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Oh. em. gee.

“Make love to me now, okay?” I whispered, unable to put this huge jumble of feelings inside me into words. It constricted my airways and made me cry. In a good way.

“I will, my little gust of wind.” He brushed the trickle of tears from my face, and then he did as I asked.

It wasn’t rough or fierce like I’d demanded at first. It was slow and gentle and life-changing. The kind of sex that spoke of forever and scared you to the core. Between breathless kisses and sweat-slicked skin, we drove each other to the edge. Even our climaxes felt different. Deeper and stronger than anything we had shared before.

I came without him touching my cock, his name on my lips, and gasped into the air between us like a prayer. He sank into myarms and stilled, his length thickening even more as he filled me up.

“That was…”

“Yeah, I know,” he sighed, making me giggle and my ass clench around him. We both hissed.

“I’ll need a break before round two, my sweet.”

“Ugh, same.” I kissed him gently.

Chapter 20

Beryl - Six months later

Dating Kjartan made me wonder why I’d never dated exclusively before.

“You know, when he’s half asleep and rolls over and wraps his arms around you to pull you closer.” I sighed, staring into the distance for a moment as I wiped down the milk foamer. “That’s the best.”

“When you talk about him like that I kind of want that too,” my best friend Rhys grinned over his Double Heart Latte.

He had been super busy preparing for Scotland Fabric, the most important trade fair that took place in Inverness every November. But today he snuck over from his shop in Pear Mill to grab a coffee at Scales & Steam.

“You should give it a try. Find some hunk to f— Oh, hi,” I greeted a new customer. “What can I get you?”

I prepared her caramel cappuccino, and bagged a Pumpking—a pastry with a pumpkin puree and cinnamon filling, one of our bestsellers this autumn—for her before turning back to my bestie.

“As I was saying, Mr Gordon. Go find yourself a hot hunk. Seriously.” I crossed my arms before my chest, surveying Rhys. People would kill for cheekbones like that, and I knew how he looked in swimming trunks. I bet they were queuing to be with him. “You are too gorgeous to die alone. Also, how is that cupcake?”

“Appreciate it, babe. But you know I don’t date. And it’s delicious.” He pinched a piece of the moist chestnut cupcake between elegant thumb and forefinger and popped it into his mouth.

“Did you see any more of that guy you told me about?”

“Which guy?” Rhys cocked an eyebrow, wiping his hands on a napkin.

“The one with the dog?”

My bestie choked on the sip of coffee he had just taken.

“How do you remember this? I told you about Liamonce, and that was over a year ago.”

“I have an excellent memory, Rhys. So?”

He took another long drink of coffee, setting the cup delicately back on the counter. “I never met him again. He probably doesn’t even remember me.”

“I doubt that,” I snorted.

“And he lives somewhere in the Highlands. I think.”

“Not that you spent hours stalking him on Kraken.”

Rhys threw his head back and laughed. “Oh fuck you, Bee!”