Page 74 of Coming Home Country
More than anything, I wanted to bring them to life.
Baby steps, remember?
Instead of talking me down, all that did was have me picturing walking behind a miniature version of Bex, my fingers clutched by her tiny fists as she took tentative first steps. Though that baby girl was imaginary, pride filled my chest over her reaching a major milestone in her development, and my throat began to close up.
My brain was jumping too far ahead, and I needed to be brought back to the present stat.
“What are you thinking about?”
Heat rose up my neck when I realized I’d been caught daydreaming when I should have been enjoying holding the woman I loved in my arms.
“You.” It wasn’t a lie; I simply elected to omit how far my imagination had drifted.
Bex’s eyes narrowed slightly. She knew me too well and could sense there was more I wasn’t saying. But when her mouth opened to call me out, a question poised on the tip of her tongue, I took the opportunity presented to me and softly pressed my lips to hers.
Fingers curled into the fabric of my dress shirt, and she clung to me as the sweetest whimper sounded. One of the hands that had been anchored on her waist slid up to cup the side of her neck, holding her in place as I deepened the kiss, my tongue tracing along the seam of her lips, begging for entry.
She parted without hesitation, allowing me to dive in deep as I staked my claim. I wanted to collect every piece of her she was willing to give me until, eventually, I earned the whole, making her fully mine again.
I swallowed her moans, each one sending a bolt of lust straight to my cock; the hardness of it pressed painfully against my zipper, demanding to be freed.
Fuck. If we didn’t stop soon, I’d need to use Bex as a shield in order to make it off this dance floor.
I stole one more kiss before easing back.
Bex was flushed and breathless, her eyes glassy as I dragged my thumb over the swollen pillow of her lower lip.
“These lips give me life.” My voice came out husky. “I could drink from them forever.”
Her black lashes lowered to fan her cheeks. “People are gonna talk.”
“Let ’em.”
Those beautiful brown eyes snapped open, and she sighed. “Tuck.”
I was done playing games, done hiding how I felt.
She was leaving tomorrow. If I didn’t lay it all on the line now, I might not get another chance.
“What are they gonna say, Bex? That I’m in love with you? That I always have been?” Her breathing hitched, but I pressed on. “That I’ve been walking around with a giant hole in my chest for the past ten years, and having you back in my arms these last few days has made me remember what it’s like to live again, to breathe again?”
A shaky exhale rushed past Bex’s parted lips.
With both hands cupping her face, I pressed my forehead to hers. “I don’t give a damn what anyone else has to say about me kissing you in the middle of a crowded dance floor. Because all they’ll see is a pair of soulmates coming back together after too much time spent apart.”
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and confessed, “It’s always been you, Bex. You’ve owned my heart from the very minute you sat down beside me in that classroom what feels like a million years ago now. Evenwhen I lost hope of ever seeing your face again, I never stopped loving you. You’re what my whole world spins around.”
Wetness splashed over my thumbs, resting beneath her eyes, and a vise tightened around my heart.
“Fuck, baby,” I croaked. “Please don’t cry.”
“Tucker.” My name came out broken.
Preparing for my heart to shatter once I got a look at her, I pulled back.
But instead of sadness filling her eyes, they shone bright with an emotion that I was too scared to name for fear of being crushed if I was wrong.
Swallowing hard, I silently prayed for her to put me out of my misery. Because there was nothing left to say on my part—I’d already poured my heart out. All that was left to do was wait for her response.
