Chapter 43
KELSEY
I wake up to find Sutton’s eyes on me. That striking shade of glacial blue always manages to leave every inch of skin in its path heated and buzzing with anticipation.
It might be early in the morning, but my body is fully awake under his scrutiny.
A lazy grin spreads across his face and he traces the worn pad of a finger over my shoulder and down my arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake.
That contact builds a coil of tension low in my stomach and I find myself wanting to pick up exactly where we left off last night.
After telling him I love him, the energy between us the rest of the night was an inescapable tether pulling us together.
It felt like every exchanged glance or brush of skin against skin was an acknowledgement that we were both silently counting down the seconds until the party was over.
As soon as the last guest left, we practically skipped through town all the way back to our room.
I still remember the feeling of his warm body pressed against me and I need that closeness again, right now.
I mimic his gesture, tracing my finger down his arm and then I take what I want, resting my hand on his muscular ass.
I pull him against me and I’m pleased when I feel his erection press against my stomach.
He inhales a sharp breath and his eyes shut. “Fuck, why do I have to volunteer for everything?” he grits out. “I wish I had more time.”
“We could be fast,” I tease, waggling my brows. Then I drop my hand below the sheets and grab his thick cock, pumping it once.
He shudders before kissing my forehead. “I like the enthusiasm, but no, I don’t want to be quick with you. There are still far too many things I want to do to you.”
That declaration winds that coil behind my hips even tighter, but I know from the look on his face I’m not going to win this battle.
I sigh. “Fine, tonight though?”
He nods. “As soon as freaking possible. But right now, I need to get back to my parents’ house and prep for tonight’s dinner, and then I get to take off my chef jacket and get cleaned up because I’m also in the wedding party.”
I hum. “You know, I’m starting to realize there are more perks to being an only child than I knew about.”
Shamelessly, I admire the way his muscular chest and shoulders flex as he chuckles.
When our eyes meet again he’s sporting a smug grin, but I don’t care that he caught me appreciating his masculine form.
Being able to stare at my boyfriend's perfect body has to rank high on the list of perks of falling in love with him.
“If you can’t stay in bed, at least let me eyefuck you a little bit longer?” I ask, innocently batting my lashes.
“I think I can manage that,” he rasps, winking at me before hopping out of bed. “Shouldn’t be too hard seeing how pretty I am.”
I prop myself up on my elbow and watch him walk over to the vintage dresser in the suite.
Except he doesn’t actually walk, he goes into a full-on catwalk strut, complete with a twirl when he reaches the dresser.
A fully naked Sutton is a sight on its own, but this is something else and I can’t control the cackle that erupts from me.
“Oh my god, can you ever be serious?”
He strikes a pose, flashing a goofy smirk. “Probably not.”
Slowly, he opens a drawer and pulls out a pair of boxers, continuing this absurd little show by twirling them around on one of his fingers.
I clutch my stomach laughing so hard. “OK, this is hilarious and I’m ashamed to say surprisingly hot.”
“Oh,” he says. He feigns surprise and leans against the dresser. “So this does it for you?”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t push it. I was going to say that if you’re on a time crunch, you should probably actually get dressed instead of—”
“Instead of letting my loving girlfriend properly eyefuck me. Got it.”
“Yeah, that.” I swallow hard when he turns away and starts to actually get dressed.
Silently, I watch him. I would start every day like this if I could. Honestly, I could see wanting the rest of my life to be like the last few weeks with him.
Working with him at Gloria’s has been fun, but so was helping him in the food truck plating desserts.
I could see doing more of that. Yes, I still want to take Monica up on her offer at the shop and I plan on talking to Sandy as soon as I’m back in town.
But I think I get what he sees—there’s something so rewarding about those intimate settings and being a part of people’s special moments.
While I already told Sutton that I love him, I want to tell him yes. I want to do that with him.
Apparently while I’ve been daydreaming about a possible future with him, he did in fact get dressed. He steps over to the bed and leans down, cupping my cheek and kissing me with a surprisingly hot, open mouth, full of tongue kiss that catches me completely off guard in the best way.
He pulls back and I hear my own soft moan. “Sure you can’t stay?”
He shakes his head and tisks. “I thought I was the unserious, bad influence? Don’t tell me I’m rubbing off on you.”
“Fine,” I huff. “I’ll see you later.”
He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Love you, Shadow.”
My heart warms. “Love you too.”
He flashes that boyish smile before walking to the door. He opens it and a ray of morning sun washes in, but he stops in the doorway.
“Oh, and while I’m gone, if you want to get some more practice in…” he pulls his phone out from his pocket and holds it up, “I’ll have this on me.” He tilts his head toward the nightstand and the little black bag. “If you want to have that in you.”
While I fully intend to take him up on that offer, all I can think about is that I want to keep telling him yes. I want to tell him yes to the food truck. I want to be all in. I want to do something just for me again.
Watching him leave, I just keep thinking back to the first night that we were together and how I felt then. I felt so optimistic. It felt so natural to be with him. It was just easy. It might have taken some time to get back here, but that’s the last time I felt like this.