My apartment was quiet when I walked in the door. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected. It was past Miles’s curfew, after all. I guess deep down, I wasn’t sure that Rowan could actually handle it all, but everything was spotless and Miles was sleeping soundly in his bed. I walked quietly to the bathroom and looked in there. I could smell the bubble bath I limited to Saturdays only since Miles had a hard time getting out of the tub when I let him use it. I smiled, imagining the way he’d probably given Rowan the runaround and convinced him to let him do the bubbles. When I walked into my room, the television and the lights were off, but he’d left the bathroom light on, and I could make out his sleeping form. I showered quickly and dressed in a long T-shirt and boy shorts before joining him in bed. He stirred when I kissed him.

“Hm.” He wrapped an arm around me, pulling me flush against him. “Missed you.”

The words curled inside me. Was this how it would always be between us? “Missed you too. Thanks for breakfast and for taking care of Miles.”

His eyes opened slowly. “Don’t thank me for any of that.”

“Not a lot of people would have done either of those things.”

“I’m not a lot of people. Miles is my son and you, Tessa Monte, are my world. I’d do anything for either of you.”

His words spread warmth inside me. I snuggled into him. “Did he con you into the bubble bath?”

“Not much of a con when all he does is mention mommy. ‘Mommy lets me. Mommy does this. Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.’ I wasn’t sure if I wanted to slap you or make love to you when you got here.”

I smiled against the crook of his neck. “What’s the status on that?”

“I’m not sure yet.” He yawned. “How’s Freddie?”

“Alive.” My voice shook as I said the words. “The doctors say he’ll be fine and able to walk. I wasn’t able to see him though. It’ll have to be tomorrow. I was too tired to wait.”

“I bet.” He kissed my shoulder, my neck. My pulse quickened. “Go to sleep.”

But I didn’t want to go to sleep. My emotions were running rampant and I wasn’t sure if I could attempt turning them off. I wanted to talk about things, but more than anything, I wanted to feel him inside me again. I wanted him to give me one of those searing kisses that made me forget what day of the week it was. I said this aloud and he responded with a little growling sound that seemed to come from the back of his throat.

“You need rest, baby.”

“I need you more.”

He scooted close and pressed his lips against mine, his tongue coaxing my mouth open. He kissed me with the fervor of a starving man, as if he hadn’t taken his fill the other night, and I matched it because it was how he made me feel—utterly needy for him. He positioned us so that I was on top of him, straddling the length of him. I took advantage, even with both of us still dressed, grinding down on him and reveling in the feeling of him pressing against me, of my lips on his.

“Rowan,” I moaned to let him know I needed more. He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and sat up as I moved, his hips lifting to the rhythm of mine, meeting me where I needed him. “I’m going to—”

“I know, baby.”

And then I was shaking with the orgasm. He used the moment to sit up against the headboard, yanking his T-shirt off and tossing it aside. His hands came back to my sides and he did the same to me, peeling off my T-shirt and tossing it aside, his fingers hooking into my shorts and underwear, making me shimmy out of them and come right back to him, the only fabric separating us was that of his boxer briefs, which I pulled down before he rolled so I was tucked beneath him.

He was fully covering my body, his mouth coming down on every inch of me—my neck, my chest, tugging each nipple into his mouth softly, then biting as he let go. I shook beneath him from that alone. He did it again and again until I was panting audibly. Then he made his way down my stomach, which quivered with the feel of his beard grating against it. I grabbed his hair on instinct. His gaze snapped to mine, those blue eyes darkening into a pool of desire that I’d gladly drown in.

“Ro,” I heard myself whisper, my voice hoarse. He pressed his mouth to my mound, a soft kiss. I shifted, my body contorting this way and that to get his mouth where I needed it. I gripped his hair tighter. “Rowan.”

“Yeah?”

“Please do something.”

“I am doing something.” The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

“I feel like I’m going to explode.”

“That’s the point, babe.”

“Rowan,” I grated, drawing out the word as he licked between my folds once, twice. I wouldn’t be able to handle this. I’d die. I knew I would. I gripped his hair harder. He chuckled.

“If you wanted me to shave my head, you could’ve told me.”

“Not funny.” I moved against him.

“That’s right, baby,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Grind on my face.”

I did just that, moving against his tongue, his fingers, which joined and plunged into me as he licked my clit. The build came on fast, the pressure mounting in my core with each dirty word he spoke. I squeezed my eyes shut, throwing my head back, my body thrashing as he continued to pump his fingers inside me, his tongue lavishing me, his deep groan welcoming the orgasm he pulled out of me.

His mouth made its way back up my body. I thought he’d pause to kiss me, hold me. I had it on the tip of my tongue to ask for more when he spread my legs farther apart and thrust inside me, burying himself to the hilt, making me feel like I couldn’t move an inch. I felt. Him everywhere. I cried out again, digging my nails into his biceps.

“Rowan.”

His gaze held mine as he thrust in and out, in an unrushed state, taking his time with each stroke, letting me feel him completely. I sucked in a shaky breath. It all felt like too much. I’d wanted to. Let go of everything building inside me, but the way he was looking at me only added more weight, making me feel fuller.

“I love you,” he said again and again, as if he needed to make sure the words would sink in. He tweaked my nipples with his fingers, slowing his pace, pulling in and out slowly as he brought his face to the crook of my neck. “Don’t ever leave me, baby.”

And that plea spilling from his lips was what did it for me. I tightened around him as he groaned my name, and as I climaxed again, I brought a hand up to his face, held his gaze and said, “I love you, Rowan Hawthorne.”