“I’m excited you’re happy,” he murmurs, leaning up enough to capture my lips in a soft kiss.
“They love me and I needed to hear that today. They have no stakes in my life, but they told me I’m one of theirs. I didn’t know how much I needed to be claimed.”
“Gimme a sec and I’ll give you a hickey that’ll be like a warning to anyone who looks at you…”
I chuckle and bury my face in his neck, loving the deep rumble in his throat as I press a kiss to his skin.
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. And I’m happy you have that. People think Jude and I are codependent, and we are, but he’s all I’ve had for a long time. Our parents are gone and while we’ve added some people to ourgroup—made our own family—he’s still the person who knows me best in this world.”
“The person who knows me best is still Fallon, but I can’t lean on her like I did when we were married. She has her own life, and while she’s never done anything to me to make me feel like a burden, things needed to change.”
“You’re so much braver than you think you are.”
“I’m just finally realizing I’m enough.”
“You’re more than enough, Tanner.” Tipping my chin up, he meets my gaze, the emotion swirling in the depths stealing my breath. “You’re everything.”
29
DEACON
Ican’t remember the last time I woke up with someone in my arms, and something about that has me smiling as I pull Tanner tighter against me. He fits perfectly, his back to my chest as the sun peeks through the blinds, his body warm and pushing back into me as he slowly comes awake.
“I have to admit,” he starts, his voice heavy with sleep as he rubs his eyes, “this is certainly a different way to wake up than I’m used to.”
“Yeah?” I ask, pressing a kiss to his bare shoulder as my palm slides down his side and over his hip. “Tell me.”
“Well,” he breathes, turning slightly to give me better access to his front, “most times I’m alone but when I have Briggs, it’s usually something likebruh, can you, like, make food? I’m starving.”
I chuckle, my fingertips dipping under the waistband of his boxers to wrap around the base of his dick.
“I’ll have to convince you to wake up like this more often then, won’t I?”
“No convincing necessary,” he moans.
“What about getting you into the shower?”
“Sure.” His ass grinds against my dick, and I bite back the curse that wants to escape, the image of me sliding in and out of him still just a fantasy, butsoon, so fucking soon, it will be real.
“Tanner.” His name is a warning, and he whimpers as I pull my hand from his underwear. “I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried, just hard,” he grumbles into the pillow, making me smile as I pull myself from the bed.
“Come shower with me.”
“I just want the record to show I’m doing this under duress.”
“Duress, huh?”
“It’s early.”
“I’ll feed you.”
He opens one sleepy eye, turning his head to peer over his bare shoulder. “Is that a dick joke?”
“It wasn’t,”—I grin wolfishly—“but now that you mention it…” I make a point of gripping myself through my thin cotton boxers, his gaze following the movement as he rolls onto his back.
