Page 83 of If You Claim Me

His eyes drop, and he sucks in his bottom lip, exhalingharshly. He reaches behind me and pulls the covers back. “Under you go.”

I slide up the bed, settling against the pillows as he pulls the covers over me, then moves around to the other side and climbs in. It’s a massive king. There are two feet of satin sheets separating us.

But just like I’d hoped, he stretches out his arm, inviting me in. I slide over to nestle into his side. The light clicks off. I throw my leg over his and settle my palm on his stomach.

“Mildred.”

“You’re warm.” It feels safer in the dark with him, where he can’t see all the things I want in my eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t be more of a menace than you can handle.”

He sighs and moves my hand to his chest, thumb brushing over the bracelets. “Can I take these off for you, darling?”

“Okay.” He can’t see what’s hiding underneath.

He carefully removes them, one by one, setting them on the nightstand.

“Tell me what you want again,” I whisper.

He presses his lips to my forehead, and I sigh.

“That sweet sound.”

I kiss the edge of his jaw. “What else?”

“You here, like you are right now.”

I nuzzle closer, lips on his cheek. “What else?”

“To play board games with you every night when I don’t have an away series.”

“We can do that.” I cup his cheek and turn his head toward me. “Anything else?”

“You’re not going to remember any of this in the morning.”

“I might.”

His eyes search mine in the darkness, glittering and warm, full of emotions I can’t pin down. “What do you want, Mildred?”

I brush my thumb along the contour of his bottom lip. Love is scary, especially the kind where you give your heart and soul to someone. But I can almost believe we’re something more,something special, and I want to hold on to it, even if it’s fleeting. “For you to kiss me good night.”

His breath breaks against my lips.

“Please,” I whisper.

He lightly skims my cheek, thumb resting under my chin. There’s a soft brush of lips, a gentle press that lingers. Then parting lips and sweeping tongues, his quiet moan mixing with mine, and his fingers in my hair. I want to climb into this moment and stay here. Live inside this kiss—in his gentleness, in the sweet oblivion of darkness where all that exists is desire, and our damage can’t get in the way.

But then it ends. Like everything does.

“Good night, darling.”

“It is now.”

CHAPTER 21

CONNOR

Iknock on Mildred’s bedroom door. It’s rehearsal dinner day and she’s been preparing for what seems like hours.

“Come in!” she calls.