After the shower I could barely stand, but Jade’s legs were wobbly, so I picked her up and carried her toward the bedroom.

“I got groceries,” she said, and then licked my neck. “You hungry?”

“You feel like eating right now?” I asked.

“Not really.”

I looked at the bed. Fuck.

Even if I stripped off the sheets, the massacre of condiments was gross, and going next door seemed too far. Plus that would involve either public nudity or clothes, and clothes were way too much work.

“Sofa?” she suggested.

I nodded, carried her there, and laid her down gently. She rolled to the side and lifted to make room for me. Once I was lying down, she wiggled her way on top of my body, and I stroked hers lightly as we lay together, breathing hard. Although the sofa was small for two people—hell, it was small for just me—I felt like I was melting. Melting and boneless and happy.

“I love you, too,” she said against my chest.

I sucked in a breath, not sure whether she’d spoken or it had been my imagination.

“Did you hear me?” Her finger circled my nipple.

“You love me?” I slid my hand down to cup her soft ass. “You love me, too?” I looked down at her.

She nodded against my chest. “I wasn’t asleep.” She licked my nipple. “I heard what you said.”

“Is this for real, Jade?” My heart pounded even though we were reclining. “Not some kind of joke?”

She pushed up onto her elbows and looked me in the eyes. “Why would I joke about something like that? Or… did you not mean what you said?”

“No.” I cupped the back of her head and pulled her into a short deep kiss. “I meant it, every word. I love you, Jade Cuoco. Fuck, I love you so much.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” She grinned.

I pulled her down, wanting to kiss her again, wanting to kiss her forever, but she pushed back against me.

“But…”

“But what?” Fear iced the edges of my joy.

“You have to promise,” she said.

“Promise what?”

“That you were serious when you said you were done with your brothers.”

“Jade, they’re my brothers. You can’t make me choose between them and you.”

“Done with their business.” She air-quoted with one hand. “Done with any kind of criminal activity. I can’t, I won’t be with someone involved in crime. Seeing my dad in and out of jail, the toll that life took on him. I won’t do it.”

“I get it.” I made little circles on her lower back, in that delicious little spot where her spine curved into her ass, a spot I wanted to bury my face in for a few hours of licking and kissing.

“Do you get it?” she asked. “Really get it?”

“Yeah, I do. I want out. I told you. It might have only been juvie, but I will not go inside. Never again. I see what it’s doing to Da, what it did to Shane…”

She stiffened. “The condiment pornographer?”

I laughed. “Yeah. That’s Shane. No one in our family ever touched hard drugs, not to use them or sell them or any of that. Not until Shane did his time. He came out an addict.” I shook my head, sad for how my brother had changed, still guilty that his time would have been shorter if I’d turned myself in.

Keagan was right—I owed Shane. I owed all my brothers.

“Guy’s an asshole.” Jade said.

He’s not, I thought, but it was hard to defend Shane to Jade right now. “My brothers are good guys. Shane’s going through some stuff, but you’ll see. You’ll like my brothers.”

“After everything you told me—”

“That’s all in the past. Kid stuff. They’re not only family, they’re my best friends. Take it or leave it. We’re kind of a package deal.”

She made a soft sound against my chest.

Had I been disloyal to my brothers by telling Jade some of the shit they’d done? Turned her against them before she had a chance to know them for real? I’d barely scratched the surface of the things my brothers had done to me, bad and good.

“You liked Dillon when you met him, right? When he helped with the sofa?”

She made another murmuring sound.

“Cormac is Dillon’s twin. Everybody likes Mac.” He’d have Jade eating out of his hand in no time. Hmmm. Maybe I’d wait a while to introduce Jade and Cormac. “And you met Keagan. He’s the smart one.”

She dropped her hand to my cock. “I don’t want to talk about your brothers. Not right now.” Her hand slid over my junk, and it rose for more action.

“You’d rather talk about your sister?” I groaned as she squeezed my balls. “We can talk about whatever you want.”

“No talking.” She slid down my body and took the head of my dick in her mouth.

I’d thought it would be hours before I could get fully hard, but clearly Jade already knew my body better than I did. She adjusted her position as my cock raised, moving to full mast in record time as she lovingly licked, all the while looking into my eyes.

I reached down and pulled her up, taking her mouth in a long, slow kiss, and her hand slowly stroked where her mouth had been. With a few quick adjustments I was sliding inside her, her body doing most of the work, and I loved this delicious slow pace. Afraid she’d accelerate, I turned our bodies, pressing her against the back of the sofa, her leg draped over my hip.

I stroked in and out of her as slowly as I could manage, wanting to feel every inch of her, relishing the sensations as she relaxed and then squeezed in response to my intrusions. Her cheeks were so pink, her lips so red, her pupils so wide, and I held the back of her head to make sure we didn’t lose eye contact. I wanted to spend the rest of my life looking into Jade’s eyes.

I popped out of her on one pass, and when I pushed back in, her eyelids fluttered and her heel pressed against my ass. Her hand reached up to cup my head in the same way I was holding hers, and I stayed inside her, barely moving, loving how her pussy held me tight, as we held each other.

If I went slowly, maybe we could keep this up all day, all week, the inside of her body massaging my dick as I stroked leisurely inside her.