Page 123 of Unwritten Rules

“Christ almighty, Hawthorne. Have you lost the actual run of yourself? You don’t even know what it’s about yet!”

“And I don’t care.” I rest my mouth by the shell of her ear, whispering for her ears only, despite the fact that we’re the only two present. “You’re following your dream, baby. Do you know how few people do that?”

She frowns, rolling her eyes. “It’s a handful of chapters, Nathaniel. Hardly anything to write home about.”

I place my palm on her breastbone, right over her heart. “Words from your heart will always matter to me, Hellcat.” I pin her with my intent. “Always.”

She shakes her head, shrugging me off as her cheeks flame pink. “Quit it, Hawthorne. You’re just blowing smoke up my ass!”

I throw my head back in a guffaw that would make Caden North jealous. “If you’d like me to blow smoke up your ass, I’m willing to give it a try, but you – oof!”

Mila shuts me up with a sharp dig to the ribs. “You are incorrigible.”

I snort. “Just where you’re concerned. Plainly!”

She rolls her eyes, flipping open her laptop as she does. “Well, I’m going to write for a while, because I’m feeling inspired—”

“Orgasms are the key to inspiration!”

She elbows me in the ribs and continues. “You can read or watch TV – hey!”

I squeeze my arms tighter around her, pulling her impossibly closer. “I’d much rather watch you, baby.”

Her cheeks pinken adorably, so I drop a kiss on the one closest to me before she shakes her head, returning her attention to her laptop whilst muttering, “In-fucking-corrigible!”

CHAPTER 35

MILA

Giving the Lake House one last look around, I sadly pull the door closed behind me.

“Come on, Hellcat. I’m ravenous!” Nate’s voice calls from the driver’s seat of my Stingray.

We’ve packed up all our belongings and are, unfortunately, returning to the real world today.

I had spent the evening engrossed in writing. Nate sat behind me, his chin resting on my shoulder as I typed. He’d only interjected two minor punctuation issues before I threatened him with a swift kick to the bollocks, and we’d spent the night wrapped up in one another.

Nate had woken me twice throughout the night to make love to me slowly, his eyes on mine in the light of the moon as he pulled orgasm after orgasm from my body.

As his body wrung the final release from me, he’d dropped his sweat-slick forehead to mine, allowing his words to travel across my lips and straight to my heart to be treasured forever.

“I found Heaven when you kissed me in Devon.”

We’d awoken to another barrage of missed calls and messages from everyone in both of our lives, and with the lack of a fresh picnic basket from Wetherby, we’d taken it as a sign that reality was calling.

When I slide into the passenger seat, Nate grasps my hand. “Nothing will change, Hellcat. We’re in this now, yeah?”

“How do you do that?” I chuckle. “How do you read me like a book every damn time?”

Without missing a beat, he leans across the console to drop a kiss on my lips. “Because you’re my favourite thing to read, baby. My favourite thing to do. My favourite place to be. I want to spend forever learning every little thing there is to know about you.”

The biggest shit-eating grin spreads across my face as he pulls back and winks devilishly before the car hums to life beneath us.

“You’re good, motherfucker. You’re really good! See? I knew you had better lines than the shit you were sprouting in my apartment.”

He throws his head back, laughing freely as I’ve not seen him do in as long as I’ve known him. I fill practically to bursting from how happy that makes me. The knowledge that little old me can make him this happy.

It makes me ridiculously happy too.