AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Harlow laughed. “My heroine has an obsession with random animal facts.”
“Clearly,” I muttered.
Sage was at school, and I was getting some work done around the house while Harlow wrote a chapter.
Her editor loved her book idea, and she was trying to finish up her first draft in the next six weeks. That meant I had to keep my hands to myself while she was dialed in. Sometimes that was harder than others, and whether she believed it or not, spouting random animal sex facts while she wore those giant tortoiseshell frames made it very difficult for me not to sling her up over my shoulder and march her down the hallway to our bedroom.
We’d decided to turn the room that used to be Harlow’s into a reading room and office that both Sage and Harlow could use when they needed it. I’d already roped Cameron into helping me build a full wall of bookshelves with recessed lighting, and I was finalizing some sketches for a custom desk for Harlow.
For now, though, she insisted that the table in the kitchen was still her favorite place to work.
“That’s nice,” she said, eyeing the nightstand over the edge of her glasses. “Just think of how much crap she can shove in those drawers.”
“Where does it all come from?” I asked.
Harlow sighed. “That is a mystery of the universe. I swear, every time I turn around, that shit multiplies.”
Under my breath, I laughed.
“Oh, my mom texted earlier,” Harlow said.
My eyebrows rose briefly. “What’d she want?”
“She wanted to know if we can come over for dinner this weekend.”
I gave her another look. “We?”
Harlow’s smile was rueful, one of my very favorite ones. “Yes, you are invited. She knows that where I go, you go.”
Wedging the drill under my arm, I slowly stood off the ground and studied the nightstand with a succinct nod. As I made my way over to the table, Harlow watched with a gleam in her eyes.
Bracing my hands on the back of her chair, I leaned down to brush my lips over hers. “I’ll play nice if she can,” I promised.
Just as I started backing away, Harlow fisted her hand in my shirt and tugged me down for a deeper kiss. I let out a small groan when her cool tongue brushed mine, my eyes falling shut at the feel of her.
After only a couple weeks of being able to love her like this, I felt like I’d been doing it my whole life. “What time do we have to pick up Sage from school?” I whispered, sliding my hand under the neck of her shirt, sweeping my thumb along the edge of her bra. We’d gotten very good at making the most of our time when Sage was gone. Earlier that morning, I tugged her back into the bedroom after Sage got on the bus and had her on her hands and knees on the bed, her hair tight in my fist, another anchored on her hips.
My girl liked it like that. And I just liked her any way I could have her, but my favorite was when I was over her, moving slow between her legs until she begged for it faster, harder. Maybe we could do that. I licked into her mouth on a hot kiss, and she sighed softly, her hand curled tight around the back of my neck.
Against my mouth, Harlow smiled wide. “Unless you can be very quick, sir, I don’t think we have quite that much time. We should leave in about five minutes.” I growled, and Harlow laughed. “Don’t make that growly man sound with me, buddy. You’re the one who wanted to go out for lunch because she has a half-day.”
Quickly, I snatched another kiss, because the sound of her laugh was the best fucking sound I’d ever heard. Something was magical about each day now, something I hoped never went away.
Waking up with her in my arms made the mornings sweeter.
Even if she did hog the covers, going to sleep with her next to me made every night feel like an unexpected gift. Being able to hold her hand just because I wanted to was humbling, and as much as I tried, I couldn’t figure out what I’d done right in this life to have any of it.
But even if I didn’t understand, I wouldn’t take it for granted.
Harlow closed up her laptop, tossing the glasses onto the table with a sigh. She rolled her neck, and I moved behind her, digging my thumbs into the tense muscles there. The press of my hands had her melting back into my chest.
“Have I mentioned I love you?” she said on a groan.
“Not in the last few minutes.” I kissed the top of her head.
“I really, really do.” She turned and gave me a soft kiss, pulling away to go put on her shoes. “I can get Sage if you want to stay home. We could pick up take-out for lunch instead.”
“I’ll come with,” I told her.
