Page 89 of Faking Ties

“We’re not engaged,” I rush to say and give Hunter a glare.

“Yet,” Mom and Hunter say at the same time and then they laugh. Hunter takes my phone from me and starts talking to my mom as if they’re long-lost friends.

Hunter’s the first boyfriend I’ve ever introduced to Mom, and she’s eating it up. I smile while they chat away. When there’s a knock on the door, Hunter says goodbye to my mom and promises to talk to her soon. He answers the door, and comes back in the room with a wheely cart.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“Your distraction.” He unloads the cart and places everything one by one on the kitchen counter. A scale, measuring cups and spoons, a mixer. Flour, sugar, butter, milk. He continues until I can’t even see the counter anymore. “I know you like to bake as a stress reliever, and I thought you could teach me how?”

“Where did you get all of this?” I ask in shock.

“The hotel. I explained that I needed to buy some ingredients, and they were happy to supply everything from their kitchen.”

Emotions steal my voice. I hug him, hard and unending. “Thank you,” I whisper. “You’re the most thoughtful, kind, and caring person I know.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” I say. “Don’t brush it off. Not many people would do this for someone.”

“You’re right.” He keeps his arms around me but pulls back just enough so I can see his face. He gives me a meaningful look; one I don’t understand but want to. “But it’s what you do when you love someone.”

I suck in a sharp breath, not believing I heard him correctly.

“Love?” I ask.

“I love you, Elodie. A couple months with you went by in a blink. But it’s not enough, and I want them all. No, Ineedthem all, every single moment from here on out with you. When Stella re-takes control of her life, I want you to move in with me. I want to continue creating this new life we’re building. Together.”

Warmth blooms in my chest, unexpected and intense, like a forgotten seed finally reaching the sun. The love I have for him is like a tangible thing that I feel in our silence, hear in our laughter, taste on my lips, and see when he takes care of me.

“I love you, too.” I lean my forehead against his. “And I want that life, the one where we’re living together and?—”

He closes the distance between our lips, and the kissis the embodiment of our declarations. Beautiful, magical, life-changing. Something that hovers close to my heart, for me to keep the memory of forever.

Neither of us takes it further than a kiss. Instead, we just enjoy the moment. One where we have all the time in the world to savor one another. Full of deep kisses and pauses where we just breathe one another in followed by playful, light kisses and another break.

It’s the best kiss of my life.

When we finally pull apart, we keep a point of contact between us the entire time we make no-bake, mini cheesecakes. He traps me in his arms while he crushes the cookies in a bowl. When we mix the cream cheese and sugar together, he keeps a hand on my lower back. When I use the mixer to beat the heavy cream into stiff peaks, he nuzzles my neck.

“You’re awfully interested in my neck,” I say, “for someone who wants to learn how to bake.”

“Can’t I be interested in both?” He smirks. “What’s next?”

“Tasting. The most important part is to taste as you go,” I say, taking a spoon and dipping it into the cream cheese mixture before spreading it across his lips. He grabs the back of my neck, bringing my face close to his.

“You try,” he says, guiding me toward his lips.

I smoosh our mouths together and laugh. “It’s delicious.”

“You’re delicious.” He kisses me briefly before smearing cream onto the side of my neck. Lowering his voice, he says, “I need another taste.” He licks and sucks my neck, and my core pulses in time with his movements.

I run my fingers in his hair. “I need you.”

“I need you more,” he growls. In the next instant, he lifts me onto the counter and helps me out of my clothes. He removes his own in a blink before stepping between my legs, his huge dick already hard and pointing toward me.

A tilt of my hips and he presses forward, entering me in one swift movement. We groan in unison when he’s fully seated inside of me. He’s so fucking huge, and it makes sex with him have the kind of pain that hurts but feels amazing all at the same time. No matter how many times we do this, it’s still overwhelming, all-consuming.

He pulls out almost fully before slamming back in. My tits jiggle with the force of his movement, and his gaze focuses on them.

---