Page 74 of Clean Hack
I knew what she meant.
I knew that because I could see it in her eyes whenever she looked at me.
I knew it because I felt it too.
And because I wasn’t going to let her go on another second thinking that I believed the cover-up, I leaned in and brushed my lips softly against hers.
“I love you, too,” I said as I breathed the words into her barely parted mouth.
Shocked at what I’d said, she sucked in a sharp breath, taking those words down with it.
“I…oh, fuck, this is so insane. I love you, Derrick. It seems like it’s too soon, but I feel it. So deeply.”
Tears clouded her eyes. I brushed my thumb over one that had managed to escape and run down her cheek. Then I kissed her tenderly.
“Make this life with me,” I said after I broke away.
This life. Our new one. The one where we started to live for us. I knew I didn’t have to explain for her to understand.
“Yes,” she breathed out in an excited whisper. One that was on the verge of being shocked and baffled at the same time.
I held her as she buried her face in the crook of her neck. We stayed like that until the sweat began to dry and feel sticky. Until our breaths slowed. Until we came back down and realized the world around us.
“We should get cleaned up,” she said as she slid away from me and off the bed.
I sat there for a moment, watching her perfect cheeks sway as she walked away from me. Her hair swooshing back and forth down her back, drawing attention to those sexy dimples right above her perfectly round bottom. Once she was out of sight, I sat up, removed the condom and wrapped it in a tissue before I tossed it in the small wastebasket beside the bed.
“Ummm…there’s only a tub in here,” she called out from the bathroom, her tone apprehensive and I chuckled because I had a good idea what she was thinking. Yes, the bathroom only had a tub and not the romantic, claw-foot kind. This one wasn’t even porcelain. No, it was a tub, as in the old kind, a huge, oval, copper vat pretty much. Oh, I did have shower, and I was pretty sure she wasn’t going to like that much better.
“Shower’s out back,” I said, getting to my feet.
She came walking back into the bedroom. She stopped right inside the doorway and cocked her hip, her hand flying up to rest on it.
“As in…outside?”
“Yeah,” I answered with a shrug. “There’s no one around for miles.”
“No, I got that much on the drive to get here,” she said but it wasn’t in a happy tone. “But you live in the swamp, Derrick.”
She blinked at me when I didn’t say anything back. I had a pretty good idea what was going through her head, but I couldn’t help and go on acting like I was clueless. She was so damn cute like this.
“There are gators. Gators, Derrick!” she shrieked as she threw her hands up in frustration.
“Yeah, probably,” I said like it wasn’t a big deal. I could feel myself losing my cool and I knew I’d be laughing at any second. “It’s not like they care. They probably won’t even notice that we’re naked.”
She eyed me for a long second.
“You’re messing with me right?”
“Nope. The shower really is out back. Come on, a little naked wash-up under the stars could be romantic.”
She shook her head as I crossed the room and took her into my arms. At this point, my body was shaking as I broke out in laughter.
“You’re not funny.”
“It’s all enclosed. Alligators can’t get in. I’ll even go out there and check to make sure it’s all clear for you if you want.”
“You’d do that for me?” she asked and playfully fluttered her lashes as she looked up at me.
