Page 89 of Midnight Wishes

‘You’ve already spoken to them about this, haven’t you?’

A week before, when he’d met them both for lunch near his office. ‘You haven’t noticed Erik avoiding you for the last few days? Just in case he let something slip? They’re delighted, by the way.Move in with me.’

Sarah chewed on her lip.

‘This is starting to feel alarmingly like begging, Princess. And I hate begging.’

‘No, you don’t.’ A small smile tweaked her lips. They both knew she was right. Whether he was begging her to let him make her come one more time or begging to come himself, he fucking loved it.

‘No, I don’t,’ Alex agreed. ‘But it’s cruel to make me do it clothed. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to hunt for your favourite jumper three times a week, only to discover you left it on the other side of the city? Wouldn’t it be nice if the next time you have to pack an overnight bag is because we’re going to Paris for the weekend?’

‘Are we going to Paris?’ she asked innocently, as if there was a square mile on the globe he wouldn’t take her if she wanted it.

‘I’ll take you to Paris. Move in with me.’

He’d stayed deliberately just out of touching range so he could focus, so when Sarah stepped closer, he felt his control begin to fray. He held on just long enough for her to make first contact. ‘You’re sure?’ she asked, arms sliding around his waist.

Winding his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck, Alex whispered, ‘I’m sure,’ before he kissed her.

‘You know I have a key, right?’ she asked, when he broke away to kiss her cheeks, her forehead, her chin. Wherever he could access.

‘You have the spare key. This is your key.’ It had her initials engraved in his handwriting. Because what was the point in a small gesture? ‘It would have been hellishly awkward if there had been a ring in there.’

‘I know you’re too smart for that,’ she said.

Alex laughed against her mouth, quiet, but full and happy. ‘I love you.’ Saying it had become an addiction. When he woke up next to her, when she handed him a mug of tea, when she passed him while he held a door open for her. In the middle of the night when she was fast asleep, just because he could.

‘I love you.’ She kissed him again, and he lost himself in the rhythm of her lips and the press of her body against his. All too quickly, she had pulled away again. ‘I’m going to get that obscenely expensive champagne you were saving for a special occasion’—perhaps he should tell her thiswasthe special occasion—‘while you switch on the hot tub I still can’t believe you hid from me for six weeks.’

One more kiss, pulling her hips in flush against his. A wink as they broke apart. ‘Girlfriend privileges.’

He let her reach the door before he spoke again, sliding his hands into his pockets, as if that would make him appear any more casual. ‘Sarah.’

She turned, eyebrows raised—he would guess both at his serious tone and the rare use of her first name.

‘One day.’

Because dammit, he knew a month was too soon, but he also knew she was all he wanted. All he would ever want. He’d wait a respectable amount of time, but as soon as she gave a hint of being ready, he was buying her a ring.

It seemed to take a moment for his words to filter through. When she parsed his meaning, her face softened, glowing in the golden light of the hallway.

Then a brilliant smile consumed her face. ‘One day,’ she agreed.

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