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“I’m glad the pieces are finally assembling themselves.”

“Me, too. It feels like I can finally breathe again.”

We stared out at the darkened shoreline, listening to the sounds of the quiet beach. I snuggled closer to Kyle under the blanket. “And how are you these days?” I looked up and placed a kiss on her neck. “We’ve talked in passing, but I want to know everything.”

“Well, the headline is, I like it here. People know my name at the grocery store!”

“Imagine that!” We shared a laugh.

“It’s such a great fit at the hospital. I love the slower pace, but we have also faced a lot of trauma that, I’m happy to report, has been just fine. Even so, I’m continuing talking with my therapist back home once a week. She’s helped a lot with the little bit of PTSD I occasionally battle.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” I met her gaze and kissed her softly. “I’m here, too. Utilize the hell out of me if you ever need to talk, or not talk, or decompress with a glass of wine or some ocean staring. If you’ve had a hard day. Say so.” I popped up. “Did I tell you Charlie is up and around? He came into the store and gave me a great big hug. Jill wants to do a game night soon.”

She shook her head. “His recovery has been remarkable.”

“Thanks to you.”

“I’m just a piece of the puzzle.”

I looked up at her and lost myself in those eyes that never stopped.“You’re everything.” And that’s when it tipped, the lust scale. I’d fought it off as long as I could, but my hand was now making its way beneath the blanket to the hem of her top.

“You’re attempting to seduce me,” Kyle said with a raised eyebrow.

“Maybe.”

The smile dimmed. “You don’t have to. I’m so there.”

“Yeah?”

She shook her head, eyes dark. “You have no idea.”

We were making out like sixteen-year-olds on top of her covers in less than two minutes. One of the things I loved about scrubs was how easy they were to take off her. In fact, I brushed her hands away several times when she tried to help. “Uh-uh,” I said, catching her lips and devouring them. I had her beneath me in her bra and underwear, a matching set I’d yet to see, in record time. We kissed in long spurts, short gaspy ones, and my favorite of all, the ones where our lips sought and clung. Her mouth tasted just as sweet as it always had. The murmurs and moans of appreciation with each little thing I did made me feel strong and appreciated. I stroked her through her underwear as she gasped and pushed into me for more. “Savanna,” she pleaded.

“Right here,” I said. I removed her underwear completely just as she dropped her bra, and shortly thereafter mine, to the floor. We certainly had no time for the clothes tonight. I had one goal in mind, and that was to watchhercome.

“You’re doing so many things to me,” she said at one point. “What are you doing to me? What?”

“Making up for lost time,” I said around the nipple in my mouth. If that wasn’t the damned truth. How had I been so foolish as to let so much of it go by when all the while we should have been kissing, touching, or anything without our clothes? We were so good together.

As I continued to stroke, my fingers moving through wet folds, Kyle arched her back and pumped her hips in the sexiest hypnotic rhythm. I wanted to taste her. I closed my mouth over her most sensitive spot and sucked softly and then not, until she cried out loudly, gripping the quilt beneath her like a lifeline to Earth. I hadn’t yet entered her and did so then, doubling her cry as I pushed her to greater and greater heights. Finally, she came back down in a whoosh, falling back against the pillow and searching for air. Still inside her, I continued to move to short little kicks of her hips.

“Are you trying to kill me?” she asked in a weak voice.

I continued my mission, pushing in and retreating slowly. To my surprise, she parted her legs further and began to move in tandem with me. First slowly and then very rapidly until she called out a second time, her head turning sideways on the pillow. “You are a menace,” she said finally.

“I think that was a compliment.”

“You’re also so hot when you get that determined look in your eyes. I swear I get there faster just watching you.”

“I happen to know from experience that you put on quite the show yourself.”

“What’s that?” she asked. “It’s time for my show now?”

I grinned as her mouth found my throat, sending sparks of heat. Her hips settled between my legs, and holy fuck, the world tilted on its axis. Kyle rocked into me, a move she knew I couldn’t resist. My hands were in her hair because it was too luxurious for them not to be. Her mouth was everywhere and also very focused, which was impressive in its duality. I didn’t know if it was how badly I wanted her or how amazing she was in bed—probably both—but I was already skittering close to the edge. The pressure between my legs rose and caused an ache I could scarcely handle. Kyle knew my signals and was right there for me, moving down the bed like naked Wonder Woman about to save my day. She settled between my legs and began to trace circles with her tongue that grew more precise by the moment until I broke and careened down the roller coaster in a wash of pleasure that shook my entire being. I exhaled, slow and shaky. It had been one hell of a ride.

I looked up at Kyle, who’d settled on top of me, and touched her cheek. “I love you.”

She smiled, and instead of answering right away, it seemed like she was soaking in the moment, memorizing my face. She intertwined her fingers with mine. “I love you, too. I will spend every day showing you how much. In fact, I can’t wait to get started.”