Page 57 of The Allure of Ruins

I could feel that as well, and wrapped my arms around his neck, clutching him tight as he shivered, loving his warm skin on mine.

“I wasn’t careful…at the end,” he muttered.

“No, you weren’t.”

“Pax, honey, I⁠—”

“Which meant you trusted me when I said it was what I wanted. It’s been so long since I wanted to be touched. You know it could only be you.”

“It can only ever be me,” he rumbled. “And I know you loved being under me because you’ve got your own cum on you, and some on me.”

I grinned and hid my face in his hair.

“Mine is dripping out of your ass, and I think your muscles have finally—lemme go for a second here.”

I didn’t want to, but I uncoiled my arms so he could lift off me and slide, tenderly, from my body.

“That’s fuckin’ hot, my cum dripping from your ass.”

I shook my head at him.

“What? It is,” he insisted, sounding ridiculously pleased with himself. “And next time, and the time after that, and the time after that⁠—”

“That sounds like you liked doing this with me,” I murmured, trying to banter, but it was too hard. I needed the words from him as well.

He came back down on top of me, both of us smeared and sticky and sweaty. We had wrecked his bed, and now he rolled me to the left, into his arms, hugging me tight. “Listen,” he began, his voice gravelly and low. “I loved that, and it seemed like you did too.”

“Yes,” I assured him.

“And I want to do that whenever you want me and whenever I want you. Everything works with us. I love to talk to you, I love to yell at you⁠—”

“Yes, you do.”

“And I love to kiss you,” he said, punctuating his soft words with a press of his lips to my forehead, “and I fuckin’ love having sex with you, and you love all that same stuff.”

I sighed deeply, happier than I ever thought I’d be.

“Don’t you?” he pressed, smoothing his hand down over my ass, cupping gently.

“Yes. I love all that.”

“Okay, then,” he said, taking a breath, his other hand sliding around the side of my neck, his thumb under my chin, lifting my eyes to his. “I think the thing for you to do now is to stay with me forever because I’m the one person who will put up with you.”

His gaze was locked with mine, and he was holding my face so I couldn’t turn away.

“That last part isn’t true,” he said, his voice low and guttural. “A lot of people will want you—I’ve seen how men look at you—but I’m the one you love, so…there it is.”

“You’re the only one for me, Colton Gates,” I whispered.

“Of course I am,” he muttered, leaning in and kissing me.

NINE

He objected to shaving. He complained about putting on his tuxedo shirt and the cuff links. He expressed his anger toward the stupid knee-high socks and the even stupider shiny patent dress shoes with the slick bottoms that were going to kill him in the snow.

“But you’re gorgeous,” I praised him when he was standing in front of me a good hour later. “You cut a very dashing figure, Mr. Gates.”

“You look beautiful in yours,” he said with a sigh. “I remember when we bought it and you came out of the fitting room; I nearly fell out of the chair.”