The words that have been on my mind slip out in the steam. “I love you, Scarlett.”
Her entire body stills for a heartbeat. Then another. And another.
Finally, I examine her expression, not sure how she’s reacting. But it’s fucking better than I could have ever imagined.
This time, the smile on her face could illuminate the entire world. “I know you do. Because there’s no way I could feel like this if you didn’t feel it too.”
“I have no damn clue what I did to deserve you, but I promise, we’re going to get through this. Our future is fucking bright, ladybug.” Maybe it’s a promise I shouldn’t be making, but I have to believe it. The more I buy into it, the more likely it is to come true. I just hope she believes it too.
“I know,” she whispers. “Because we’re just getting started. The best is yet to come.”
Her lips skim down my stubbled jaw, and my fingers curve into the slick, firm muscles of her ass.
“I need you. Now,” I tell her, the words sounding more guttural than I expected.
Scarlett lifts a knee and hooks her leg around my hip. “Then you’d better take me, chief.”
This time, I don’t say shit about the nickname. She could call me anything at this point, and I’d still be putty in her hands.
Dragging the fingertips of one hand up her back, I bury them in her mass of wet golden hair, using them to tilt her head sideways and give me better access.
I take the kiss deeper, pouring every ounce of what I feel for her into it, hoping she understands. I love her. It’s one of the few things I know without a doubt right now. I’d bet everything on it. Bet everything on us.
Her hips lift as she seeks friction against my cock. When I push into her, she moans into my mouth, and I nip at her lip.
Scarlett pulls back, her gray eyes shining. “I never knew it could be like this, wanting someone all the time. I thought I was broken. You showed me I’m not. I just needed you.”
I move both hands to the sides of her face and brush the wet strands of hair away until I’m cupping her cheeks.
“You aren’t broken. You never were. You don’t need me, Scarlett. But it’s the greatest privilege of my life to be with you.”
I don’t know if it’s the water dripping down her face, or tears, but her smile wobbles.
“You slay me when you say things like that.”
I lean in to steal another taste of her. “I’m just getting started, ladybug. But don’t worry, I’ve got you. When your knees go weak. When your load is too heavy. When it’s all too much.I’ve got you.”
“Then take me.”
She jerks forward this time, plastering our mouths together, and I readjust my grip to lift her ass. Her other leg wraps around my waist, and I fit her right where we both need it. My cock nudges against her entrance, and inch by inch, I lower her until she’s full of me.
Scarlett’s head drops back as her inner muscles flex and clench.
I spin around and press her against the tile, and slowly, lift her off my cock and then power back inside her. Stroke after stroke, our bodies come together, until I lose track of everything, except how tight her cunt grips me and the feel of her skin sliding against mine.
It’s like coming home.
This is where I belong. In this moment. With this woman.
There’s nothing I won’t do to protect her and what we have.
When I can’t hold back any longer, I roar her name loud enough for all of Manhattan to hear, and her scream echoes as we both explode.
Nine
Scarlett
Almost every timewe have sex, I think there’s no way it could possibly get any better. Any hotter. Any more intense. And then Gabriel goes and proves me wrong.