Page 40 of Never Going to Care

Her eyes widen and round slightly before narrowing at me. “What kind of wager?”

“If I win, you stay here with me for the next two weeks. Every night. Every morning.”

She blinks at me a few times, my words surprising her, but she gets herself under control quickly, tucking her reaction away. She bats her eyelashes at me, her voice a soft purr, “What about if I win?”

I smirk at her and take the pan off the stove before pulling off the last of the tortillas. I scratch at the short beard covering my jaw. “Do you not want to make the own terms of your very unlikely victory?”

Celeste moves closer to me, her hips swaying with every step and hypnotizing me in the process. “Let’s just say I’m curious as to what you think would be a fitting prize for my triumph.”

“Very confident, Starlight.” My eyes move down her body and then back up again, locking on hers. “I like it,” my voice is husky and low, the tone making her eyes darken to bottomless pools I want to drown in. “If you win, I give you so many orgasms that you pass out.”

As she bites her lip, I can tell she’s considering my proposal. She teases me, “I don’t know if that would be a prize for me or you.”

“Oh, it would definitely be a prize for you.” I take a step toward her, meeting her as she approaches. I wrap my palm around the back of her neck and hold her in place. Watching her pulse flutter in her neck makes me even harder for her. “I would just happen to benefit from it, but then again, you’ll benefit from you being here for two weeks as well.”

Her lips twist to the side as she stifles a laugh. Her voice holds a faux dismissive air, “I assume I would just be sleeping if I were here for two weeks.”

I lean down into her space, our lips almost touching, “Eventually. You’d be sleeping eventually, but only after I work your body so good you can only remember how I make you feel and my name.”

“Hale,” my name moaned from her lips ghosts against my own.

My desire to slow this down and enjoy it, frays a little bit and I can’t help myself. I press my lips against hers and pry her lips open, tasting her again, pouring everything I need and want from her along with what she gives me into the kiss. It’s laying out under the stars as they twinkle above us, casting a glow which doesn’t make sense, but is there just the same.

With a groan I rip my lips from hers, “I need to feed you before I spread you out for dessert.”

Her cheeks pink and she looks up at me from underneath her lashes. The look jacks me up in a way I can’t even describe. Fuck, I can barely feel it.

It’s like my cells are on overload. It’s amazing and I don’t want it to end.

Who the fuck am I right now?

A man in love, deal with it.

Celeste moves away from me, a sweet smile on her lips as my body stills. Is that what this is? Love?

I knew she was mine, I’ve accepted this, but love is so much bigger. It might be a small word, simple to speak and often tossed around, but feeling it is another thing entirely. Is this love?

I watch Celeste rubbing her hands together like an evil mastermind as she surveys the spread in front of her on the island. My heart clenches at the memory of how the last five days have been and how much I hated any distance between us.

I should be running. I should be pushing her away, but I find that I want to do the opposite.

Love.

It sounds right as it strums through my body. It feels natural. It doesn’t scare me.

Which, admittedly, should scare me even more, but I can’t find the energy for it. Not with her standing right in front of me. Not when she looks at me with her big brown eyes as if she’s just waiting for permission to admit she loves me too.

If this is love, I’m okay with it. More than okay with it. A craving emanates from someplace deep in my gut.

For her. For the love she can give me. For the peace I’ll find only in her arms.

Love.

Yes. I love this woman. I want to see her raven hair covering me as she rests her head against my chest and finds solace there. I want to witness as pleasure washes over her face. I want to see her at her best and at her worst because I know neither will change the beauty I see in front of me.

Everything in me wants to tell her, but I don’t want her to run. I’m going to soak this up and show her she can trust me. With more than her body. With her heart.

I clear my throat and smirk. “Hungry?”

---