Greg frowns when I set the flowers aside, and I slip into his arms, both of us letting out an almost pained breath once we’re finally connected again.
“I want to make new memories. In a new house.” I pause, shrugging as I look up at him through my lashes. “Maybe… with you?”
“Awww, shit, West! Looks like you got a new roommate!”
I’m not even sure who says it, but it earns a chuckle from the guys and a round of hush’s from the ladies, and then whoever it was gets elbowed to the tune of a loud grunt.
Greg shakes his head, smiling down at me with his hands coming to frame my face.
“Are you asking me if I want to move in together?”
“Indeed, I am.”
His smile widens, thumbs running the length of my jaw as he searches my gaze.
“David, look away,” he warns. “Because what I’m about to do definitely falls in the gross category.”
I don’t have time to even laugh at the joke before Greg’s hands guide my mouth to his, and he presses those warm, perfect lips against my own, stealing any oxygen I had left to consume. A round of cheers rings out around us, laughter and clapping and what I’m almost positive is a groan from David.
But I can barely hear any of it, can barely register anything other than what it feels like to be in this man’s arms, to feel so alive with hope it hurts as much as it heals, to have my heart in his capable, safe, caring hands.
And I know that I have his, too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
GREG
After a catered meal for everyone who helped make the house renovation possible, Amanda and I stand at the door and hug each one of them goodnight.
David and Julia are the last to leave, and though I know it’s going to take a long time for him to be completely comfortable with me and his mom being together, it feels good to know I have his blessing — and his friendship — when he gives me a big clap on the shoulder on his way out.
Amanda makes silly faces at a giggling Tucker until the front door shuts, and then it’s just the two of us, Christmas music still softly playing over the speaker, lights of white and red filling the living room with a warm glow.
She turns to me, her eyes tired and yet somehow more alive than ever as she slips into my arms. I didn’t think it was possible for her to look any more radiant than I’d seen her before, but in this moment, with her hair tied up in a loose ponytail, her face makeup free, and a sleepy, happy smile on her face — she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
And I realize it’s because in this moment, she’s mine.
Truly mine.
“Hi,” she whispers, clasping her hands behind my back.
“Hi,” I say back. I bend to kiss her, both of us sucking a long sigh of a breath at the contact, and I savor the way she tastes, the way it feels to know this kiss isn’t stolen, isn’t the result of a moment of passion.
It’s just ours.
It’s us.
Grabbing her hand, I lead her silently up the stairs, dragging her into her bedroom and locking the door behind us.
Just in case.
I hung Christmas lights in her room, too, a small tree in the corner with faux gifts underneath it — that was Julia’s touch. And in the soft light coming from those lights, I slowly, purposefully, unwrap my girl like she’s my Christmas present, one piece of fabric at a time.
She does the same to me, our eyes roaming each other as more and more clothing litters the floor. Her shirt, my tie, her jeans, my jacket, her bra, my dress shirt, her thong, my pants. We kiss and touch and strip each other down between shaky, shallow breaths, and then I grab her by the hips and tug her to the bed, sitting down and backing my way up to the headboard.
“Come here,” I whisper, pulling her to straddle me.
Her cheeks flame, and she hides behind the curtain of hair let loose once she took out her ponytail holder. Her hands tentatively find my shoulders, but she doesn’t sit all the way down, balancing on her knees like she’s shy.
“What is it?”
She shakes her head. “I’m heavy. I don’t want to—”
I suck my teeth, not even letting her finish that sentence before I pull her fully into my lap. I wrap my arms all the way around her, savoring every warm place our skin touches, and I look her right in the eyes when I say, “I’ve got you. Always.”
She smiles, sexy and seductive, and then her lips are on mine, her hips rolling, nails digging into my shoulders when she feels the hard length of me slick between her lips.
I hold her to me, hands squeezing her ass with a groan as I guide her up and down my shaft. She slicks me with her desire, both of us moaning at the feel of it, and then I flex my hips, just a little, just enough to press the tip of me a centimeter inside her.
She sighs, leaning back to lock those magnetic eyes on mine as she slowly, achingly slowly, lowers herself onto me.
My arms cage her, holding tight as I withdraw and flex into her again. We both groan, her hands pulling on my hair until she can capture my mouth with hers once more. A nip of my lip has me growling and pumping into her deeper, and then she moves my hands to her hips, sits back, and starts to ride me.
She’s a fucking goddess, her unmitigated masterpiece of a body rolling and grinding as she takes me inside her. Again and again, she lifts and lowers, swallowing me a little more each time. And when she reaches down to touch herself in that sensitive place I know will take her over the edge, I grab her hips and steal control, rhythmically fucking her until she finds her release.
It’s long and powerful, her cries echoing off the walls as she rides it out. Then, I roll her into the sheets, slipping between her legs as soon as she’s on her back and hiking her ankle up over my shoulder. It only takes me a few deep, powerful pumps before my own climax blinds me, and I kiss her hard as I whisper her name, along with a silent promise to myself that I’ll do everything in my power to never, ever let this woman go.
It’s after midnight, the candles burning low and Amanda drawing lazy circles on my chest. She looks even more tired after our rounds — particularly the one we just finished, where I had her ride my face until she came on my tongue. Still, she’s pensive, and I smooth a thumb over the line between her brow, eliciting a soft smile.
“Want to tell me what’s on your mind?”
“A lot of things,” she confesses. “Mostly, just trying to figure out how this is ever going to work.”
I frown, sitting up a little bit and pulling her into me. “What do you mean? It’s going to work because it’s us, because all the obstacles are out of the way now.”
“Are they?” she challenges.
“David is cool with it.” I pause. “Well… as cool as he can be, anyway. But he’ll see. In time, they all will.”
“Josh won’t be happy.”
I roll my eyes. “Fuck Josh. Let him be mad all he wants. And let him take his alimony and shove it right up his ass.”
“The judge actually didn’t sign off on that little demand.”
“See!” I click my tongue. “I knew they wouldn’t. What sane person would?”
I chuckle. “Still… he’s going to make my life a living hell once he finds out about this.”