Chapter 18 #2
A growl tears out of me as I thrust once more and spill inside her, my vision blurring, my hands gripping her hips like they’re the only things keeping me tethered to this moment. To her. To the only woman who’s ever made me feel like I’m not just wanted, but chosen.
I stay inside her while we catch our breath, not ready to let her go just yet.
When I pull out, she turns and loops her hands around my neck. A lazy, post-orgasm smile fills her face. “For the record, he doesn’t say it better than you.”
I palm her ass possessively. “Good. I’d hate to have to murder an audiobook narrator.”
She laughs. God, that laugh. I’d do time for it.
Then, she pulls my face down to hers and kisses me. It’s a quiet press of her mouth to mine before she opens up and lets me in. Slow and gentle like she’s whispering promises before she deepens the kiss and makes me lose myself in her again.
I keep one hand on her ass while bringing the other one up to slide along her jaw. And for a second, while she’s ruining me all over again, I can’t breathe around the feeling crashing through my ribs.
Amelia is mine.
I never imagined a marriage with the kind of intimacy we have. Not the sexual kind; the emotional kind.
Each day, Amelia hands me every raw, messy, imperfect piece of herself like she’s saying this is what I’ve got to give today, and while I know it’s not perfect, I’m giving you all of it.
And it fucking floors me.
She doesn’t pretend. Doesn’t hide behind curated smiles or a polished image. She gives me her truth—every emotion, every fear, every contradiction—and lets me do the same. She doesn’t ask me to be perfect. Doesn’t expect me not to fuck up. She just asks me to be here. To show up. To try.
Our kiss stretches out. Unrushed. Like neither of us wants it to end.
I don’t. I could kiss Amelia forever and still need more.
Eventually, she eases back, brushing her mouth over mine one last time before pulling away to look me in the eye. “I love you,” she says softly.
My heart does something reckless in my chest as I drag my thumb over her bottom lip. “I love you too,” I say, my voice raw with everything I can’t put into words. “Every part of you.”
She falls silent for a long moment, just staring up at me, and I wonder what’s running through her mind. Finally, she says softly, “Do you know when I first fell for you?”
Fuck, my wife is going to undo me tonight. “Tell me.”
“It was the night you took me to my parents’ anniversary party, after you forced your way into being my date.” She grins when my brows lift at her choice of words. “The night you tried to kill me with a tuxedo.”
“Forced is a harsh interpretation,” I murmur, tightening my grip on her ass.
“Forced is entirely accurate.” The playful sparkle in her eyes eases a little as her expression softens.
“It was when I told you I don’t do well at parties.
That I feel too many expectations.” She presses closer, one hand coming up to my neck.
“You didn’t hesitate. Didn’t try to change my mind about not staying long. You listened to what I needed.”
Her eyes search mine, so much love shining in them.
“You love me so well, Gage. Every part of me. And you never try to change me.” There’s a gentle fierceness in her voice when she continues.
“I will love you forever. In the good moments, the hard moments, and every moment in between. I won’t ever stop. I want to love you just as well.”
There will never be another woman for me. Not in this life. Not in any fucking life. She’s it. My only. My endgame.
“I thought we were exchanging vows tomorrow,” I say, throat tight. She’s got me so fucking lost in her I can’t find any other words.
Her lips curve into a knowing smile. Amelia knows I feel everything for her, but that I’m better at showing it than saying it. “I thought I’d start early, darling.”
“Fuck,” I growl, one hand curling around her throat. “You keep calling me that, and we may never leave this room again.”
Her smile turns sexy. “I saw your reaction to it earlier. It’s good to know I’ve discovered the word that’ll always get me what I want.”
I drop my lips to her neck and kiss my way down to her collar. “If you haven’t worked out that you’ll always get what you want from me, I need to do better at showing you how you affect me.”
Her fingers thread through the back of my hair while my lips mark territory around her collar.
“Hmm, I’m not sure that’s true.” The smile in her voice is clear. “You wouldn’t let me paint your toenails last night.”
I spend two more seconds with her collar before lifting my face back to hers. “A man has to draw the line somewhere.”
“It’s not the only thing you’ve said no to. There was the hydrating sheet mask you wouldn’t let me put on your face the other night. The green smoothie you said no to before calling it pond scum. And you refused to help me pick between the three white paint swatches for the guest bathroom.”
I give her a look that says keep going, Princess. You’re about to find out just how far my devotion goes. “There was no discernable difference between those paint swatches.”
“There really was. Oh, and you also said no to the detox tea I made you last week.” She shrugs. “So, no, I don’t always get what I want from you, darling. It seems you’ve got work to do.”
My hand is around her neck—right over her collar—before the last word even leaves her mouth.
“You think I say no to you?” I growl, my eyes locked on hers.
“You think there’s shit I wouldn’t give you?
” My voice is thick and husky, unrecognizable even to me.
“You have no fucking idea what I’d say yes to, Amelia.
There is nothing I wouldn’t burn, nothing I wouldn’t become, if it meant giving you what you need.
You want my soul? It’s yours. My life? Take it.
You already own every fucking piece of me.
Every part that no one else has ever seen.
You get it all. Because there’s no world I exist in where I don’t give you everything. ”
I dip my head, my forehead pressing to hers as I breathe her in, every inch of me hers. “And if the last thing you ever wanted from me was painted fucking toenails, I’d give you that too.”