“Remember when I asked if you believed in love?”

Oh, boy. I tapped my water glass and winked at Charlie. “Changed my mind. I’m going to need wine for this conversation.”

“My pleasure.” Charlie laughed and went to grab the bottle and two glasses.

I followed him to the kitchen. Many of my most important conversations had happened in the kitchen. There was something about it that just seemed to lead to good conversations. “Yeah, I remember. What about it?”

“Well,” Charlie hummed, carefully rotating his hand to drive the corkscrew into the cork. “You seemed kind of skeptical of it. I don’t know if that’s the right word. But I wondered how that’s changed, if we’re… you know, in love.”

I should have expected this. He was whip-smart and had a great memory for everything involving me. I wasn’t used to people remembering my feelings—just my appearance, or what I’d done for them sexually. It took me off-guard for a few moments. “Um… right. I did say things about that, probably.”

“You were concerned about not being Pretty Woman-ed or something,” Charlie reminded me as he handed over a wine glass.

I clinked it against his and sipped before smiling. We shared a taste in wine—simple and sweet, not fancy and dry and awful-tasting stuff you had to pretend to smell for notes of candy apples or some crap like that. “Yeah, that’s always been a fear of mine.” We headed back to the couch and snuggled in together as I cradled my glass against my chest.

“And is it still?”

“Yeah, a bit,” I admitted. Everything had gone fine with his friends and family—a bit too fine. “Especially if you believe in soulmates like you said earlier.”

Charlie looked as confused as I’d felt when I realized that having that idea challenged actually upset him. “Why does that worry you?”

“Because…” I breathed out a quick laugh, forcing myself not to joke and cover it up. If I wanted emotional vulnerability from him, I had to give it, too. “Because one guy has control over me somehow. I’ve fought since I was sixteen—longer, really—to be out of anyone’s control.”

“Love is vulnerable. That’s the beautiful part of it. You both have to bare your hearts to bear each other’s burdens.”

I swallowed hard around the lump that had risen in my throat. A little wine helped wash it down for now. “Yeah,” I managed hoarsely. “The last few weeks talking with you, so much stuff has unwound in my head. I realized you’re not trying to change me, you’re trying to help me be what I want to be.”

“Exactly.” Charlie smiled. “Whatever crazy thing you’re up to, I want to know about it and help and… you know, support, if you’ll let me.”

“I didn’t know how to take that,” I admitted. “I mean, I feel like I’ve just begun my real life. Like all those years back in Tennessee were just training. And meeting you almost right away… I mean, it’s actually a good thing. You’re patient and you’re experienced. And I like that you have a life history you haven’t run across half the States to escape.”

Charlie cracked a smile. “It’s been close sometimes. But I just figured you’re not used to committing to one guy. Especially after your job…”

“Whoa.” I held up a hand. I’d learned from Adam—I wasn’t going to let comments that made me uncomfortable slide. “There’s a difference between work and pleasure. Yeah, I quit my job. But that has nothing to do with commitment. I’ve just never had the chance.”

“Right.” Charlie looked sheepish. “But work still got in the way of dating, didn’t it? Meaning you didn’t have the chance?”

When I picked apart my defensiveness, the statement sounded true, so I slowly nodded. “Somewhat. Mostly the rest of my life did. Like, I didn’t have time to date back on the ranch in Tennessee when they were teaching me odd jobs and accounting and hospitality. Or here, when I was settling in. Or before that, when I didn’t have a fixed address.”

Charlie nodded again, his arm sliding around my shoulders protectively. “I hate the thought of you going through all that. I just wish I could have… helped you earlier.”

“Pretty Woman-ed me?” I teased, but I was smiling. It was kind of nice to be rescued, in its own way. Only because I knew he respected me, and he wouldn’t dream of telling me what to do with my life.

“If you like,” he said with a laugh. “Would you like?”

I sipped more wine and tried to give honest thought to the question. “I’d hate to feel like I’m not paying my own way.”

“But if you’re in school… hell, that’s hard enough. You don’t need the stress of money, too.” There was something nervous in his voice, and I sat up a little straighter to listen. “What I’m saying is… if you want to take therapy courses, or political science… go for it. I’d like to help.”

I shook my head. “What I need to do is choose.”

Charlie gestured with his glass carefully at me. “There’s always another solution. What if you moved in with me, so you only had to worry about tuition?”

I stared at him for a few seconds, trying not to burst out in an embarrassing series of excited noises.

Sure, we’d only known each other for a month, but it already felt like years. I missed him when I woke up without him, and I waited eagerly for his texts after he got home from work.

“You’d do that for me?”

He hummed. “It’s a practical solution. It would solve several of our problems at once.”

I tried to restrain my giggles but utterly failed. Of course my boyfriend was thinking of the practicality of combining households rather than the romance of it all—sharing a roof, and a bed, and all those little daily things we could do together. That was fine, though. I knew he secretly loved it, too.

I wanted to say yes, but I needed time to make sure he really meant it. After all, I hadn’t lived with many people who’d treated me well. It would be a whole new experience.

“What?” Charlie looked miffed for a moment. “What did I say?”

“I love you,” I told him. “And I love your problem-solving, and that you’re… you’re so willing to help me. I’ll think about it.”

Charlie rubbed my shoulder and kissed me before he held his wine glass for a toast. “Whatever you decide, here’s to us. We’ll find a way to make it work, Kev.”

With this man by my side, no dream felt too big. I loved Charlie’s vision. All of a sudden, I could see the kind of work he must do. Nothing was impossible to him—it just needed to be carefully planned and meticulously done.

“Now’s the time to be bold,” I murmured, setting aside my glass and standing up. I offered him my hand.

Charlie looked between his glass and my hand for a moment, set the glass aside, and took it. “Hm?”

“I want to follow my heart, just like you said,” I told him. “And my heart’s wanted you all fucking night. Don’t make me wait any longer.”

Charlie didn’t hesitate to lead me by the hand upstairs as soon as I told him what was on my mind. He swept me off my feet when we got to the top landing, as much as I squirmed and giggled and protested that I could walk perfectly fine.

“You could,” Charlie agreed, kicking the door closed behind him. “But this way I get to show off all those muscles you’ve so carefully memorized.”

I laughed again as he dumped me on the bed, and I grabbed him by the belt loops to haul him on top of me.

“Whoa!” Charlie hadn’t been expecting that, and he crashed on top of me in a flailing tangle of limbs and half-hysterical laughter.

I hooked my leg around the back of his and wrapped my arms around him, then rolled us over in one quick move before he could see that coming, either. “Surprise,” I grinned down at him. “My turn.”

Charlie’s lips parted as he gazed at me. “Yes. To whatever that is.”

“Well,” I said with a grin, “I was gonna ask how you felt about bottoming.”

“Hell yeah.” Charlie was already plucking at my t-shirt, trying to get it off. “I’d let my gorgeous boyfriend fuck me into the mattress if he wants to. And then I’d return the favor, all damn night.”

I pressed my hand against my chest and mock-gasped. “Taking turns on the top? That’s real love.”

“If you don’t hurry up, I’m gonna finish on the spot from all this dirty talk,” he warned me with a wink. “And then it’ll be my turn next.”

“Oh, no, mister!” I exclaimed. “Keep your shot in the barrel until I tell you otherwise. I’m not missing my chance.”

We kept joking around as we stripped and found the lube, but before I slicked my fingers with it, I took one more chance to gaze at him. “You’re sure?”

“Sure as I’ve ever been,” Charlie said with a smile. “I never say yes unless I really mean it.”

I kissed him as I pushed a finger inside, taking it as slowly and gently as I would for a guy trying it for the first time. God knew how long it had been since anyone had done this. Judging from his quick breathing, just as long as I’d suspected.

Still, within a few minutes, he was starting to relax and push into me for more, so I followed his cues and added another finger. By the time I had both fingers pumping into him in a slow, easy rhythm, his eyes were open again, and he was gazing at me with such affection that it almost hurt to see.

I managed to make eye contact, though, and then I found I couldn’t look away.

“I love seeing you in charge,” Charlie whispered. “And I love making you feel good, too. And I love just cuddling you. How damn lucky am I?”

“You’re about to get real lucky,” I teased, bringing my other hand down to cup myself and stroke gently.

Charlie moaned and spread his legs. “Hurry up, then. I can’t wait much longer.”

I fumbled with the pump to add more lube to my hand, and then stroked myself a few times. Fuck, I was so turned on just from hearing him moan and feeling him squeeze tight around me. I could barely believe I was going to get to feel this in just a few moments.

Sex could be wonderful with someone you didn’t know—there was a kind of intimate understanding that formed from learning each other’s bodies before your pasts. But this was something new to me, and I couldn’t get enough of it. Even though I didn’t know all of Charlie’s past, I knew him—what kind of guy he was, and how much I trusted him.

I wanted this to be perfect for him, and I took it as slow as I could stand. By the time I pressed myself against him, he was bucking into me needily, his fingers digging into my thighs. “Now,” Charlie begged. “Please, Kev.”

How the hell could I resist that? I leaned down to kiss him as I eased myself inside, slowly filling him with me. Every time he gasped, I stopped for a second or two and rubbed his chest or his hip, murmuring to him how well he was doing—how beautiful he was—how much I loved him.

By the time I was fully inside, Charlie was blushing but smiling. “It feels good,” he assured me. “Really good.”

“You feel amazing, baby,” I praised him. I was smiling just as much as him. My cheeks hurt from it. “I’m… fuck, I don’t even know what to say.”

“Don’t say,” he whispered, pulling me down for a long kiss.

I lost myself in that kiss—the warmth of it, and the tenderness, and how unspeakably intimate it was to kiss him while buried to the root inside him. I felt his every shudder and clench around me, and how fucking easy it was to turn him on when I sucked his lip or flicked my tongue along the tip of his.

“Tell me how it is,” I whispered when I finally caught my breath and started to move my hips. Thrust after thrust, the motion grew more comfortable for us both. Before long, I caught his hand creeping down to stroke himself.

I didn’t mind the view, so I let him get away with it for now. As much as I wanted to tease him to the very edge and push his limits, I could save that for another night. Tonight, he deserved to feel good over and over.

“I hope you weren’t planning on a good night’s sleep.” I kissed his jaw and then his neck, running my fingers up his ribs toward his chest. I played with his nipples idly as he tried to form a response, and all either of us got from him were breathless moans.

“Not fair,” he finally gasped. “Trying to… ah, distract me like that.”

“Is it working?” I flicked my nail gently along the sensitive nub.

His body arched and he squeezed tight around me. Fuck, that felt good when he clenched around my shaft, fully enveloped inside him, stopping me from moving for a few seconds.

I pressed him down to the bed again, hands on his chest and shoulder, and started to move a little harder and faster. My body was demanding it by now, and he was begging for it with every moan and gasp he gave me.

I earned a light scratch of nails down my back and moaned to encourage him to do it again. To my pleasure, he did—this time, harder. The stings of pain just stirred the embers within me, and I was kissing him hard and fast, open-mouthed now. I kissed him with every dirty intention in my mind.

My thighs ached and my heart was hammering a mile a minute, but I couldn’t get enough of him. As our bodies moved together, I felt my orgasm thundering toward me like a charging bull. All I could do was grab it by the horns and cry out Charlie’s name, pressing my face into his neck as I came. My whole body shivered, and nothing outside us mattered even for a second.

All I wanted was Charlie right here—with me, under me, around me—forever.

I’d never meant to fall for him, but here I was, whispering that I loved him while he squirmed under me and stroked himself hard and fast. Before I could even pull out and prop myself up on my elbows again, he clenched around me and groaned. “Kev!”

“Yes, baby,” I moaned. “Come on.”

By now, Charlie couldn’t be stopped. He rolled his head back and I kissed his bared throat as he groaned and writhed under me. Our bodies were pressed together, so his sticky mess covered us both in short order.

Did I care about that? Not a bit.

“I love you,” he whispered as he came down from his high and wrapped his arms around my back. “I don’t care if I’m not supposed to. I don’t give a single fuck about anyone who tells me otherwise. If I’ve got nothing else going for me, I know my heart, and I know what love feels like.”

I tried not to choke up as I rolled onto my side and rubbed his chest gently. “I know, baby. I have no idea what it’s supposed to feel like, but I know what it is, too.”

Charlie pressed me tightly against him, nearly crushing my ribcage in the force of his hug. “Stay right here with me.”

“I am, Charlie.” I kissed his shoulder gently once he let me breathe, rubbing his chest. “I’m here.”

He shook his head slightly. “No. I mean, stay.”

I caught my breath and pulled back enough to see his face. “You’re still serious about that?”

“Very.” Charlie might think he was stoic, but I could read his every emotion: apprehensive, hopeful, and above all, totally in love. “I know I said it’d make our lives easier, but I’d also like… you around. For your own sake.”

I blushed as I noticed the way he watched me, almost forgetting the question. “Um. Huh? Yeah. I mean, yes. Moving in. I… I wouldn’t say no.”

“It would solve a lot of problems, and…” he trailed off.

I held my breath, just waiting to see if there was more.

Charlie cleared his throat and brushed imaginary dust from my arm. “It would just be… nice.”

A grin spread across my face, and I laughed. “Yeah, you goof,” I teased. “Nice.”

“Leave me alone,” Charlie protested with a laugh. “Take it as a credit to your lovemaking abilities.”

“I think it’d be nice to live with you, too.” I smirked as he groaned and pulled a pillow over his face. I had no intention of letting that one go. “And maybe romantic, and fulfilling, and scary, but… nice, too.”

“You’re such a jerk. Maybe Adam’s the nice one, really,” Charlie groaned.

I gasped. “You take that back!” Tickling his ribs didn’t seem very effective, but then I found a spot under his arms that made him gasp and pull the pillow off his face to smack me with it.

“I won’t take anything back.” Charlie winked. “I only say what I mean.”

“Well, if I’m such a jerk,” I pointed out with a grin, threatening to tickle him once more, “I notice you’re not retracting the offer.”

“Like I said,” Charlie murmured, his grin fading to a soft smile, “I only say what I mean.”

I let the pillow drop beside us and lay down again, my head on his chest. “I know. And I mean it when I say yes.”

“Yes to… moving in?”

I nodded and peeked up at him. “As soon as I find a roommate for Adam. I won’t leave him high and dry.”

Charlie kissed the top of my head. “I never expected that of you. We can wait as long as you need to get your affairs in order.”

I smiled as I tucked my face into the crook of his arm. “Good. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

We lay still as I contemplated a nap, and then wondered what he was thinking. A moment later, I giggled, unable to help myself.

“Hm?”

“You’re nice.”

Charlie’s groan was nearly drowned out by my laughter, and then my squeal when he grabbed the pillow for another round of pillow wars.

A new and delicate strand was forming between us, like the glue I used to repair chipped pieces to their former glory. It still needed time to strengthen into a lifetime bond, but what we’d found between us was more precious than gold.

I’d never thought I’d find it, or even that I’d deserve it if I could, but now that I had, and I finally felt like I did? It was pretty damn nice.