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Austin sighed, internally wrestling with the truth—and likelihood of her words.Nothing’s for sure yet.“First of all, don’t ever listen to my sister.” He grinned, squeezing her fingers again. “And second, I decide where I live and what job I work, okay?”
She nodded but pulled back, picking up her champagne and swirling the liquid around.
“You never answered my question,” he whispered, eyeing her. “What doyouwant, Casey McDaniels?”
She bit down on her bottom lip and sucked in a deep breath.
“Campaigns.” The word fell from her lips in a rush. “I want to be a campaign manager for local politics or something.”
The first bit of confidence I’ve ever heard you speak.
“No one in my entire life has ever asked me what I wanted to do... or who I wanted to be,” she whispered. Her eyes glistened with tears as a sad smile grew on her face.
Austin inhaled, soaking in the beauty beaming from her lips and the confidence radiating from her heart. He returned her grin. “Then it’s about damn time someone did.”
The breath caught in her throat as she rose from her seat and circled the counter. Her hand grasped his tie, coaxing him backward into his bedroom. She grinned as her butt sank to the bed, wrinkling the perfectly smoothed bedspread. With a giggle, she yanked her shirt from her chest and dropped it to the floor.
Food first, sex second. You don’t break promises, do you, Casey girl?
Anticipation returned, flooding his system and fueling arousal to hammer through his bloodstream, coursing through his veins as he tugged his shirt from his body. Her fingernails tickled his skin as he nudged her backward onto his pillow, coaxing her legs to fall open. Easing his body onto hers, he crawled on top of her and sighed, bathing in the moment and readying his heart to love.
Austin closed his eyes as his lips pressed into the side of Casey’s neck. His heartbeat increased, banging wildly in his chest with ferocity, pumping rhythmically. Each heartstring—each heartbeat intertwined with Casey’s in perfect unison as she squirmed beneath him.
Pulling his lips from her skin, he dropped his palm to her heart and gazed into her eyes. Rampant thoughts clouded his brain.This feels different.Warmth washed over him, blanketing his body in the growing connection they shared.You feel different, Case.She smiled and draped her hand on top of his. Her fingers squeezed as his name fell from her lips. “Austin,” she murmured, letting her lids flutter and close.
Austin swallowed, his heart skipping a beat as his brain shouted the truth. The moment for the words had arrived, the words that had undeniably settled in his soul since the moment she fell into him on the staircase—ready to be spoken out loud and deposited into the heart of the woman beneath him.
“I love you, Casey,” he whispered. His breath caught in his throat as he searched her eyes, searched her soul, longing for her to return the words living in his heart.
“I love you too, Austin.” Her whisper fueled him, burning his skin with desire as he tugged at their remaining clothing, each second one too many before he could slide inside her and solidify their connection.
She moaned when he entered her, each breath ragged in his ear, each exhale a groan of ecstasy and plea for more. The blood pounded in his ears as every nerve cell in his body activated. His name dripped from her lips with repetition, inciting a deepening carnal pressure to build with intensity.
Her fingernails dug into his back, each prick a point of pleasure. Casey tightened her legs around his waist, arching her back to meet his speeding rhythm. His vision clouded as she shuddered beneath him, a sigh of climax in his ear as he followed her lead, releasing his relief inside her.
His body calmed, resting on top of hers as they fought to catch their breath, basking in the afterglow of love. Austin pressed his lips to her neck, trailing kisses along her soft skin and branding the wordsI love youinto her soul.
Casey’s eyes glistened as he rolled off of her and pulled her to his body, snuggling into her essence. Her hand rested on his stomach as she dropped her head onto his chest.
As he breathed deeply, a field of lilacs bloomed beneath his nose. Austin inhaled, committing the scent to long-term memory, committing the moment to his heart.
Because it’s the first time in my life that I understand what true love is.
He sighed as her body relaxed, drifting off to sleep in his arms. His eyes closed, giving in to the exhaustion, giving in to the moment before pain pierced his heart.
But why did it have to happen in Mavis’s old bed?
