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I finish his sentence. “Ben might be taking some trips to the library with Laila?”
His lips quirk up. “Maybe.” Cash takes my waist and pulls me to him, lowering his head for a soft kiss. “It’s funny, I’ve had friends who got into relationships, and then it seemed like they wanted everyone around them to fall in love, too. I always wondered why.”
“You’re right.” Thinking back, each time one of my friends coupled up, they were so certain that I should, too. And I did wonder why they cared so much about it.
Cash side-eyes the pot of simmering water and stirs it briskly. Then he cups my nape, gazing into my eyes with so much love I can hardly breathe. “I think I get it now,” he says. “Now that I’m in love. Now that I have you.”
His thumb strokes my cheek as he continues, his voice gently rough. “Now that I know how incredible it can be, finding that one person, how happy it makes me, I want that for everyone I care about. I want them to feel the same joy that you bring to me.”
My heart flips over. “You make me happier than I ever dreamt I could be.”
And then my phone timer goes off again. I make a face at it, grumbling, “I like Thanksgiving, but it keeps ruining all the romance.”
Cash laughs. “All this cooking definitely doesn’t leave much room for sexier things, does it? But later, after everyone is gone, I was thinking maybe we could sit by the fire, recreate one of those scenes you like so much…”
“With eggnog?”
He makes a little face of distaste, then smiles at me. “Eggnog for you, at least.”
“And will it be…” I brush my hand down his taut stomach, lingering for a moment below his waist. “R-rated?”
“Oh, Ari,” he growls, his eyes darkening with desire. “It willdefinitelybe R-rated tonight.”
Chapter 18
CASH
I start the morning by kissing Ari all over, gently rousing her from sleep.
First, I kiss her hand, lifting it from my chest, pressing soft kisses along her delicate fingers and her soft palm.
Then her arm, brushing my lips across her pale skin, lingering at each scattered freckle.
When she curls into me, her head resting on my arm, I kiss the top of her head, inhaling the sweet vanilla scent of her shampoo.
At this point, she’s waking up, pale green eyes blinking drowsily at me. I kiss her nose, and her lips curve up, so I capture those next. Still just light touches, this is a slow seduction, just as I imagined while I lay in bed early this morning, watching her sleep.
Everything about her is so soft, so perfect—her glossy hair spread across the pillow, her silken skin, her small hand on my chest, fragile but so strong—I almost burst from the rightnessof it.
I want to worship her body this morning, give her some small measure of what she’s given me.
Not justtwoincredible holidays, but everything else along with it. All her love and generosity and kindness, and the way she worked so hard to make my Thanksgiving special. But what Ari doesn’t realize is, everything with her is special. As long as she’s with me, I’m complete.
Now that Ari’s awake, I move on to more parts of her body to kiss. As she watches me, I cover her other arm and hand, her neck, and all along her collarbone. When I pull down the blanket and start kissing my way down her chest, she giggles and asks, “What are you doing?”
“Kissing you everywhere,” I tell her.
I peel away Ari’s little sleep-shorts and the oversized Cornell T-shirt she stole from me.
And then I take my time.
I take my time with her breasts, plump and pink-tipped, just the right size for my hands.
Her stomach, so sensitive—she gasps as I trace the tiny constellation of freckles above her belly button with my tongue.
I turn my attention to her legs, slender and pale, kissing every inch of them.
And then I move to the apex of her thighs, lifting her legs and draping them over my shoulders. I lap at her opening folds, tasting the dampness that’s there just for me. When I touch that tiny bundle of nerves with my tongue, her hips jerk, and Ari moans, “Cash.”
