Page 34 of Eddie

Eddie’s breath hitched. He closed the distance between them, and his free hand came up to cup Matthias’s cheek. Matthias leaned into the touch, closing his eyes.

“I’m not telling you to leave,” Eddie murmured.

“Good.” Matthias opened his eyes to meet Eddie’s gaze. “Because I don’t want to.”

They stood there for a moment, and Matthias felt the mate bond hum between them. His buffalo was content in a way it hadn’t been since the coffee shop because they were finally where they belonged.

Eddie’s thumb brushed over Matthias’s cheekbone. “Can I kiss you?”

Matthias’s breath caught. They’d kissed before, including twenty minutes ago in the parking lot, but this felt different because it felt like a promise.

“Please,” Matthias said.

Eddie smiled, and then his mouth was on Matthias’s, warm and sure. Matthias made a sound low in his throat and pulled Eddie closer, sliding one hand to the small of Eddie’s back while tangling the other in his hair. Eddie tasted like toothpaste and something sweet, and Matthias wanted to drown in it.

The kiss deepened. Matthias could feel Eddie’s hands on him, one still cupping his face, the other gripping his shirt like he was afraid Matthias might disappear. Matthias understood why after the way things had gone until now. He’d left and hadn’t come back for too long.

When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing hard. Eddie’s eyes were darker than usual with his pupils blown wide.

“Bedroom?” Eddie asked, his voice rough.

Matthias nodded.

Eddie took his hand and led him up the stairs, then down a short hallway. The bedroom was a decent size, with a king-sized bed in the place of honor, covered with a quilt that looked handmade. Eddie turned on the bedside lamp, casting the room in warm, golden light.

Matthias’s heart was pounding. He’d been with people before, but this was different. This was Eddie. His mate. The person Fate had chosen for him and whom he’d upended his entire life for.

He didn’t regret it. He didn’t think he ever would.

Eddie turned to face him, and there was something vulnerable in his expression. “I’ve never, well, I’ve obviously never done this with someone I knew I would be with for the rest of my life.”

“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Matthias said quickly, even though he himself was incredibly nervous. “I mean, there is, but not in a way that matters right now.” He took a breath. “I think we should try to forget about all of that. Obviously, we can feel the bond, but I don’t want it to put more pressure on us. Maybe tonight it can be just us?”

Eddie’s expression relaxed. “Okay.”

He stepped closer, and this time when they kissed, it was slower and more deliberate. Matthias let himself sink into it and feel the warmth of Eddie’s body against his, the way Eddie’s hands moved over him, and everything that was Eddie.

Eddie grabbed the hem of Matthias’s t-shirt, and Matthias pulled back enough to let Eddie pull it over his head. Cool air hit his skin, but Eddie’s warm hands were there immediately, tracing the lines of his stomach, then up his chest and around his shoulders.

“You’re beautiful,” Eddie murmured.

Matthias huffed a laugh. No one had ever told him he was beautiful. “I wouldn’t call myself that.”

“You are,” Eddie insisted, and kissed him again.

Matthias tugged at Eddie’s t-shirt because he wanted that off, too, and Eddie helped him pull it off. Matthias let his hands roam the way Eddie’s had, mapping the breadth of Eddie’s shoulders, the solid expanse of his chest, the small of his back. Matthias had known that Eddie was strong because of his job, but feeling it was different.

They moved to the bed, taking off the rest of their clothes with fumbling hands, laughing between kisses.

Matthias pulled Eddie down on top of him, needing the weight and the contact. He might have been the one who’d left, but that didn’t mean he didn’t need the reassurance that Eddie was here now.

Eddie braced himself on his forearms, looking down at Matthias with something like wonder in his eyes, and maybe affection, although Matthias was afraid to let himself hope. “You’re really here.”

Maybe Eddie felt like Matthias right now and needed reassurance as much as he did. “I’m really here,” Matthias confirmed. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Eddie kissed him again, and Matthias lost himself in the slide of skin against skin, the taste of Eddie’s mouth, the sounds Eddie made when Matthias touched him just right.

It was overwhelming in the best way, and Matthias wanted more. He wanted everything, but he told himself that they’d have time. They didn’t need to do it all tonight.