After a few tense moments, he began to move, rocking his hips over mine, slowly at first, in sensual rippling motions that made my jaw drop. “You’re so beautiful,” I whispered.
He leaned back a little, changing the angle, moving faster, and then it was me who had to breathe deep, because the sight of him fucking me so expertly, using my body for his own pleasure, was enough to push me right over the edge. I fought back, trying to sustain this state of pure ecstasy, but his hands traveled down over my chest, and his fingertips brushed my nipples, and his body was so hard and male and muscular, from the thick flesh of his thighs to the ridges of his stomach to the bulge of his shoulders, and his cock was bouncing between us and I grasped it tight so he could fuck my hand too, and it was all too much, too hot, too hard, too tight, too impossible to hold on. A second later he was groaning and gasping and coming all over my hand and my chest and I let everything go, bursting wide open inside him in wild, uncontrollable spasms.
He shifted forward, kissing and kissing and kissing me like he’d never stop. “I love you,” he said against my lips. “I’m so fucking in love with you. This is so much more than I ever knew I wanted. But God, I want it. I want everything. And I want to give you everything.”
“You do. You have. This means everything to me—being with you.”
He kissed me again, his hands tight around the back of my neck. “You might have to be patient with me.”
“I’ll do anything for you.”
“Stay the night.” He buried his face in my neck. “I can’t let you go yet.”
“Okay, baby.”
“And tomorrow, will you come with me to Gage and Lanie’s for their son’s birthday party? Ellen said you could have the day off.”
A shiver moved through me. “Are you serious? You’re ready for that?”
“I’m ready. I want to be with you, Maxim. I love you, and fuck anyone who says it’s not right.”
“What about your parents?”
He sat back and looked at me. It was dark, but I could see his serious expression. “Fuck anyone who says it’s not right,” he repeated. “No matter who it is. This is who I am. You are who I love. It’s right.”
My throat got tight, and I nodded, swallowing hard. “It’s right.”
Thirty-Eight
DEREK
I parked along the street as close to Gage and Lanie’s house as I could get and turned off the car. My heart was beating a little quicker than usual, but I had no qualms about this decision.
“Ready?” I looked over at Maxim, who seemed much more nervous about it. His hands were fidgety, and he kept chewing his bottom lip.
But he nodded. “Ready.”
We got out, and I grabbed the gift from the back seat. It was a perfect summer afternoon, sunny but not sweaty hot, a breeze coming from the hills. As we made our way down the sidewalk toward the house, I heard music and splashing and shouting.
“The kids can be a little crazy,” I said apologetically.
“I’m used to kids. I’ve got a little sister.”
“That’s right, sometimes I forget that. I’d like to meet her.”
He laughed. “She’d love that. Maybe she can come visit me. Stay in my fancy apartment.”
“I meant to ask you about that last night, but I kept getting distracted by your body.” I elbowed him playfully. “Do you want to keep your apartment?” We turned up the driveway, and the noise got louder. “It’s totally up to you. I loved having you live with me, and you could save money, but I know you like your independence too.”
“Let me think about it,” he said. “I appreciate the invitation, but it might be good to have our own places for a while.”
It would mean we would have to work harder to see each other, but I didn’t want to push. I knew he didn’t want to go backward, and I was willing to work for him. I took his hand and led him around the house toward the yard.
He squeezed my fingers. “You okay? You seem so calm, but I know this can’t be easy.”
God, he was so fucking sweet. I paused in the shade on the side of the house and gave him a quick kiss. “I’m a little nervous, yes. But it’s the good kind of nervous. I’m excited. And proud. This morning, I woke up and felt completely happy. It almost feels like a new life. Our life. And this is just the beginning.”
He smiled at me, the same warm, grateful smile he’d melted my heart with the night we’d met. “I love you.”
I’d never grow tired of hearing that. “I love you, too.”
We moved out of the shadows and into the sunlit yard hand in hand.
Epilogue
DEREK
“Want to sit here for a few minutes?” I asked, glancing at two Adirondack chairs on the lawn at the Laguna Beach Ritz Carlton, as if I hadn’t already chosen it as the perfect spot. “Watch the sun set before we go to dinner?”
“Sure.” Maxim smiled, and my heart beat faster, the way it always did. But tonight was different.
We were celebrating six months together, the sale of the house I’d fixed up, and the completion of his first course in screenwriting.
We were also about to get engaged, but he didn’t know that.
We sat down side by side, and I took a drink from the glass of champagne in my hand before setting it on the table between us. Maxim set his down too, and pulled out his phone to take a few pictures of the pink and orange sky as the sun sank beneath the hazy blue horizon. It was a pleasantly cool fall evening, wind rustling the palm trees overhead, the temperature hovering around sixty, but my skin felt warm beneath my jeans and gray sports jacket. I was glad I hadn’t worn a tie.
“I almost forgot how beautiful it is here.” He shook his head as he put his phone back into his jacket pocket. “A photo could never capture it.”
I reached over and took his hand. “No. It couldn’t.”
He looked over at me, his blue eyes appearing even deeper in the fading light. “I’m remembering when we were here last time.”
I smiled. “We’ve come a long way since then.”
“We have.” He looked out over the ocean again. “Every morning I wake up and wonder if it’s all just a dream.”
“I do the same. But then I open my eyes and you’re there next to me, and I know it’s real.” Waking up next to him every morning was a gift I’d never take for granted. He’d kept his own apartment for a couple months, but after that I’d begged him to move in with me. We spent almost every night together anyway, and the nights we didn’t, I missed him too much. I’d wasted enough time, and I didn’t want to squander any more of it.