every night.

“Yes. You’re never spending another night out ofmybed,” I growl into her neck. I open the door to my room and take a step inside before setting her down and flipping on the lights.

I watch as she looks around the room. Her gaze drifts to my bed, now covered in her pink pillows, to the leather chair in the near corner with a small book shelf next to it, to the soaking tub in the far corner by the windows looking out over the mountains.

She turns around to face me. “You’ve been holding out on me this whole time.”

I quirk my lips and shrug. “I guess I wasn't ready to totally give up this last piece of my space.”

She nods, her eyes full of understanding, like they always are, seeing right through whatever walls I put up.

I watch as she turns her back to me again, facing the room as her fingers tap the zipper between her shoulder blades. I step towards her, brushing her ponytail away with one hand, unzipping her dress with the other.

“You know, if you were really sorry about flooding my condo, you would have offered me this palace instead of the guest room.”

I chuckle, but my breath lodges in my throat when I reach the bottom of her zipper and see the pink lace thong underneath. I let the dress fall to her feet and savor the view of her backside when she steps out of the dress. She looks back at me over her shoulder, those sapphire eyes sparkling like the stars in the night sky.

That’s it. For the rest of my life, she gets what she wants. I don't care if she asks me to drive a pink truck, she gets what she wants if she looks at me like that.

“You’re always such a brat.” I lean down, placing a kiss on her bare neck.

She lets out the softest, hair raising whimper against my cheek. “Yeah, but you love it.”

“I do,” I say into her ear. “I love everything about you. I love you, Lizzy.”

I run the back of my knuckles down her ribs, over her waist, settling just inside the lace of her thong. I hook my finger inside, shimmying it down her thighs until she steps out of it.

“I love you too.” She breathes the words against me and I soak them in.

“Say it again.”

She nuzzles against me. “I love you too.”

I don’t know what I did to deserve this. I don’t know what I did to make someone like her choose me, to trust me, but I’m never going to question it. I erase that doubt in my mind and plant a kiss to the top of her head. “Now, let’s get you cleaned up.”

She leans into me, wrapping an arm around my neck, running her fingers through my hair. The scrape of her nails over my scalp makes my need for her rage. She pulls us closer and heat courses through me as she presses herself into my body.

I begrudgingly pull her hand off of my neck, palming it in my hand. I lead her through my room, past the soaking tub to the bathroom. Reaching into the shower, I start the hot water before turning back to find her eyeing me hungrily. We stand in front of the shower while I pull my belt off and drop my pants to take off my boxers. Her eyes watch in appreciation and she gives me a playful look when I catch her.

“Get in the shower.” I point and follow her as she steps into the shower.

We stand there, letting the hot water run over us, feeling it wash away the aches and pains that the last twenty-four hours brought. I hold her against me, massaging and washing every last inch of her delicate skin.

“You know I’m never going to get tired of hearing you say that.”

She laughs, her eyes looking up to meet mine through her wet golden hair. “Say what?”

I tuck away the damp strands, looking into her eyes, seeing the love and desire sparkle. “That you love me.”

She smiles so warmly and wraps her arms around me before pressing her head into my chest. “Good, because you're stuck with me now.”

That’s music to my ears because there’s no one else for me. “I’m not stuck with you. No one makes me feel the way you do. No onecouldever make me feel so free. I’m never going to get tired of saying it either. I love you, so much.”

I guide her to sit down in front of me on the marble shower bench and grab the shampoo. She drops her head against my stomach, her hands holding onto my waist while she lets me wash her hair. I workthe shampoo in, eliciting soft whimpers and outright moans that I savor while her head stays pressed against my stomach.

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