Page 68 of Finding Peace
Her cheeks pink as I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and kiss along the slope of her neck. “You look so beautiful like this,” I whisper against her skin. I let my fingers trail through her hair slowly before giving a few strands a gentle tug, tilting her head so I can have better access. “The sun hits you just right. Turns this hair of yours gold. Like it’s stuck somewhere between wanting to be fire or honey.”
Her breathing changes. “Linc…”
“And your freckles,” I continue, kissing across her cheek. “I swear I’ve memorized every one.”
“You have not.”
“I have,” I whisper in her other ear. “And those eyes… hazel’s too simple a word for them. They change with your mood. Did you know that?”
She swallows. “No.”
“I swear they look greener when you’re trying to be stubborn. More brown when you’re feeling shy.”
“And right now?”
I smile. “Right now they’re the perfect mixture of the two.”
She laughs, but it’s raspier this time. “I think you’re full of it.”
I nip at her neck. “Maybe I am. But I’m certain about one thing.”
She waits.
“I’m certain that I love you.”
The words don’t stumble out.
They don’t surprise me.
They don’t scare me.
They feel anchored. Planted deep. Like the fence posts that surround this land. Now part of who I am.
“You love me?”
“I do. I’ve loved you for a while,” I admit. “I know the others have said it to you. I’ve heard it. But I just—” I shake my head, trying to think of the best way to say what I want to say. “I want you to be the last person I ever say those three words to. You’re it for me, Sweetheart. Every bit of who I am now belongs to you. For the rest of my days, I. Am. Yours.”
Her hands grip my shirt as she whispers my name again.
“I don’t say things unless I mean them,” I continue. “And I don’t make commitments unless I plan to stand by them.” I hold her face in my hands. “I love you, Abigail Adams. I love you and the life we’re going to build with you.”
She exhales a ragged breath and utters four words that could bring me to my knees. “I love you too.”
I don’t give her a chance to say anything else before my lips find hers.
Her fingers curl into my hair as she takes a small step closer, leaving not an inch of space between us.
The kiss deepens as we pour into each other.
It’s not rushed or frantic, but it’s not innocent either.
Reaching down, I slide my hand along her thigh, feeling the bare skin there, and she inhales sharply. “What’s it gonna be, Sweetheart? Honey or fire?”
She nips at my bottom lip. “With you, Lincoln. Fire.Always.”
Such a good girl.
I lift her onto the edge of the counter in one smooth motion. She laughs—surprised, delighted, and turned on.
