Page 42 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?! (Carry A Faerie #1)

Win groaned in encouragement, so I grabbed him and thrust my hips up at the same time. Win matched my movement, thrusting against me as he peppered my neck and chest with kisses, licks, and bites.

Sensations danced over my skin, and without being able to feel his emotions—and more importantly, anyone else’s—for once in my life, I could really feel everything. Every touch of his lips, his tongue, his hands, his fingers. Every brush of his skin against mine.

I could feel everything , and my body was ready to burst from the euphoria of it.

“Win,” I moaned out, our hips moving together and sending spikes of pleasure through my body.

He kissed me lightly and kept his lips against mine as he spoke and stared into my eyes. “You okay?”

“Oh god, yes. It feels so good. I… I’m not gonna last.”

“Me either, baby.” He captured my mouth again, and feeling his tongue against mine, his bigger body surrounding me, the amazing pressure on my cock, I couldn’t hold back.

A loud moan erupted from my mouth as the most euphoric orgasm I’d ever had rushed over me, sparks of electricity traveling over my skin and through my body.

Win moved his hips a few more times before he groaned out, “Miles,” and he quivered and shook for a long time before he collapsed on top of me.

I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a hug, and he tucked his face against my neck, giving me a kiss there.

“Am I hurting you?” he asked after a few seconds.

I gave him a squeeze, not letting him move away from me. “Nope. Stay.”

“Good. Not sure I could move even if I wanted to.”

I snorted and kissed the side of his head, making him relax further.

We lay like that for a few minutes, and I ran the tips of my fingers up and down his back.

He seemed to like it, and I loved getting to touch him so freely.

His skin was softer than I expected, but the muscle underneath was firm.

It was easy to tell the guy worked out. He ran every day, took walks every day too, and after feeling him like this, I had to wonder if he lifted.

“Do you go to a gym?”

“Huh? Oh. No. I have weights in my basement. Goliath likes to come down there and work out with me… meaning, he lays in his dog bed and sleeps while I sweat to death.”

I chuckled. “Sounds about right. Odie would do the same thing.”

He kissed my neck again. “I’m afraid if I don’t get up soon, I’m gonna fall asleep right here, and then I really will squish you.”

I hugged him tighter. “But if you get up, we have to deal with our mess.”

He laughed. “If we don’t, we’re gonna be glued together for the rest of eternity.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

He lifted his head up, smiling down at me before he gave me a slow, tender kiss. “No, it really doesn’t sound too bad.” He kissed me again before I could respond, making my heart flip from the gentleness and from his dreamy words. God, he was so much kinder than anyone else I’d ever dated.

After a few more tender kisses, he climbed off me and sat back on the couch. I sat up as well, and Winter immediately leaned over to grab me. Then he lifted me up with his strong arms and set me down right on his lap.

He tilted my chin up with his fingers and brought his mouth down on mine.

My god, the way he kissed me.

I got lost in it, and I wasn’t sure how long we made out, but I did know that if we didn’t stop and get out of our pants, we were definitely going to be in trouble.

I didn’t want to spend the rest of our night peeling pants off each other because they were permanently attached to our skin.

I’d much rather peel his pants off for other reasons.

So I broke the kiss. “Win…” I lost my words when ice-blue eyes smiled at me.

He was too distracting, especially without a shirt on and with all the touching and the smiles and the gentleness and affection. Gah . He was just… fuck, I really liked him. More than I’d liked anyone in my life.

Goliath came over to inspect us, and it was embarrassing when he sniffed my crotch. Win laughed, pushed him off, and told him to sit down.

I took the time to check on the other animals. Odin was on his cat tree, sleeping, and Sola was cleaning her feathers on her perch. Luckily, no one seemed out of sorts after we’d ignored them for so long.

Winter grinned, grabbing my attention. “What do you say we get cleaned up, cuddle on the couch, and actually pick out something to watch together? There’s a show I’ve been wanting to watch. Maybe we can watch it together?”

“That sounds good to me.” Phew, found my words. Thank goodness.

He kissed my lips. “But just so you know, if we start watching something together, that means we can only watch it when we’re together, right? No cheating when I’m not here.”

I chuckled and leaned in for another kiss. I liked the sound of making future plans already. “I like that plan.” I gave him another kiss. “If it turns out to be a good show, you and Goliath might have to come over for dinner again tomorrow.”

His beaming smile lit up his entire face. “Yeah?”

I nodded, feeling my cheeks flame despite the fact that I wasn’t really feeling intimidated by this situation. How could I when he looked so happy at the mere suggestion? “Yes. I’ll cook for you.”

He hummed. “That sounds amazing.” He gave me another lingering kiss, then pulled away with a sigh. “As much as I want to keep sitting here with you, I’m getting really sticky.”

I laughed and climbed off his lap, tugging him to his feet. “Come on. I’m sure I have some clothes upstairs that’ll fit you.”

“I don’t think anything that fits you will work. I’m definitely a lot, uh, bigger than you.”

That made me roll my eyes, and I made sure he saw the move. “You’re not that much bigger than me.” Before he could argue, I headed up the steps and kept talking. “I have clothes from my old partner that should fit you.”

He seemed hesitant when he asked, “How long were you together?”

My brow furrowed. How long was I… oh my god.

Ew . “I meant work partner!” I said it fast and louder than I meant because the thought of Higgins in that way was blech .

Not because he was a bad-looking guy or anything, but because he was more like a brother.

Or at least, he used to be. “We worked together, and sometimes we worked late nights, so he’d crash here in one of the spare bedrooms. I’ve never actually dated someone long-term. ” I winced at that admission.

But Winter blew out what sounded like a relieved breath. “Oh, thank god. I thought I was going to have to compete with some past boyfriend. Phew.”

I couldn’t help but snort at him and shake my head as I made my way into my bedroom. The second Winter followed me inside, I felt my cheeks flame again, which was dumb after what we’d just done on the couch, so I ignored it and went to my dresser.

I found some sweats for myself and had to dig around for Higgins’s old sweats and tee. “Ah-ha!” I yelled when I finally found them.

Win grinned at me when I passed them over. For some reason, I had a feeling he was about to drop his pants and change right here, and I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of doing the same.

As much as I wanted to see everything he had going on down there, I felt gross, and the first time he saw me naked, I wanted to feel confident—and hopefully sexy.

So I said, “I’m going into the bathroom to change.

Um, hold on.” I rushed into my attached bathroom, ran a washcloth under warm water, grabbed a pack of wipes, and came back out, handing Win everything.

“There’s nothing in the hall bathroom since that was where Sola was staying, and I haven’t fixed it yet.

So, um, you can use one of the other bedrooms to change, if you want. ”

With a smile, he kissed my cheek and made his way out of the room. “Thanks, sugar butt.”

I rolled my eyes and went into the bathroom, shut the door, and cleaned myself up. By the time I came out, Win was already standing in the hallway, and he looked concerned. I had no idea what could’ve happened in the five minutes we were apart, but I…

My thoughts trailed off when I noticed which bedroom door was cracked open behind him. Oh. Oh no.

“Miles?”

“Yeah?” I squeaked.

“Do you… do you have a daughter I don’t know about?

Or a son? I guess all the pink stuff doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a girl’s room.

That’s dumb of me to assume, but it definitely looks like a kid’s room, and there’s clothes and things in there.

I swear I wasn’t snooping. The closet door was wide open. ”

I nodded and tried to wave him off. I knew that closet door was open because I never closed it. It was left open when… and I just… I didn’t want it shut.

When I didn’t say anything, he took a step closer to me. “Um, Miles, do you have a kid?”

I shook my head, my eyes fixed on the open bedroom door. “N-no.”

Winter stepped in front of me, blocking my view, and cupped my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. “Whose room is that, sweetheart?”

I blew out a breath and closed my eyes. “I… I fostered a teen for a little while. She was… she was a really great kid. Her name was Laney.”

Something flashed across his eyes. “Was?”

“She… she died. She was killed…” I felt a tear trickle down my cheek. I didn’t even realize I was crying until Winter wiped it away with his thumb.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so, so sorry.”

“It’s… you don’t have to…” I cleared my throat. “It happened… it’s been five years.”

“That doesn’t mean it doesn’t still hurt.”

I shook my head, but when Win pulled me into a hug, I easily went, wrapping my arms around his waist as he held me in a tight embrace. I buried my face against his chest, not wanting to let the memories of that sweet girl take over and pull me into a depression like it had so many other times.

Winter held me for a long time, slightly swaying us back and forth, rubbing comforting circles on my back, and kissing my hair or my temple every now and then. I let his tender comfort, his warm embrace, help heal the wound on my heart that I’d forever carry.

It would never go away. I would always grieve for the girl I couldn’t save. But Winter’s comfort kept the wound from opening up and bleeding all over me again.

After a long time, I stepped back. “Thanks, Win.”

He bent down to peck my lips. “Anytime, lovey. I will hold you absolutely anytime you want.”

My heart swooped, and I couldn’t help but lean in to give him a quick squeeze of my own. He kissed my forehead when we parted, and it was such an affectionate move, my belly did a flip.

I sent him a tentative smile, and he held his hand out to me.

I didn’t hesitate to take it, lacing our fingers together in a tight grip.

He kept a hold of my hand as we made our way back downstairs to the couch.

As soon as Winter sat down, he gently tugged me into his side, and I moved into his arms like it was a move we’d done a thousand times before.

I hoped we could do it a thousand more times after tonight. I hoped my mini breakdown didn’t scare him away.

Winter was slowly peeling away all my secrets, and I felt raw and open as we sat there together.

As if sensing that, he wrapped his arm tighter around me and kissed my temple. “You okay, sweetheart?”

I nodded. “I will be.”

“Need anything?”

I shook my head and decided I needed to get out of this funk. We were supposed to be basking in the afterglow right now. So I passed him the remote. “Why don’t you put that show on?”

He took it, but instead of turning the TV on, he set it on his armrest, then used that hand to cup my cheek. “I will, but first, can I kiss you again?”

“You don’t have to ask.”

He smiled softly, and we met in the middle, a lingering kiss making those butterflies flutter all over my belly and chest again, pleasure and warmth making me want to stay in this moment forever.

We parted and smiled at each other before he brushed another tender kiss over my lips. I opened my mouth, wanting to deepen it, wanting to see where this might take us this time, but a loud pounding on the door interrupted us.

Sola squawked in indignation, Odin yowled, Goliath barked, and I blinked.

What the hell? No one ever knocked on my door.

The knock came again.