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“No, seriously.” I brushed my nose lightly against hers. “You standing at my door in my number, talking about how you can’t stop thinking about kissing me?” I let out a rough breath. “Cruel behavior, Red.”

Maisey smiled then.

Soft and real and a little shy beneath all her fire.

It wrecked me more than the kissing somehow.

“Yeah?” she murmured.

“Yeah,” I replied, my thumb skimming beneath the hem of her hoodie absentmindedly, brushing warm skin at her waist. She inhaled sharply. The sound nearly snapped whatever restraint I had left in half.

But I forced myself to stay still.

Because this mattered.

She mattered.

And I was done taking from her recklessly.

“You okay?” I asked quietly, eyes searching hers.

Maisey nodded, then laughed breathlessly, “This is just all so surreal.”

My chest tightened violently at that, because it was so very surreal to have Maisey in my room like this after all this time, in my arms and staring up at me like that. I tilted her chin upward gently before I kissed her again, trying to memorize the way her eyes sparkled.

She rose onto her toes instead, leaning into me. Maisey sighed softly against my mouth the second our lips met, and I swear my heart physically stumbled in my chest. My hands settled carefully at her hips while hers slid upward into my hair again, fingers scratching lightly against my scalp in a way that made me exhale sharply through my nose.

“Careful,” I muttered against her lips.

“Why?”

“I’ve dreamed about this moment, and I want to take it slow, but fuck, Red, you pulling my hair will make me lose all the control I am trying to have at the moment.”

She laughed quietly into the kiss, and the sound melted straight through me.

“I did come over here with the intention of seeing you on your knees, Bauer.”

I let out a strangled breath at her words. “I’ll do whatever you ask, Maisey baby.”

I walked her backward slowly until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the bed. I paused, hands tightening gently on her waist.

“You sure?” The question came gently. Even if it was her who came to my door, I didn’t want her to regret this for a moment. If we were doing this, then it was real. All of it.

Maisey looked up at me like I’d hung the damn moon.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m sure.”

I turned us around, sat down carefully on the edge of the bed, and pulled her into my lap slowly enough that she could stop at any point. Maisey settled there easily, knees bracketing my hips as her hands slid around my shoulders. Her body molded against mine like it belonged there, warm and soft and trusting in a way that made something protective and possessive twist low in my chest all at once. My hands skimmed carefully up her back beneath the hoodie, fingertips tracing warm skin inch by inch like I was trying to memorize her. Maisey shivered.

“Theo,” she breathed softly. The sound of my name in her voice nearly undid me completely. I kissed along her jaw slowly, feeling her pulse jump beneath my mouth. She tipped her head back instinctively, fingers tightening against my shoulders.

So responsive, so damn beautiful.

“Do you have any idea,” I murmured against her skin, “how long I’ve wanted this?”

Maisey’s breath caught on a giggle. “I’ve got a few ideas.”

Then she kissed me again with enough feeling behind it to steal every coherent thought straight from my head. I could feel her gaining confidence as her hands began to explore, slowly dragging down my sides to my abs. I shivered under her, making her smile into the kiss. I wanted to do this forever, keep her forever. I would do anything to be worthy of her.