“I love you.”
I say it, or maybe he does. I’m not sure. Those three words bounce between us as if they’re the only ones we know. We moan them. We beg them. Inside savage kisses that taste like forever and against heated skin. CJ takes me soft and tender on my back, but on my knees from behind, he yanks my hair and tells me I’m his. I pant over my shoulder and watch his eyes. That wicked look he wears when we fuck. He’s staring at his name on my back. He looks possessed. I tell him I want it—to wear his name. For it to be mine too. His nostrils flare as our eyes lock. My knees shift beneath me. The look on his face makes me tremble.
I’ve never seen a man so turned on before.
CJ pulls out, falls onto his hip and rolls, taking me with him. Our mouths devour again as I straddle his waist. He arches off the mattress when I sink down.
“God, ride me,” he groans.
I bounce in CJ’s lap and reach behind me to fondle his balls. I squeeze them when he rubs my clit.
“You moving back in with me?” he asks, his breathing ragged. Sweat beading up on his brow.
I nod, mouth open. I can’t speak.
CJ sits up and crashes our mouths together. His hand in my hair. His other on my hip moving me on top of him, grinding me down, down, down. Faster.
“I’ll never stop feeling this,” he rasps. “What I’ve always felt for you. Never, Riley. This is us.”
I close my eyes.
Us.
Lovers who fell in love being friends. Friends who always wanted more.
“I love you,” I breathe against his mouth. I want to scream it. “I love you. I love you.”
He growls and thrusts into me. The force of CJ’s orgasm taking him like thunder moving underneath his skin. Face buried in my neck, he swears as my eyes water. My own pleasure swallows me up.
“Cannon,” I moan, limbs shaking. “God. Oh, God . . .”
I’m already being held up by CJ but it feels like he catches me when I come down. His strong arms wrapping around me tighter. Protecting me like a shield. Always sheltering me. We lift our heads to look at each other.
He smiles.
I smile.
“No more secrets,” I tell him, pushing his sweaty mess of hair off his forehead.
CJ's eyes warm. He tips his chin up, sliding my hands to his cheeks, and kisses me. Soft and slow.
“I got plans to marry you,” he murmurs.
I gasp and lean back. “What?” I whisper. My eyes jump between his as I hold his face.
“You said no more secrets.” CJ smiles cleverly. “I’m just saying, babe. But when I do ask, you’re not knowing that in advance. You're going to have to deal with—”
He never finishes what he needs to say. I throw my arms around his neck with enough force it knocks CJ off balance. We tumble over together, laughing and kissing and I'm so happy—being us.
CJ and Riley. More than friends. Never less than this.
The us we were always meant to be.
The End