Chapter 27 #3
Ice cream came next — a shop with forty-two flavors and a teenager behind the counter who looked mildly terrified of Kol's enthusiasm.
"Try the honey lavender." Kol bounced on his heels, pointing at the display case, his amber eyes bright, his voice eager. "No wait, the salted caramel. No, the strawberry basil. Actually, can she try all three?"
The teenager looked at me with barely concealed desperation, and I bit back a laugh.
"Just the honey lavender." I decided, watching Kol's face light up at my choice, his grin stretching wide.
"That's my favorite too!" He turned to the counter, practically vibrating with excitement, his words tumbling out. "Two honey lavenders. No, wait, one honey lavender and one salted caramel so we can share. Unless you don't want to share? Do you want to share? We don't have to share."
"We can share." I tugged on his arm, pulling him back from the counter before he overwhelmed the poor teenager completely, amusement warm in my chest. We ate our ice cream on a bench in the town square, watching people go by, our shoulders pressed together, his knee bouncing with residual energy.
The honey lavender was perfect — sweet and floral with a richness that lingered on my tongue.
"Good?" Kol watched my face with barely contained hope, a smudge of salted caramel on the corner of his mouth, his amber eyes bright.
"Perfect." I leaned over and kissed the caramel away, feeling him go still with surprise before melting against me, a purr starting to build in his chest, vibrating against my lips.
"You can't just do that." His voice came out strangled, his amber eyes dark with something that made heat pool in my belly, his breath coming faster.
"Do what?" I took another lick of my ice cream, watching his eyes track the movement, watching his throat bob as he swallowed.
"Be perfect." He groaned, dropping his head back against the bench, his purr intensifying until I could feel it through the wooden slats. "You're killing me, Aster. Absolutely killing me."
I laughed, the sound light and free, and he turned his head to look at me with such naked adoration that my breath caught.
"I like making you laugh." His voice was soft, sincere, his hand finding mine and threading our fingers together, his amber eyes warm. "I'd do anything to hear that sound."
The drive home was quieter, the sun setting behind us, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. Kol's terrible singing had faded into comfortable silence, his hand resting on my knee, his thumb tracing absent patterns on my jeans.
He pulled over at a scenic overlook about halfway home — a small gravel lot overlooking a valley that glowed golden in the fading light.
"I wanted to show you this." His voice was soft as he put the truck in park, his amber eyes reflecting the sunset, something vulnerable in his expression. "I found it a few months ago, when I was doing deliveries. I've been waiting for the right person to share it with."
I looked out at the view — rolling hills and distant trees and the kind of vast, open sky that made you feel small in the best way — and felt something settle in my chest.
"It's beautiful." My voice came out rough with emotion, my throat tight.
"You're beautiful." He wasn't looking at the view anymore, his amber eyes fixed on my face, his expression open and vulnerable, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I had such a good day, Aster. The best day.
And I just..." He trailed off, his throat working.
"I wanted you to know that. That this was perfect. That you're perfect. That I—"
I kissed him before he could finish, climbing across the bench seat to straddle his lap, my hands fisting in his shirt. He made a sound of surprise against my mouth, his hands coming up to grip my hips, and then he was kissing me back with everything he had.
This kiss was different from the ones before — deeper, more desperate, his mouth hot and hungry against mine. His hands slid up my back, pulling me closer, his chest rumbling with a purr so loud I could feel it vibrating through the steering wheel, through the seat, through my whole body.
I broke away to breathe, and he chased my mouth, whimpering when I pulled back, his amber eyes dark with want.
"Aster." My name came out broken, desperate, his lips swollen and wet, his hands trembling where they gripped my hips. "Please."
"Please what?" I traced my finger along his jaw, feeling him shiver, feeling his hands tighten on me.
"Just... please." He didn't seem to know what he was asking for, just that he needed it, needed me, needed this moment to never end, his amber eyes pleading.
I kissed him again, softer this time, slower, pouring everything I couldn't say into the press of my lips against his. His purr intensified until I could feel it in my bones, until the whole truck seemed to vibrate with his happiness.
When I finally pulled back, his eyes were wet, his smile trembling at the edges, his expression so full of love it made my chest ache.
"I love you." He said it again, like he couldn't help himself, like the words were being pulled out of him, his voice rough and raw. "I love you, Aster. So much it scares me."
"It scares me too." I admitted, my thumb tracing his lower lip, feeling it tremble beneath my touch. "But the good kind of scared. The kind that means something matters."
"You matter." His voice was fierce, certain, his amber eyes blazing. "You matter so much."
I settled against his chest, my head tucked under his chin, listening to his heartbeat and his purr blend into one steady rhythm.
The sunset painted everything gold, and for a moment, the world was perfect.
We drove the rest of the way home in comfortable silence, my hand on his thigh, his purr a constant presence beneath the rumble of the engine.
The bag of books sat between us, the keychain warm in my pocket, the taste of honey lavender still lingering on my tongue.
When we pulled up to the ranch, the main house was lit up warm and welcoming, shadows moving behind the windows.
Home, I thought, and the word didn't feel foreign anymore.
Kol turned off the engine but didn't move to get out, his hands still on the steering wheel, his amber eyes distant, his expression soft.
"Thank you." His voice came out rough, quiet, thick with emotion. "For today. For letting me show you things. For not thinking I was too much." I leaned over and kissed his cheek, lingering, breathing in his scent — honey and orange blossoms, warm and happy and utterly content.
"You're never too much." I murmured against his skin, feeling him shiver at my words. "You're exactly right." His purr intensified, rumbling through the truck, through me, through everything, and when he turned to meet my eyes, his smile was the brightest thing I'd ever seen.
"Yours." The word came out soft, reverent, a promise and a prayer, his amber eyes shining with everything he felt. "I'm yours, Aster. Completely, totally, forever yours." Sitting there in his truck, surrounded by his scent, my hand on his thigh and his heart in his eyes, I believed him.
Completely.