Page 48 of Sweet Surrender

“By the way,” I told him with a soft laugh between kisses. “I love you too.”

He chuckled, nuzzling my neck, holding me close enough that I could feel his heart pounding. “All it took was buying you your dream house, huh?”

“Actually, there are other things I love about you.” He looked down at me, quirking an eyebrow, before I ran a hand over his sizable bulge. “Like this, for instance.”

He could pretend to be offended all he wanted. I felt the way he jumped against my palm while a wicked grin stirred his lips. “Funny you should mention that since I was about to ask when we could christen every single room in that villa. And there are a lot of them,” he pointed out before emitting a deep growl that curled my toes.

“Well, we have four days to cover every square foot.” With my arms around his neck, I added, “I guess we better get started.”

The next thing I knew, he’d scooped me up in his arms, carrying me across the sand and up to the covered rear porch. Everything came at me in flashes—the gorgeous, warm woods, the abundance of windows and doors to let in the balmy air.

We entered through the kitchen. He couldn’t wait more than I could, setting me on the long wooden table and nudging a chair aside to make room for himself between my legs. I hiked up my long, flowing skirt, taking his face in my hands and hungrily pulling him down to kiss him greedily.

Before I left New York, I was sure I would never get to do this again. Now, I had nothing but forever to look forward to.

My heart fluttered with anticipation while he reached between us to free his cock. I closed my legs around his, pulling him in, letting my hands play over his shoulders and back. This was my second chance to touch him, to be touched, to share this thrill with him. I would never take it for granted.

He moved my panties to the side, groaning when he felt how wet he had already made me. “Fuck, I love you,” he whispered, impaling me in one quick, deep thrust that made me gasp. We stilled together, holding our breath, eyes locked.

Forever.

Forever with this man.

Yes, I could see that in those endless brown orbs. I could see my future there.

The briefest smile passed over his face as he began to move. All I could do was wrap my arms around him and hold on tight as he took me on the first of so many more adventures we would experience together. Manhattan, the Maldives, it didn’t matter where we were. So long as we were together, we could make our way through anything.

His mouth trailed up my neck before brushing my ear. “In case you were wondering…” he grunted, “… I brought a few special surprises along. It’s been too long since I’ve turned this ass red.”

The heat already blazing in my core burst into an inferno.

Forever wouldn’t be long enough with him.

EPILOGUE

ARIA

Me: Sorry, totally forgot about class. I’ll be there next time.

After sending the text to Sienna, I cursed myself for being such a wimp. It was my idea to sign up for Skye’s class, but I hadn’t had the nerve to show up for two weeks. Not because I couldn’t handle it. I loved Skye. She was a freaking genius when it came to motivation.

Working out with her made me feel amazing…

… when there wasn’t a weird, strangely aggressive man silently glaring at me the whole time.

I didn’t even know if he would be there. I didn’t know his name, his age, or anything about him. I didn’t know why he seemed to have a problem with me either. He had never said a word. The way he stared and the strange, almost angry energy around him spoke volumes.

That wasn’t the worst part. I would’ve sworn I saw him around outside of class and at Starbucks last week, standing three people behind me in line. I’m also pretty sure I spotted him on the sidewalk outside the restaurant where I had dinner with my sister two nights ago. I told myself to mention him to her to see if she got the same vibe I did. For all I knew, he mistook me for her. She had a habit of leaving devastated men in her wake after dumping them. The girl never cared much about dating the same guy for very long.

But I had chickened out, just like I was skipping out of going to class with Sienna because I got a weird feeling about him.

Instead of going to the spin studio, I headed out to my usual Starbucks to pick up an iced matcha before meeting up with Valentina. If anything, it would be nice to hang out with her for a little bit and forget how squeamish I was about my would-be stalker. I was probably going overboard by thinking of him that way. I even shook my head at myself while waiting for my drink, listening to an audiobook through my AirPods and texting Mom to tell her I was on my way.

“Aria?” I heard the barista call my name, and my head popped up before I stepped closer to the counter, reaching for the cup.

I wasn’t fast enough. Somebody snatched it up before I could touch it, somebody tall and muscular with unruly sandy hair. Somebody who smirked down at me while I stared up at him in cold shock. There were no plausible excuses this time. He was definitely following me, and now those icy-blue eyes of his sent dread skittering down my spine.

The sight of his slow, knowing smile didn’t do anything to make me feel better. “This yours?” he asked in a deep voice edged with what sounded like an English accent.

“Yes.” I held out a trembling hand, curling my fingers inward. “That’s mine. Can I have it?”

He lifted a shoulder, extending his arm, pressing the cup against my open palm. “Sorry for the misunderstanding… Sis.”

My mouth fell open before I pulled out an AirPod with my free hand. No way had I heard him right. “Excuse me? What did you just call me?” I asked, ready to laugh.

He wasn’t laughing. There wasn’t a hint of humor in his voice when he replied, “I think you heard me, Sis. Nice to finally meet you.”

To be continued….