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I lean my head into the nook of his chest as his hands move to the part of my towel, sliding beneath the material. The rough callouses whisper over the tender flesh of my belly before one hand drifts lower, between my legs, the other aiming high for my breast.

My breath hitches. I angle my head to look up at him, and he claims my mouth in a deep kiss as he sinks his fingers into the wet between my legs. He strokes me slowly with his fingers as he kneads my breast with his other hand—and I fall into the abyss of his kiss, lost to this moment with him like I’m lost every time he touches me, every time he kisses me.

When his thumb strokes my clit, my body jolts, and I suck in air that tastes of him. Magma spills into my belly as he pulls my lip between his teeth, and I shift my ass to grind into his erection, reveling in the spill of his hungry growl.

He adds another finger, stroking me faster as my breath falls choppy between us. My hands find the edge of the counter as he nips at my neck, the lobe of my ear, my shoulder…

“Tate—” I gasp.

“Indoor voices,” he reminds me darkly.

I snap my mouth shut, but I can’t fully stop my moan as his thumb strokes my clit again—and I fall apart around his fingers.

He pulls them from me, pressing tender kisses into my flesh as my eyes find his in the now clear mirror. I realize then that he’s been watching me this whole time.

He’s always loved to watch me come apart.

Like I always do, I blush. I don’t know why, after all these years, coming apart for him still makes me feel so…beautifully exposed.

“You’re the most beautiful woman.” His eyes hold mine in the mirror as he drags his lips across the blade of my shoulder. “So perfect.” Another rise of gooseflesh assaults every inch of me at the scrape of his five o’clock shadow. “Mine.”

“Yours,” I agree. “I love you.”

His hand abandons my breast to angle my face to his. He takes my mouth in another deep kiss. “I’ve always loved you. Only ever you.”

My eyes drift open to find his are already fixed on me. My heart swells and my womb contracts. I tell him, “I stopped taking my birth control.”

His chest rises with a sharp, surprised breath. “When?”

“Last month.”

He wets his lips, hunger igniting a hot flame in his eyes. “Are you sure?”

I nod. “I’m sure.”

One moment, I’m standing before him and the next he’s lifted me into his arms bridal style, walking me into our room and straight to our bed. He places me on top, shedding me of my towel in the process, and I laugh softly when he instantly sets to ridding himself of his clothes.

My breath stalls in my lungs when I catch sight of his erection, hot and ready.

He blankets me with his body, and I spread my legs to invite him inside as he drops his mouth to mine once again. He rocks against me, driving me to a whole new height of hunger that has me whimpering beneath him, begging for more. For all of him.

He doesn’t deny me.

This man never denies me.

“Please,” I moan as he sinks deep into me.

He shudders above me as he roots himself into the core of me, sliding his arms around my body to hold me even closer as he begins to rock his body into mine. Warm breath dances across my lips as he lifts his head to peer into my eyes—and I drown in his.

“I’m so in love with you, Faye. I’ve always been told that home is a house, but nothing feels more like home than this—with you. Being inside you is home. It’s where I’m meant to be. I swear to you, I was meant to love you.” Emotion burns my eyes as he continues with his deliciously languid strokes. “You’re my whole life, my entire purpose. You’re the only home I’ll ever know.” His forehead connects softly with mine as his thrusts become jerky. “Thank you for being mine.”

He roots himself deep as he spills hot seed inside me, and I hold onto him as my heart feasts on his words, filling with hope for the future we have yet to live.

I bury my face into his chest when my emotions become too much, but I manage to whisper, “You’re my home, too.”

34

HEART CORNERS