A soft moan slipped out of my throat when he pressed his weight directly against my center. That sharp sound was what finally made him force himself to pull back. He was breathing heavily, and my own lungs were starved for air.
“This is your parents’ front porch, Ness,” he rasped.
He stepped away for a single heartbeat—too far, too fast—before immediately coming right back to me, sliding his hands slowly up and down my thighs until my body practically hummed with frustrated need. God, I had missed this. Missedhim.
He gently cupped my chin, his thumb tracing the curve of my jawline.
“Do you want to stay tonight?” I asked, silently praying to whatever god was listening that he would say yes.
He hesitated, and my heart instantly sank.
He must have seen the disappointment flash across my face, because he tipped my head back, his voice incredibly rough. “It’s not that I don’t want to—believe me, Vanessa, I do. I just…”
I stuck out my bottom lip, deliberately teasing. “You just what?”
His dark eyes darkened even further. “I just don’t trust myself.” His thumb lightly grazed the outline of my lower lip. “And this is your parents’ house. It wouldn’t be respectful to them.”
I felt like a stubborn toddler whose favorite toy had just been snatched away. “My niece Chloe was conceived in the garage, Elliott. Trust me, this is a completely judgment-free zone.”
A brilliant grin spread wide across his face, instantly melting every single cell in my body into a puddle of glittery pink goo.
“I almost lost my mind and had you right there in that club closet, and in that cabana” he admitted, clearing his throat roughly. “I don’t have an ounce of self-control around you, and I know damn well you don’t either.”
I wanted to stomp my foot like a brat. “We can just do hand stuff,” I countered with a wicked smile.
“Ness,” he groaned, his forehead dropping against mine, “when I fuck you again, I don’t want to worry about anyone down the hall hearing us. I want to take my absolute time. I want to fuck you on every single surface in my house. Don’t ask me to stay tonight, because I’ll say yes, and if I do, it won’t be as good as I want it to be for you.”
A quiet whimper escaped my lips, my entire body clenching in tight, frustrated desire. Never in my life had I wanted a man the way I wanted this one. Standing there in the dark, I finally understood why every other guy I’d ever met had felt socompletely underwhelming—it was because the absolute truth had always been standing right in the forefront of my mind.
“So I guess that means you’re actually going home?” I asked, resting my hands over his wrists while his palms still cradled my face.
“Yeah,” he said, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly register, “because this is getting harder by the exact second.”
“Pun intended?” I teased.
He chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest before he groaned, smiling down at me—the most beautiful, unburdened smile I had ever seen from him, hands down.
“Move in with me,” he said, the joy never fading from his eyes.
“Yeah,” I breathed, not needing a single second to think about it.
His grin widened, revealing a flash of teeth and pure, unfiltered relief.
“I love you, Elliott,” I whispered—to him, to the dark night, and finally to myself.
He rested his forehead back against mine. “I was so terrified you’d never say those words to me again.”
“I’ve always loved you,” I told him softly, letting the absolute honesty anchor us. “Whether you were in my life or out of it, there’s only ever been you.”
His deep, relieved sigh filled the quiet night air, and it was the only sound I’d been waiting a decade to hear.
forty-two
ELLIOTT
We werequiet the entire way home from the doctor’s office.
I didn’t even get the chance to give Vanessa the proper welcome she deserved for moving intoourhome. After that night on her parents' porch, I had arranged to have all her things packed up and moved into my place the very next day. I wanted her here, where I could protect her, but the silence between us now was suffocating. I was quiet, so she matched my energy—retreating into the familiar, stoic shell I always used when the world threw me off balance.
