Sara
I TIPTOED INTO the living room after I lingered upstairs, taking much longer than usual to get ready for bed and face Drew. I rested against the banister and watched him fuss with the pillows and sheets my sister gave him, and as I did when we first met, ogled him from afar. His tie was undone under the collar of his shirt. My eyes drifted over his torso and the crisp, white fabric stretching across the lean muscles of his back I’d memorized with my hands and my lips. I rubbed at the ache in my chest as I shook my head. I’d always be his, but he couldn’t be mine anymore. It wasn’t fair.
“Are you going to come talk to me or keep staring at my ass?” His head swiveled to where I was frozen in place. “You have many talents, but being stealthy isn’t one of them.”
I fought the twitch at the corners of my mouth before I ambled into the living room and sat on the far end of the couch.
“Thank you for . . . everything. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here today.”
“Why didn’t you call me when it happened?” He sat on the edge of the couch and rested his elbows on his knees.
“I wanted to, believe me. But I couldn’t . . . it wouldn’t be fair.”
He took in a long breath and exhaled on a groan.
“You have a screwed-up vision of what’s fair and what’s right. You wanted me there, I wanted to be here for you, but you went alone because you thought that was the fair and right thing to do. You make no sense lately, Caldwell.”
“It doesn’t matter how I feel; you can’t throw a huge opportunity away because of me—”
“What does this say?” Drew whispered as he pressed his fingers into my chest, right over my heart. It sped up at his touch and hammered against my rib cage. I lifted my head and our eyes locked, the heat and love in his eyes pinning me to the couch cushion. “Your heart, what does it say right now?’
“I love you.” I sank my teeth into my bottom lip to hold in the tears.
The side of his mouth quirked up. “I know that, Gorgeous. What else does it say?”
“I can’t be the reason you don’t take that—”
“Stop. That’s your head running interference.” He tapped my temple and shook his head. “Not interested in that. This . . .” The pads of his fingertips delved deeper into my skin. I prickled with goose bumps at their proximity to my breast. Combined with how much I missed him and all he’d done for me today, the sight of him was enough to make heat pool in my belly and drip lower. He had to stop touching me before I lost myself and gave in.
“Well,” he rasped as he lifted an eyebrow. “Tell me what you want. Not what you think is right or what’s best for me. What. You. Want.”
“I don’t want you to go,” I blurted in one hysterical breath. “Not to Seattle or upstate. I want you here. With me. I want you to move in with us. I know it was only for a few days but when I was with you and Victoria, I was . . . happy. Purely fucking happy.” I sniffled while Drew’s expression didn’t change. “And it’s all too soon and you’re young and having a kid around all the time isn’t something you planned for right now. I want you to not end up hating me for tying you down so early. But if you want to know what I want or what my heart wants, it’s you. But I can’t have—”
“How do you know you can’t or that’s not what I want? Or that I wasn’t just as happy when you and Victoria stayed with me? You remember what you overheard me say when Victoria asked me if I’d marry you? I said ‘yes,’ and I meant it. You’re it for me, Sara. Maybe I’m twenty-five and you always dismiss whatever I’m feeling for you as temporary, but I can assure you it’s not.” He grabbed my hand and held it with both of his.
“You’re not a sacrifice or a burden. I’m sorry it came out so wrong that night.” He lifted our joined hands and pressed a kiss on the inside of my palm. “I’d never see you or Victoria like that. You’re the love of my whole damn life and I’d be miserable away from you—like I’ve been the past few days. Maybe now, I could get that through your thick skull.”
“Drew—” He pressed his thumb over my lips and shook his head.
“You didn’t get the love you deserved in this house. But from me, you have it. Always. You have it without asking because it’s yours. I want what you want. All of it. So this time we wasted being apart is all pretty ridiculous, isn’t it?”
A sob bubbled out followed by another and before I knew it I was bawling. Drew inched closer and slid me onto his lap.
“Believe it or not, I’m not a crier. Like, at all.” I laughed as the tears cascaded down my cheeks. I’d always been well-versed in channeling tears into anger or general abrasiveness. I wiped my cheeks with the back of my hand. “Before you, I never felt loved before. And every time you would say something or do something that made me feel . . . everything about you is a beautiful gift, and the thought of the day I’d have to give it all back turns me into a blubbering idiot.”
He swiped away my tears with his thumbs as he shook his head. “You never have to give me back, same as I’m sure as hell never giving you back.”
“This is crazy,” I croaked as I snaked my arms around his neck, resting my forehead against his. “You really want to move in with me? With us?”
“Ask me,” he whispered, my tears slowing from the heat flooding my chest, and other places. I cupped his cheek, feathering my hand down the cropped bristles along his jaw.
“You shaved.” My thumb glided across his chin, skating around the outline of those plump lips that tasted every bit as delicious as they looked. Jesus, Sara. Focus.
“I needed to look presentable. Plus, lately I haven’t given a shit what I looked like, so the beard became scraggly anyway.” He shifted underneath me, the steel of his erection pressing into my hip. “Want me to grow it back?”
“Yes,” I hissed, embarrassing need dripping off the word.
Drew laughed and pulled me closer. “Maybe. Now ask me, Gorgeous.” A shiver rippled down my spine as he cupped my neck.
“Do you want to move in with us?”
He tapped his chin as if he was mulling it over. “I probably need a job. It’s a good thing I have an offer in the city already.”
“You what?” The sexy moment was over as my jaw dropped. “Where? How?”
“A company about two blocks away from Blystone. Pretty much the same salary as Ontech, too.” His arm looped around my waist to pull me back. “I told you to trust me, didn’t I? I had a plan, and it always included a life with you. The only regret I'd ever have would be losing you." He backed away and lifted my chin with the tap of his knuckle. "And that is not happening, Caldwell. Ever."
I grabbed his face, peppering kisses across his cheek before he covered my mouth with his. I exhaled against his lips—relief and happiness filtering through me.
“So, yes. I would love to move in with the both of you. It’s not sudden. It’s right. That’s what we are, Sara. Nothing we do could be wrong if we’re together. Numbers don’t matter, not in time or age. What we have is timeless.”
I crushed my lips to his, fisting the edges of his tie before I yanked it off and threw it behind me. My fingers dove for the buttons of his shirt as our kiss became hungry and sloppy. All the sadness and all the longing came rushing to the surface as we grabbed at each other’s clothes.
“Upstairs,” I murmured against his lips. I’d never even had a boy over for dinner, but I was about to have sex in my old bedroom. There was something disrespectful about that, but it wasn’t enough to make me hesitate. My last memory here would be a happy one, without one bit of guilt.
I rushed up the stairs, pulling Drew behind me. The door wasn’t all the way closed before his lips were back on mine.
“I missed you so fucking much.” Drew grabbed the hem of my T-shirt and peeled it over my head, muttering a “fuck” when he found me braless underneath.
“You’re trying to kill me,” he growled against my mouth. Heat flared in his hooded eyes as he hooked his thumbs into the waistband of my pajama pants and inched them down my legs.
“My Sara,” he breathed in between long, open-mouthed kisses along the inside of my thigh. My balance wavered as he ascended higher. My fingers dug into his shoulder as I tried not to fall over.
“I told you,” he rasped as he lifted his head, offering a sexy curl of his lips as he hooked my leg over his shoulder. “I’ve got you.”
A guttural whimper escaped me when he sucked my clit into his mouth. I was drenched, swollen, and two seconds from coming apart on his tongue. Drew always liked to tease me when his head was between my legs, but this time he dove right in, kissing me long and deep while digging his fingers into my ass. He wouldn’t let me move as he devoured every inch of me.
I leaned into him, my legs shaking from the tremors pulsing down my spine and through my core. I’d never been afraid of an orgasm before, but I feared this one would tear me in half. It was the need radiating from Drew, the muffled grunts and groans he made—that alone made my head spin. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself as I tipped over the edge.
“So good,” he whispered as he painted kisses across my stomach and ran his tongue along my hip. He rose from where he knelt on the floor and weaved his fingers into my hair, fisting a large chunk before he crushed my lips with his. He took my mouth with the same hunger as he ravaged my core: deep, determined, and knee-buckling. Drew was an intense lover by nature, but I’d never seen him this crazy with want.
My hands shook as I fiddled with the buttons on his shirt, everything below my waist still aching with a dull throb. My head fell into his chest, planting a wet kiss on every newly exposed inch of lean muscle.
“Take it off,” I demanded as I dragged my lips over his collarbone. His chest rumbled with a laugh as he peeled his shirt off his shoulders.
I leaned over and nipped down his torso. Drew groaned before he grabbed my head and yanked me up to stand.
“I’m ready to burst. I need inside you before I lose my damn mind.”
He lifted me by the waist and brought me closer to the bed, his lips back on mine as he backed me against the mattress. Once the back of my knees hit the edge, I fell back and flipped us over, so I was on top. His fingers tangled in my hair, both of us battling to get as close as possible. I unbuckled his belt and pants and pushed them down his thighs until his rock-hard erection bobbed free. I wasted no time straddling his waist and scooting myself down until I settled over what we both wanted.
Drew let out a hiss as I sank down on him, willing myself to go slow and take in every glorious inch. We had all night to feast on each other, but right now I needed this, we needed this.
“I love you.” Drew’s gravelly voice stilted as he lifted his hips to get deeper inside. “Don’t forget that again.”
“I love you, too,” I breathed, my own voice hoarse and straining. Drew sat up, grabbing my hips and sucking my nipple into his mouth. The new position rubbed against my still sensitive clit and the wet warmth of his mouth as his teeth bit down on the rigid peak tripped an even stronger orgasm than the first. My thighs quivered as I buried my head into his neck. A tortured whimper escaped me as I tried like hell not to scream. Drew stiffened as he came hard inside me. The thrusting and panting slowed as we fell into each other, my hair sticking to my sweaty forehead as the rest of my body went limp.
“I mean it,” Drew whispered as he brushed the sticky strands away from my face. “I love you, and you’re all I want. The rest is only details.” He gave me a soft kiss and lay back on the bed, cuddling me into his side.
“You’re the only boy I ever brought here, you know?” My hands drifted up and down his chest.
“Is that so?” He rested his chin on the top of my head.
I nodded without lifting my head. “This is the only time I’ve ever been in this room and not felt lonely. Or worthless.”
“You shouldn’t. You aren’t alone anymore. And you were never worthless.” He tapped my chin with his knuckle for me to look up. “You’re worth everything to me.”
I smiled before dropping my head back on his chest. I felt grateful, loved, and was ready to leave without looking back.
That was another first in this room.