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“Will you be at tomorrow’s game?” Anna asked as she collected her things.

Would I? I hadn’t planned anything past getting to the park to see Carter. I didn’t even have a ticket home booked.

“Maybe?” I looked at Carter uncertainly.

“If you want to be there, I’ll get you a ticket,” he said.

“Then yes, I’ll be here.”

“See you then.” Anna hugged me and left with Julio.

“You ready to head back to my place? Or are you hungry? We could stop to eat first.” He seemed nervous, which struck me as funny. He was the one who made life-altering declarations on national TV, and now he was nervous.

I laced my fingers through his. All I wanted was to be with him. To talk to him. To be with him. To make up for lost time. “Your place sounds perfect. Let’s go.”

Carter’s apartment was not far from the ballpark, in a high-rise with a view of the North Shore Mountains. It was the first thing that hit me when we walked in the front door: floor-to-ceiling windows, and although it was dark, the lights of the North Shore were breathtaking. I wasn’t here for the view, though. As soon as the door was locked behind us, I threw myself at him, needing confirmation that this was real.

His bare arms brushed my skin as they wrapped around me, leaving a trail of heat, building the need that had been burning in me since I left the bakery. It had been two long months, and I ached. No amount of battery-operated toys could replace him. I pressed him back into the door, revelling in the length of his hard cock against my belly. My body throbbed with need.

A deep groan rumbled in the back of his throat as I ground against him, trying to relieve the ache between my legs. His lips crashed down, his tongue urging my lips apart, and then he was consuming me. I fumbled at his belt, the need to touch all of him so urgent I couldn’t wait another second.

Before I could do more than loosen his belt, Carter grasped my wrists. “Bedroom.”

He led me down a short hallway and kicked the door closed behind us. The only light came from the huge windows, creating an intimacy he matched as he slowed our frantic kisses. He ran his hands over my shoulders, touching me with a gentleness that took my breath away. He slowly steered me back toward the bed that dominated the room, each step accompanied by a dropped article of clothing. By the time I bumped into the bed, he was tugging down my jeans, tossing them aside. He shucked off his own pants before pressing me back against the mattress, scattering kisses over my neck and down my chest.

“I want you so much,” he said.

I drew in a shaky breath as his lips closed over a nipple, sucking it gently into his mouth and rolling his tongue over the hard bud.

“Carter.” It came out as a moan, but I didn’t care. All I wanted was him.

His cock was hard and heavy against my thigh, but he was taking his time moving down my body, peppering kisses along the way. Each kiss felt like it left a scorch mark behind, lighting me up. I writhed under him, seeking any relief. I wouldn’t last long at this rate. If he touched my clit, I’d go off like a rocket.

He dragged my panties over my hips and down my legs, stopping to stare once I was naked. I whimpered. I needed him, his lips, his tongue. I wanted his cock buried inside me. The look in his eyes as he gazed down at me made my pulse race faster. It was love, even if he hadn’t said the words. I didn’t need him to. His actions screamed to me that he was in this for the long haul.

“So beautiful,” he whispered before he nuzzled my inner thigh, kissing his way to my core.

The flat of his tongue against my clit had me clutching at the bedsheets, trying to stay anchored. He swept his tongue over me, tasting me and tormenting me. I was on fire, desperate to keep from coming, wanting this to last.

When his lips closed over my clit and sucked, nothing could have stopped me as I crashed over the edge into orgasm, pulsing under him. I laced my fingers through his hair to hold him against me as he dragged every ounce of pleasure out of me. When I stopped quaking under him, he moved up and positioned himself over me.

“Do you want me to wear a condom? I haven’t been with anyone else, but I will if you want.”

It was an easy choice. Did I trust him? With my heart. “No. I believe you.”

With a groan he settled between my thighs, sliding inside me. He filled me, stretched me until the sensation was almost more than I could take. I felt whole. He moved against me slowly, each thrust building the pressure, and tension coiled through me. I clung to him, matching his pace. It didn’t take long for him to pick up speed, thrusting harder as he approached his own release. I hooked my heels over his hips, urging him on until we both fell apart together. He collapsed against me, his head on my chest as we both fought to catch our breath. The intensity of the joy was almost frightening, yet it felt more right than anything I’d ever experienced.

Eventually he rolled off me and pulled me against him. I kissed his shoulder and tried to organize my thoughts. I had things to say to him before we got lost in each other again. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too, baby. More than I can say,” he replied.

It looked like he was going to say something else, but I pressed my fingers over his lips.

“Me first,” I said. “I was wrong. I figured that out about two hours after I left you at the airport, but I didn’t know how to make it right. You deserved to chase your dream as much as I did. I couldn’t be the one to ask you to give it up.”

I shifted to look directly at him. “There’s something else. I love you. I loved you before you left, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself. It would have made it more painful to watch you walk away.”

Carter rolled me onto his chest, stroking my hair. “I told you how I felt before I left. I still love you. I will always love you. I realized that a couple of days into our first road trip. I was never going to get over you. It just took me some time to work out a solution that would make both of us happy.”