Page 100 of Fierce-Baker

“This thing we have,” she said. Her hands went under his shirt, lifting it over his head, his chest there for her to look, touch, taste.

She placed a kiss right in the center, right by his heart, getting up on her tiptoes to do it.

“Yes?”

He was holding his breath. She could see it. Feel it.

The tension in his shoulders as if he wanted to say it also but was afraid.

Maybe as afraid as her.

But she wouldn’t let the fear overtake one more minute of her life.

“It started out slow. It started out... simple.”

“But never was,” he murmured.

“No,” she said, shaking her head, her lips landing on his nipple, her tongue swirling around and making it pucker. “I didn’t plan it. I didn’t want to rush it. But it’s there. It’s been there.”

His fingers threaded into her hair, lifted her chin up. He dropped his mouth to hers, their lips touched, held on, like he understood the weight of what she’d given him. Like he’d been entrusted with something precious.

“It is there,” he said.

She smiled around his mouth, then leaned back so she could look into his eyes when the words escaped.

“I love you. I don’t know when it happened. I just know that when I saw you playing with Micah on the patio alone, the way you watched him, then turned and watched me. I just knew, right then, my heart had been falling and it was on the floor in that moment.”

He let out a soft huff, then lowered his mouth for another kiss. A gentle one. Tender. Just a peck.

“You know something funny? That was the moment I knew it was there too.”

She led him backward until the backs of his knees hit the bed, then gave him a playful nudge. He could have found a way to stay standing, but didn’t.

He went onto his back, his arms circling hers and bringing her down with him on his chest.

When they settled together, it wasn’t about urgency or heat.

It was about closeness. About choosing. Aboutstaying.

She curled into him, her heart full and finally at rest now that the words had broken free.

She’d waited a long time to say them.

And she knew deep down, that he’d done the same.

“How about this moment?” she asked, giddy now. The weight of it all was lifted and they were able to soar anywhere it took them.

“Oh, the moment where I get you naked?” he said, rolling her.

“Yes, this moment.” She wiggled out from under him and got back on top. “But I’m going to get you naked first.”

He lay there, his arms out wide. “Go right at it. I’m all yours.”

Her lips landed with a loud smack against his. “And that is exactly where I want you.”

She slid down, undid his shorts and yanked them off, tossing them out of the way, then stood and removed her clothing just as fast.

He reached for her hips, pulled her between his legs that were hanging off the bed, then sat up, his mouth going right for her breasts.