Page 125 of For Your Consideration

“I’m so close, Sutton.”

The building started again. I shifted my hips in time with his.

“I love you.” I grasped at his back.

“Say it again,” he demanded.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.”

“I love you.” There was emotion in his voice, his accent thick. And that was all it took. I had my third orgasm of the night as I felt him come, his head dropping back. The man was fucking stunning when he came. We both kept rocking until our orgasms subsided. He collapsed on top of me, both of us panting.

“Are you okay?” I asked when our breathing slowed down.

“Every time we finish I think, this could be it. Or I might already be dead because you are my version of heaven.”

“Don’t talk like that.” I pushed his shoulder and he pulled out, rolling to the side as I sat up. “You have me and Sophie now, you can’t go anywhere. I have abandonment issues, remember?”

His eyes softened as he tucked a piece of my hair back behind my ear before his thumb brushed along my cheek. “I promise I’m not going anywhere. I just found you. We haven’t had nearly enough time.”

I was about to say something profound back but my stomach growled. Aggressively.

We made eye contact and then both started laughing. “Stay here. I’m going to clean us up so I can feed you.”

Twenty minutes later we were eating peanut butter and honey sandwiches at the counter, me in his shirt, him in his boxers. Asher hadn’t eaten before I’d gotten home, planning to make us pasta, but we were both too hungry to wait.

“Can I ask you a question?” I asked between bites.

“You can always ask me anything.”

“Why do you never say goodbye?”

“I don’t like talking, especially on the phone.”

“I know, but it feels like more than that.”

He took a sip of his water and then turned to look at me. “Not sure, really. I know that when I went to school the day my mum died, I said goodbye and she didn’t come back. I guess it feels like if I don’t say goodbye then people have to come back.” I reached out and rested my hand on his shoulder, offering my support. “I know it’s not logical. But I stopped saying goodbye after that day. People write it off and yeah, with people I give zero shits about it’s just bad manners, but with the people I care about…” He shrugged, letting his explanation trail off.

“Would you like it if I stopped saying goodbye to you?”

He froze, his eyes finding mine. “What?”

“Well, if it makes you feel that way, I could stop so you know I’m always going to come back, at least with everything in my power.”

“How do you just understand me?” There was wonder in his voice and it made me smile.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“I love you,” he said, his voice thick as he reached out, his hand resting on my cheek. I turned my head and kissed his palm.

“Love you back.”

He glanced at the clock over the stove before looking back at me. “Finish your sandwich. I want to have you at least one more time and if Sophie wakes up it’s going to be in the next hour.”

In the quiet of the kitchen with this gentle man who cared about my daughter just as much as I did, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

35

Sutton