Page 41 of Puck, Marry, Thrill

“I’m here… and I’ll always be here for you.”

She smiled through the sudden sting in her eyes. “That’s what I want.”

He tilted his head slightly, the playful note returning to his voice, low and husky. “Is that all?”

Jamie bit her lip, heat blooming in her cheeks. “I think I need another bite of my favorite snack cake,” she crooned softly, her voice a sultry whisper that trembled with emotion, reaching up and nipping gently at his lower lip.

His intake of breath was telling.

Her fingers slid up the back of his neck, curling into his hair as she pulled him closer. Their foreheads brushed. She could feel his breath on her lips. She leaned in and gently nipped at his lower lip again, her eyes fluttering closed as she felt the shiver ripple through him. That subtle, involuntary reaction—she felt it, too. It sent goose bumps racing across her skin.

And then he kissed her.

Not just a kiss of longing or lust, but one that tasted like history, like every moment they’d ever shared, like forgiveness and dreams stitched back together. Passion sparked between them as his mouth moved over hers, firm and full of need. She melted into it, into him, into the safe, undeniable rightness of being in his arms again.

In that kiss, Jamie felt everything click into place. Like the weight she’d been carrying for far too long lift, piece by piece was suddenly lighter, as if he was there to help take the weight. There was no past to outrun, no future to fear—just the steady, unshakeable truth that this man, this moment, was everything.

Home.

Perfection.

Kenneth.

And she let herself fall as he whispered her name once more.

10

JAMIE

Jamie laythere in the hush of the room, the air still thick with warmth and wonder. Her pulse hadn’t yet calmed, and her body was still tingling from the aftershocks of being thoroughly seen, touched, and loved by the man beside her. The world had gone quiet, as if time were pausing to take in what had just happened.

Beside her, Kenneth exhaled softly.

“Wow…” he sighed into the stillness.

Jamie turned her head slowly to look at him, heart fluttering at the raw amazement in his voice. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“Can I quote you on that?” she asked, voice teasing but breathy, still catching up to her emotions.

“Yeah.”

She stared at the ceiling for a moment, her chest rising and falling, her body completely relaxed in a way she hadn’t realized she’d been craving. It was more than just the physical—it was safety, connection, being wanted in a way that felt soul-deep.

“Wow…” she whispered back, the word escaping before she could catch it. She blinked up at the ceiling, her thoughts swirling like glitter in a shaken snow globe. “That might have been better than chocolate.”

Kenneth chuckled beside her. “I’m thinking it was better than hockey.”

She turned her head toward him again, eyes wide, amused. “Actually, Iknowit was better than chocolate – and I’m not talking the cheap stuff. Truffles, baby. Truffles…”

“You know, that was probably better than winning the Stanley Cup – forget hockey – we gotta go bigger. That was… incredible.”

She laughed softly, that low, heady kind of laugh that came from somewhere deep inside. “Yeah…”

“Yeah…”

Their eyes met and lingered, a comfortable silence weaving between them, stitched with something new—something profound. They didn’t need to say it out loud. They both felt it. That something had shifted.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he whispered huskily, his voice tender and full of wonder, like he was rediscovering her all over again.

---