I can’t help it anymore as I stand from my stool and round the island to meet her. Gripping her hips, I kiss the top of her shoulder. “Deal.”
She turns to face me. “Ryan, I need you to know, when I was staying at Rio’s I didn’t have to think about whether you were the right person for me. There’s no question of how badly I want you or how much I love you. You know that, right?”
Shockingly enough, that was never my concern. Indy has always made me feel wanted, and I’m sure it only made things worse for her, wanting me while believing our futures were headed in different directions.
“I know.”
“And I didn’t call over the last few days because I wanted to surprise you with a finished house, but as soon as you left, there was nothing for me to think about.”
“It looks incredible.”
“Well.” She shoots me a guilty smile. “I only had three days so I might be hiding a little mess in the bedrooms on the second floor.”
Leaning down, I rest my forehead on hers. “I love you.”
“God, I love you so much,” she says, snaking her hands around my neck, intertwining her fingers. “I missed you. Thank you for understanding my fears and treating them with patience. You make me feel deserving of all the things I want in life. I don’t know where you came from or how I got so lucky to be loved by you, but Ryan, I adore you.”
“You are. You deserve every little thing you manage to dream for yourself. I hated being away from you, Ind, but I loved seeing you stand up for the things you want. Don’t stop doing that. Even if it’s me you’re facing off with, don’t settle for less.”
Reaching up on her toes, she kisses me. Softly, quickly. “I don’t think there’s a way for me to even begin thanking you. For this home, for planning for our future.”
“You could start by asking me to move in.”
She tilts her head in contemplation. “I don’t know. We haven’t been dating all that long. You don’t think it’s too soon to be living together?”
As I lift my brow, Indy is unable to contain her mischievous smile.
“Oh, you think you’re funny, huh?”
She giggles, finding herself hilarious as I pick her up and seat her on the island. Stepping between her legs, I keep my lips only inches from hers. “Ask me.”
She drapes her arms over my shoulders. “What do you say, Shay? Want to be my roomie? Hide away with me in this big, beautiful house?”
“I think that sounds like the right move.”
Fingers threaded through her hair, I pull her into me, foreheads and noses touching.
“I will love you for the rest of my life,” she whispers against my lips.
It’s a promise, coming from the most loyal woman I know.
“Forever, Blue.”
I’m lost when her mouth meets mine. Soft pulls of her lips, sweeps of her tongue. She’s warm and tastes like fucking heaven. Her coconut soap lingers on her skin, and I inhale as much as I can, reminding my body that she’s here. That we’re okay.
I’ve gone far longer than three days without kissing Indy, when I’m on the road for work or when she is, but this intentional distance was torture. Kissing her now, in our kitchen, feels like it’s the first time all over again, with a reassurance that there will never be an end.
Her legs wrap around my waist, pulling me against her body. Her pretty sundress bunches around her hips as the ridge of my erection rubs against her pussy and though Indy’s first plan for this house is to decorate every room, my plan is to christen every flat surface I can find. This house is ten times the size of the apartment, so it might take a couple days, but I’m up to the challenge.
Gliding my palm up her thigh, I squeeze and knead her flesh until my fingers dip under the hem of her dress. I’m looking for silk or lace, something I need to tear off, but there’s nothing but soft skin over her hip bone.
“No panties tonight?”
She scoots off the side of the counter, bringing her center to rub against my erection, and now that I know she’s got nothing on, I lift her dress, watching her soft, needy pussy writhe against me.
“Easier access for you,” she breathes out.
Her lips work against my neck and jaw, kissing and biting as she fiddles with my belt. I hold her to me, tilting my head back and letting her work. She frees me from the zipper and quickly dips her hand in my briefs, grabbing me.
“Fuck,” I exhale.
“You got your team to the playoffs tonight.”
“Is this my reward?”
“One of them.” She kisses my throat. “You're going to have lots of rewards, Shay. I figured it is only fair that since you bought me a house, I should blow you in every room of it.”
“Well, you are pretty on your knees, baby.”
“Mmm, thank you.”
Wrapping a fist around me, she strokes and twists, but before she can free me from my briefs, I pick her up off the counter and carry her to the stairs. As much as I want to fuck her on the kitchen island, the floor, the couch, the goddamn back porch, the first time we do this, I don’t want it to be frantic or hurried. I want to savor every moment of it.
While holding her, I climb onto the mattress in our new bedroom. In our new house.
Fuck, that feels good to say.
Twisting, I pull her on top of me as I lay back on the bed.
“What the hell?”
She pauses, hands on my chest. “What’s wrong?”
“Why is this bed so fucking comfortable? Has it always been this comfortable?”
She laughs. “Yes, it’s always been that comfortable. I’ll have to ask my roommate where he bought it and let you know.”
Finding the hem of her dress, I lift it over her head. “I can’t believe I bought you a bed that was a hundred times better than mine and never slept in it.”
Indy’s tits give a little bounce when she reaches behind her and unclasps her bra, and instantly my hands are on them. I roll her nipples with my thumbs before giving them a little pinch. She bites her lip at that, circling her hips over my cock.
“Get these pants off me, Ind.”
She does, pulling my boxer briefs right along with them. I take off my own shirt and in one movement, have her on her back with my face between her legs. With long, languid strokes of my tongue, I taste her and lick her. Kiss her pussy. Suck her clit.
She pulls at my forearms as her back arches off the bed, her hips rocking into my face. She’s soaked and needy. Her clit is swollen and begging, but before I can make her come, she stops me, tightening her fingers through my hair.
Her breaths are ragged. “I want to come with you.”
Indy’s brown eyes are pleading with me, flushed cheeks and chest. I climb right on top of her, kissing the pathway up her belly, her tits, her throat. My dick slides against her core, coating in her arousal.
We both watch.
“I love you, Ryan,” she says, seemingly out of nowhere.
But it’s not random. She knows we’re about to do something that I spent years telling myself I would never do. I would never have a woman I trust enough. I would never have a family. It’s not as easy as flipping a switch, but as soon as I slide my bare skin against hers once again, any old lingering fears that don’t apply to her are out the window.