Lola lay boneless on my chest, her panting breaths matching mine as I trailed my fingers up and down the length of her back. Jesus, I could get used to this, coming home and being met with my girl ready to fuck, pouncing on me as soon as I walked through the door. Except for one problem: we weren’t at home—or where I’d started to think of as home, anyway.
She’d been staying with me since the night I’d found her on the mainland, and I’d enjoyed every single second of it. I loved seeing her face when I walked through the door after a long shift. Loved that she’d always greet me with a bright smile, that dimple popping out. Loved that she’d sometimes greet me with that smile and one of her delicious as hell meals—like she wanted to take care of me. Loved holding her as we fell asleep. Loved waking to her head nestled on my chest, her hand resting on my stomach, legs entangled with mine. Like she couldn’t quite get close enough—a sentiment I understood.
But she hadn’t greeted me at my place.
Walking into the four-plex after my shift and seeing her door wide open had almost sent me into cardiac arrest, my mind going immediately back to that evening in the alley, pulling that asshole off her. The bone-deep fear for her safety had nearly choked me. And then she’d been standing there, happy and glowing, and that panic had eased somewhat. Anything that could make my girl smile like that couldn’t be all bad.
The unease was back, though. Did she come down here every day while I was at work? The thought of her here without me when I hadn’t yet been able to replace her locks killed me. Between work and spending ninety percent of the remaining time inside Lola, I hadn’t made it a priority. And now here she was, in her poorly secured apartment, all because I hadn’t gotten my shit together to fix it for her. Having her down here—especially when I wasn’t with her to do a sweep of the place first—made me twitchy as fuck given her history.
Still, she was safe now. In my arms.
I pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that all about?”
Her cheek lifted against my chest, her smile so bright I could actually feel it. “I got good news today. I figured I could share my joy.”
I laughed, reaching down to get a handful of her bare ass and squeezing. “You definitely shared it. But as distracting as your body is, don’t think I’ve forgotten about the fact that you were down here with the door wide open.”
She lifted her head, brought her hands to my chest, and settled her chin on top of them. Her smile dimming the tiniest bit.
Reaching out, I brushed a strand of hair back from her face. “You wanna tell me what the good news is?”
With a nod, she said, “My ex-boss sent me a graduation present. It’s enough to pay my rent and tuition while I find a new job.”
I frowned, the thought of her worrying about something as trivial as money squeezing my chest. Didn’t she know by now that I’d do whatever I needed to—work overtime or get another job—to make sure she was happy? “Have you been worried about money?”
“Of course. Tuition is expensive, and rent needs to be paid every month. I don’t want to be homeless.”
“Beautiful, you know I’d never let you be homeless.” Honestly, it was dumb as hell that she even had this place. She spent ninety-nine percent of her time in my apartment. And that was one percent less than it’d be if I had my way. The idea of being at work, knowing she was safe at home…our home? Knowing she’d actually chosen to make a home with me? I’d be the happiest asshole in the world. “You know there’s a really easy solution to that, right?”
“Oh yeah? And what’s that?”
“You’re on a month-to-month lease, aren’t you?”
“Yeah. I didn’t want to deal with the whole background check thing just in case.”
“Well, it’s almost the end of the month. So maybe you terminate your lease.” I smiled at the confusion showing on her face, how her brow drew tight, the corners of her mouth curving down. I reached up and smoothed the lines on her forehead. “Maybe you just move in with me instead.”
She froze for a moment then her eyes went wide, and she pressed her lips together, like she was attempting to contain her smile. “Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
Grabbing her ass with both hands, I hauled her up my body so I could kiss her. Here I thought I’d been completely transparent in my feelings for her, and she was worried it was too soon for me? Against her lips, I said, “If I had my way, you’d already be there.”
She finally let that smile break free, her eyes sparkling with happiness. As quickly as it appeared, though, it fell from her face, seriousness taking over. “I’d want to pay my way. I won’t be your charity case.”
I had to work hard not to roll my eyes—I knew that wouldn’t go over well. “You’re not a burden, Lo. Could never be, even if you couldn’t pay your way. I get why you want to—respect the hell out of you for it.”
“Connor, I—”
I stopped her with a finger pressed to her lips. “But even if you can’t, that doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t.”
“It should.”
She still didn’t get it. She was so independent. So fucking strong. Had worked hard to provide for herself for so long, and I loved that about her. Loved her determination and tenacity. Loved that she didn’t need me to take care of her, but she let me. Allowed me that honor. It only made her stronger in my eyes. Only made me love her more.
And there was no getting around that…no avoiding it any longer. Sometime in the two years of our friendship, I’d fallen and I’d fallen hard. Now that she was mine? Forget it.
“It doesn’t matter. Not with us. Not with you. There’s not going to be some kind of tally between us. That’s not how this is gonna work. I know you’d do the exact same thing for me, because that’s how we are. I love you, and I’ll always take care of what’s mine, all right?”
She froze, her entire body stiffening. Shit, was it too soon? We’d only officially been together for like a week, but that didn’t take into account the hundreds of days we’d shared prior to that. Didn’t take into account hours upon hours we’d spent in each other’s company, slowly falling in love during movies and shared pizza, tucked away in one of our apartments.
Before I could worry too much, she bit her bottom lip as a smile curved her mouth until she couldn’t contain it. Until her dimple winked at me. When Lo was happy, her entire face lit up. In the time we’d known each other, I’d made it my mission to make her as happy as I could, whenever I could. And right then? She was beaming.
“All right,” she said.
Returning her smile, I tugged her closer, nipping at her bottom lip. “All right? As in, yes, you’ll move in?”
She laughed against my lips. “Yes, I’ll move in with you.”
With a groan, I took her mouth in a kiss, sliding my tongue against hers. Needing her closer than she was. She moaned into my mouth, grinding down on my already hard cock. I wanted nothing more than to slip inside her again, watch her as she rode me until she came all over me. Later. I’d just had her, so I could wait a couple hours to fuck her again. What I wanted right then was to take her out. Celebrate the step we were going to take.
I slowed my kisses, stilling her rocking hips with firm hands.
“Why are you stopping?” She pressed her lips out in a pout.
My laugh turned into a groan when she ground her pussy against me. “Believe me, I don’t want to. But I think this calls for a celebration. How about we go out to El Placer? Margaritas and tortas and showing off my girl.”
The smile dropped from her face as quickly as a light shutting off. “I don’t know. What if…” She paused, looking down at her fingers as they traced circles on my chest before meeting my eyes. “I don’t want to run into anyone.”
I didn’t know if her fear came from being recognized, or from being manhandled by a previous client. Didn’t matter. I’d make sure she was safe. “Lo…I’m not tossing you out to the wolves. I’d be with you, and you know I’d never let anything happen. You can’t hide away for the rest of your life.”
She blew out a breath and pushed back, resting her elbows on my chest. “I know, I’m just not ready yet. I don’t want to leave our happy little bubble. And people come from the mainland for El Placer. There’s more of a chance at someplace so touristy.”
For a moment, I studied her, taking in the set of her shoulders, how the sparkle in her eyes had dimmed, the smile falling from her face. Hating that I’d taken away a bit of her happiness, but also knowing she couldn’t spend the rest of her life tucked away in the apartment. Even if it was one we shared.
Relenting—for now—I said, “All right. Tonight, we’ll get takeout instead. Watch Weekend at Bernie’s. How’s that sound?”
She smiled and pressed her lips to mine. “My favorite. You know my weaknesses.”
I slipped my hand over her ass, trailing down between her legs until the wetness of her pussy met my fingers.
Groaning, she arched against me, lifting her ass and presenting herself to me. “See?”
“To be fair, I’ve always known tacos and comedies were your weaknesses. Figuring out having my tongue all over your pussy was another one is a fairly new development.”
Her laughter turned into a moan when I slipped a finger inside her, then added another. She rocked against me, thrusting back while I fucked her with my fingers, rubbing her clit against the head of my cock. Mouth open, eyes closed, cheeks flushed, she was halfway to her next orgasm already.
I brushed my lips along her jaw, sucking at the place just below her ear that always made her go crazy. “And next week,” I whispered against her skin, “we can go to The Beerhive and test out the waters. All friendly faces there, promise.”
She pulled back, her eyes snapping open, and looked down at me. Even as she continued to rock against my hand, she pouted. “It’s not fair to ask me that now.”
I grinned, pushing my fingers deep. “I know.”
She groaned, her eyes fluttering closed. “Fine, whatever. Now will you make me come?”
“Greedy girl, aren’t you? You just came all over my cock, and now you wanna come all over my fingers?” But still, I gave her what she wanted, using one firm hand on her hip to guide her movements as she rocked over me, the other pumping my fingers inside her.
She worked herself faster over me, pressing down against the head of my cock as she stilled over me, her whole body going taut, mouth open, head thrown back. “Connor…”
Jesus, hearing my girl say my name while she shuddered on top of me, her pussy squeezing my fingers as she came? Didn’t know if there was a better feeling in the world.
“That’s it, beautiful. Love making you come.”
I kissed her temple, using soft touches to bring her down until she was once again boneless on my chest, her contented sigh filling the otherwise quiet space.
Recalling her doubt over going to the bar, I tightened my arms around her, wanting to offer her reassurance. “You know that even if there weren’t friendly faces at the bar, I have your back, right?”
“I know.” She tilted her head to look up at me, smiling. “And I love you for it.”
I’d been wrong. Hearing her tell me she loved me while lying naked in my arms was the best feeling in the world. I leaned forward and nipped her lips, unable to contain my smile. “If we don’t get upstairs right now to get you food, I’m going to fuck you again.”
“I’m not sure I see the problem here,” she said, just as her stomach rumbled with an ungodly sound.
“Your monster of a stomach is the problem.”
She laughed, swatting at my chest as she pushed up and off me, gathering our clothes so we could get dressed. The only thing that placated me as I watched her cover up her gorgeous body was knowing she’d be naked again as she fell asleep next to me tonight…and every night for the foreseeable future.
Once she’d gathered up a few things, including the envelope with her graduation present in it, we headed out. As I shut the door behind us, it only reminded me of exactly what I’d come upon earlier. I tugged at her hand as she walked up the steps in front of me, heading toward my—our—apartment. “Lo…for my sanity, I really need to know why you were in your apartment with your door open.”
She didn’t stop, didn’t even glance back at me. “I was getting my mail.”
“But the door, beautiful. Jesus, you’re driving me crazy. You can’t just leave the door open! Anyone can walk in. Please don’t tell me you do this every day.”
“It’s the first time I’ve come down here alone since I basically moved in to your place, so, no. Not every day.” Her laughter rang in the hallway. “You are such a grumpy, overprotective bear sometimes.”
I blew out a relieved breath. “Yeah, well, I have this gorgeous girl I’d like to keep around for a very long time. I get to be an overprotective bear as long as it keeps her safe.”
When she got to the top of the stairs, she turned and stopped me with a hand to my chest, pausing me two steps below her. “I love you for being so caring, even if it can be ridiculous.”
Slipping an arm around her, I hauled her up against me and continued up the stairs. “You know how crazy it makes me to hear you say you love me?” I kissed her jaw, nibbled along the length of her neck. Bringing my lips to her ear, I brushed them along the shell. “Think I can make you come again in the time it takes for our food to get here?”
She laughed as she wrapped her legs around my hips. “I’m up for the challenge if you are.”
With a grin, I carried her into the apartment, shutting and locking the door behind us. Prepared to show her just how up for the challenge I was.