Page 60 of Almost Always

“Never leaving you, Hero. I swear.”

“You’re not supposed to make those promises.”

He chuckled and nudged his nose against hers. “I’ll make whatever promises I want, as long as you know that being with you is all I’ve ever wanted.”

“It’s all I’ve ever wanted too.”

“Good,” he said softly, licking the drops of water sliding down her jawline as he stepped onto the porch.

“You can put me down. I can walk, you know?”

“Even if you were on fire and burning me, I wouldn’t dream of putting you down.” He shifted her in his arms so he could open the door.

Her lips latched onto his neck, kissing and sucking her way over his skin as he stepped into the house and carried her farther inside. Thanks to all the rain that had battered him, every step was squeaky and it dragged a disgruntled and confused Boots out of Cal’s room. He didn’t bother to assure the dog everything was okay as he closed and locked the door to the bathroom. He set her on the counter and smiled at how they were now at the perfect height foranythingthey wanted to do.

As his mouth returned to hers, the kiss turned feral, hands grabbing at each other, tongues moving like they couldn’t get enough. He’d never felt this kind of hunger for anyone before and it shouldn’t have surprised him that it was happening with Daisy. She’d always been the one to set his soul on fire, even when they were friends and he was navigating what it meant to have these feelings for her. Now that he’d admitted some of that, he wasn’t holding back.

Her cold hands against his stomach surprised him and he jolted, breaking the kiss as he stared at where she made contact. He lifted his eyes to hers and in a speed that defied everything, they were ripping each other’s clothes off. He made sure to enjoy every inch of her body that was exposed to him. He dragged his thumb across the New York skyline tattooed below the band of her bra, wondering if he could see what the rest of it looked like. But she dragged off her pants and his attention caught on the flowers inked along her left side.

“Holy fuck, Daze,” he muttered, tilting his head so he could drink in the intricately drawn peonies that spanned the side of her hip.

“Raff…” his name came out on a shaky breath and he looked down to where her hand rested on his chest, right next to thewordalwayshe’d inked over his heart. It was the one thing he said when he made her silent promises, even if he hadn’t been able to keep it for a few years.

“Always,” he said as her fingers traced the word, before moving over the doodles of stars and hearts. Like the flowers on his forearm, these had been done by teenage Daisy.

She smiled, admiring the New York inspired postage stamps along his left pectoral. He’d gotten a friend to design them, focusing on four things that were special to them—Coney Island, ice cream, Central Park and a brownstone. “These are incredible.”

“Just like you,” he mumbled, hands moving over her body. She was breathtaking in a simple bra that hugged her breasts and pink lace that covered the space between her legs. He wanted to rip everything off and his hands moved to her waistband before she stopped him with a slight shake of her head.

He nodded, hands settling on her thighs. “I’ve waited a good portion of my life to be with you. I’ll wait as long as you need me to.”

A small smile graced her lips. “Not too long, I promise.”

“Forever, if that’s what you need.”

“Butyoustill need to shower.”

He sniffed himself and said, “The smoke not doing it for you?”

“Not today, no.”

“Oh, but it does work for you.”

“I guess you’ll have to wait and find out.” She wiggled her eyebrows and nudged him backwards. With his eyes still on her, he stripped out of everything except his underwear and let her stare at him.

“Yeah, okay.Thatworks for me.”

She whistled and hopped off the counter. With a towel in hand, she walked out of the bathroom. He exhaled loudly and punched a fist into the air before stepping into the shower to scrub off the fire and smoke.

CHAPTER 19

While Rafferty showered, she dried her hair and wiped the rest of her body down. As sexy as she probably looked when posing as a drowned rat, she definitely didn’t want to get sick. In her underclothes, with the towel around her body, she snooped around his bedroom. He stepped out of the bathroom, putting that delicious body on display again, gave her a pair of boxers and a sweatshirt, and said he was going to check on Cal. She might have nodded in acknowledgement, but mostly she was too busy pressing her nose to the soft cotton that smelled like him.

Standing in front of the full-length mirror, wearing his clothes, she watched as her mouth curved into a smile. The same mouth that was pink from the hungry kisses and the scraping of his beard. Her hair was a mess, but that was a problem for her to solve in the morning. Right then, she was focused on how good it felt to finally take that shot.

And how strong I feel looking at my half-dressed form.

She’d been stressed the whole time he was gone and did her best to not look online. Instead, she asked Cal if he wanted to paint his nails and together they spent a while picking colors. He wanted his toes to match hers—a rainbow of her favorite shades—and while she picked a light blue for her fingers, he chose a pink for his. After his bath, they read one of thePercy Jacksonbooks together and all it took was half a chapter for him to fall asleep. She left Boots with him while she washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen.

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