Rina chuckles at something River says as Lilah wipes her eyes, still laughing too hard to fully recover. Callie watches us all with a smile, as if she’s committing the moment to memory before it slips away.
Laiken stays exactly where he is; a steady presence behind me.
What I’ve found here isn’t just friendship.
Or love.
It’s home.
And for the first time in years, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.
50
Laiken
My gaze stays fastened to Kia. She’s barefoot and relaxed, humming as she rinses a mug out at the kitchen sink. Elody has been asleep for over an hour. We put her to bed together, moving through the routine without speaking much, as if we’d done it a hundred times before.
There’s comfort in not having to do it alone. I didn’t realize how much I’d been holding myself together, how determined I was not to need anyone, until the right person came along. And now, I can’t imagine it any other way.
I sit on the edge of the couch and soak it all in.
This is the part no one prepares you for—the quiet after the storm, when you’re no longer bracing for the worst or waiting for something else to go wrong. The tension doesn’t snap all at once. It loosens gradually, like a fist finally unclenching.
Kia turns, as if she can feel my gaze, before leaning back against the counter and studying me. “Are you okay?”
I nod. “Yup. Just taking it all in.”
Her mouth curves into a smile as she sets the mug aside and crosses the room before perching in my lap. My hands lock around her hips, my thumbs brushing over her curves as her arms slide around my neck.
“You’ve been carrying around so much,” she says, melting against me.
“I have,” I admit. “And it feels damn good not to anymore.”
She searches my face for a second before resting her forehead against mine.
“I like you this way,” she murmurs.
“What way is that?”
“Like you can finally breathe again.”
I huff out a laugh. “That’s exactly how it feels. Like my lungs can finally expand.”
The truth of it settles between us. It’s not heavy, just real. I pull her closer, drawing in her delectable scent.
Home.
That’s the only word that comes to mind. Not because everything is perfect, but because the foundation is solid. Even with all our differences, somehow, we fit together.
My mouth drifts over hers. There’s no urgency to the kiss, just the certainty we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. And there’s no better feeling than that. Her fingers thread through my hair, and the world narrows to the warmth of her body and the trust we’re building.
With our lips melded together, Kia shifts until she’s able to straddle my thighs, pressing close enough for my erection to nestle against her core. The whimper she releases tells me she feels exactly how much I want her. No other woman has ever turned me on like this. Our connection isn’t just physical, it’s emotional as well.
It doesn’t take long for our kiss to deepen, turning hungry. Our tongues tangle until I have no idea where I end and she begins.
When she moves against me, slow at first, searching for friction, it sends a rush of heat through my veins. My woman is no longer shy about what she wants. Every movement is deliberate, her desperation growing with each one.
What we’re doing isn’t nearly enough to satisfy either of us.
