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Seconds later, she cried out, shattering on my cock as she fell apart. Unable to hold back any longer, I followed her over the edge into oblivion. Giving myself to her completely.

Later, as we lay in bed, cuddling and talking, I marveled at the space she’d carved out in my life.

“Tell me something about you. Something not many people know,” she said, hand grazing the skin of my stomach, my chest, with just the right amount of pressure. I wondered if she even realized it. If she had to consciously think about the way she touched me. But she always made it seem so effortless.

In the past, other women had gotten annoyed with my…needs. When I’d ask them to touch me differently, they took it personally. They made it about them and not me. It was exhausting.

But being with Lily felt as natural as breathing. And not just in bed. All the time.

“I used to get in a lot of fights when I was younger.”

“Really?” She tilted her head. She looked different without her wig on, but she also seemed more at ease. More herself. Regardless, she was always beautiful to me. I kissed the top of her head, wanting her to know that. To feel that. To feel nothing but love and acceptance. “But you’re always so calm. So controlled.”

I chuckled. “I wasn’t always that way. It’s part of the reason why Gran enrolled me in karate. She wanted to teach me discipline and control. That, and she probably knew that if I kept going the way I was—a tall, lanky, angry kid—I’d get the shit beaten out of me.”

“I wish I could’ve met your gran. She sounds like a wise woman.” Her tone was wistful.

“She was the best,” I said, my heart aching even after all these years. Gran had been the glue, the one to hold us together after the loss of my parents and aunt and uncle in that tragic plane crash. “She would’ve liked you.”

“Yeah?” I could hear the smile in Lily’s voice.

“You’re full of gumption, and you don’t take shit from me or anyone.”

She laughed. “You’re right about that. But you’re good for me too. You push me to think more strategically. But also to dream.”

“I do?” I asked, nearly choking on the word. The strategic thinking wasn’t a stretch. But the idea that I gave her freedom to dream? My heart soared at the prospect.

“You see things that other people don’t. You take risks that others are too afraid to attempt. You make me want to push the boundaries. You make me believe anything is possible.”

Wow. “Thank you,” I said around the lump in my throat.

“Though, I’m curious, when did you have time to do all of this?”

I tucked my arm beneath my head. “All of what? It was a new oven and hot water.”

“Oh my god. Seriously?” She pushed up so she was peering down at me. “You know it’s so much more than that.”

I reached out and cupped her cheek, pleased when she leaned into my touch. “I’m just glad you like it.”

“I love it, but…”

“But what?” I asked, muscles tensing.Shit.Had I somehow screwed up?

“I’m just surprised you left it at that.” She glanced down at the floor. “I figured, based on what you’d said, that you’d gut everything and build new.”

I glanced around the room. “This place does have a certain charm. It didn’t need a gut job, and that’s not what you would’ve wanted.”

It wasn’t what I would’ve wanted either. During the time we’d been here, I’d come to realize that I liked it as is. I liked our simple life. I liked the feeling of contentment that I’d found here, with Lily. It was the closest thing to normalcy—to a home—that I’d felt in longer than I could remember.

She opened her mouth, surprise lighting her features.

“See. I can listen,” I teased. “And after living in the space as it was, I learned what the pain points were. Mostly, the kitchen and the bathroom. Though the new mattress and sheets are nice.”

“Agreed.” She nuzzled my chest, snuggling closer. “Very nice.”

We lay there, just enjoying being together, touching, after a long day of hard work.

After a while, she said, “It’s going to be weird to go back to LA after this.”