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“Steph!” I squawked, then smacked his chest. He laughed and shushed me, though it’d probably take a nuclear bomb to wake Dylan up right now.

He kissed me again, his lips still curved in a smile. It didn’t feel like other kisses we’d shared this summer—there was a little laughter and still a lot of weight from the emotions resonating between us.

Stephan slid his hand under the hem of my T-shirt and trailed his fingers over the curve of my waist. His touch sent sparks dancing across my skin. More heat settled low in my belly. A gentle touch, a single kiss, and I was already getting wet.

I ran my hands through his hair as I studied his face. God, he was really the sexiest man I’d ever met. Sometimes when I looked at him, it was like I was seeing him for the first time.

“What are you smiling about?” he teased.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I just like being here with you.”

His hazel eyes flashed gold, and then he crashed his lips to mine.

We managed to wriggle our way out of our clothes, piece by piece. Finally we were both naked, wrapped around each other, tangled up and kissing each other like we needed it to survive. His hands skimmed all over my body, then his lips, and I lost myself in his touch.

Quickly, my desire turned to need, and my body thrummed with it. The hard line of his erection pressed into my hip. I rocked my hips up, gasping into the kiss. “Please,” I whispered. “Need you.”

“I got you,” he promised. He slid his hand down my waist, my hip, then grasped my thigh and positioned me where he wanted me. Fuck, I loved it when he did that. When he showed off some of that impressive strength like it was nothing. Then, the thick head of his cock pressed against me where I was wet and hungry for it. I gasped, then looped my legs around his waist to urge him closer.

“Fuck, Harley,” he groaned. He hid his face in the curve of my neck, then slowly, slowly pressed inside.

I clung to him and threw my head back. Pleasure raced up my spine. It was electric. Intense. It blasted the rest of the thoughts from my head. The stretch, the pressure—it felt fantastic. Like he was meant to be inside me.

“Please,” I whispered. “Move.”

He did. Each thrust sent another intense roll of pleasure through me. Deeper each time. It built inside me, pleasure on top of pleasure.

I was saying something—his name, maybe, or an endless request formore, more, more.I couldn’t get close enough. We kissed sloppily, and he fucked me deeper, harder, then bared his teeth into the skin of my neck. He was just as close as I was. Something about that knowledge made my pleasure build and crescendo.

“Harley,” Stephan groaned into my neck. “Harley, fuck, I love you.”

He thrust his cock deep inside me. I gasped and arched my back, as if I could press even closer, and then I came so hard I saw stars.

My entire body tensed and relaxed as pleasure rolled through me from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. I raked one hand through his sweaty hair and lifted his mouth to meet mine. The words danced on the tip of my tongue. And in that moment, hazy with pleasure and happiness, I couldn’t think of a reason not to say them.

“I love you, Steph.”

He exhaled a soft, surprised sound. I was already halfway asleep when he guided my head onto his broad chest. I fell asleep to the slow rhythm of his heart as the sky outside gave way to dawn.

The next morning,if you could even call it a morning considering we didn’t get up until ten, was almostdomestic. Stephan kissed me when he woke up and said he had to head out to sign the final paperwork for an upcoming business deal—areal, legalendeavor. I had errands to run, so I sent him on his way with a smile, but not before asking him to make enough coffee for the both of us.

His returning smile was radiant.

I could get used to this.

I let Dylan sleep in, and he didn’t come out of his room until noon. I couldn’t fault him for it—he needed the sleep. I made him an enormous breakfast, and he devoured all of it.

“Thanks, Mom,” he said with a still-sleepy smile.

I tousled his hair. It was good to see him in a brighter mood, even if he was still exhausted from his first shift. “Get dressed, and we’ll go run some errands,” I said. “We can pick out whatever you want for dinner.”

His eyes widened. “Whatever I want?”

Oh boy. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, but there was likely to be a lot of ice cream in my future. “It’s a special occasion.”

We headed toward the grocery store, and lucky for me, the pharmacy was on the way. I glanced in the rearview mirror as we drove. As expected, one of the guys was behind us, following at a respectful distance.

My heart warmed. I didn’t have to ask, and Stephan didn’t have to tell me. While we were in Lakeview, he’d make sure we were safe.