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And then he wrapped his arms around me, pulled me close, and whispered, “Missed you.”

I smiled into his chest, “Missed you too.”

A kiss was placed on the top of my head, and then he was leading me to my front door, tagging my purse as we went.

Once he locked my door, he led us to his truck.

Opening my door for me, he waited as I climbed in, and only once I was settled did he close the door.

Once he was in the truck, he looked at me, then he winked, “Trust the process, okay?”

I lifted a brow but nodded.

And with that, he winked and then pulled out of my driveway.

Trust the process.

Okay, that was weird coming from Carter.

However, what wasn’t weird was that one of my favorite songs on the radio came on, yes, you guessed it, he turned the volume up.

We were both silent on the ride to wherever he was taking me; it was always like this.

We never needed to talk when we were together.

It was bliss.

What wasn’t bliss was when he got out of the truck fifteen minutes later, walked into Gusher’s, and I watched as three women came out while he opened the door and smiled up at him.

They were being friendly, I knew that, but... nope, they weren’t being friendly.

If they had been, they wouldn’t be staring at him.

And me being me, well, I just couldn’t help myself.

I opened my door, stood on the step rail, and narrowed my eyes at them, “Hey, he’s taken. Quit embarrassing yourselves.”

The three of them stopped immediately, cheeks flushed, and then they nodded and hurried to their car.

I nodded.

Then I climbed back in and waited.

Carter walked out of Gushers a few minutes later, shaking his head as my mom and dad walked out behind him, and right to my side.

Since my window was partially down, my dad said, “Have a good time, Harlee. We love you.”

I smiled, “Love you guys too.”

My mom winked at me, “Make him work for it.”

I giggled.

Carter chuckled as he handed me the bag.

Ten minutes later, we were pulling into the marina.

With my hand in one of his and his other carrying the bag, he led me to the dock where Misty and Frank had their boat.

He placed the bag of food behind us the moment we were both settled.

I was looking out over the water, as I said, “Don’t ever tell me you're not good enough for me, okay?”

I looked at him once I finished and saw him shaking his head, “Harlee...”

I shook my head, “No. You're one of the best men I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. I call you; you come. I’m scared; you fight my fear. I’m sad, you do something to make me laugh. You’ve been like this my whole life. And honestly, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

“Promised myself that if you thought I was good enough, that I was going to bust my ass to prove to you that I was. Still going to do that. And give all of me to you. And I want the same in return. I want all of you, Harlee Belle.”

I smiled, then said, “Can I ask you something?”

He looked at me with a lifted brow, “Okay.”

“Can we really be in a relationship and never have kissed before?” I teased.

He laughed. “We’re us, Harlee Belle. Rules don’t apply to us.”

I smiled.

His eyes dropped to my lips, then I watched as his throat swallowed, and his eyes heated, then he said, “Been wanting to kiss you since you turned eighteen.”

I tilted my head to the side, “Would have made my day, if you had.”

His eyes came up to mine as he leaned closer and whispered, “Had I done that, I wouldn’t have treasured this moment.”

And then he brought his hand up to cup the side of my face, his thumb stroking my cheek.

I tilted my head to the side, craving more of his touch, and then, as he bent his neck slightly, tilted his head to the side, I leaned in, and then... felt everything in the entire world stop.

His lips, full, lush, soft, pressed into mine.

I felt his tongue tease along my lips, and I opened my mouth, welcoming him in.

He pressed closer into me, wrapping his arm around my waist, his fingers clenching into my shirt.

As soon as my tongue came into contact with his, I felt him moan into my mouth, and that caused me to return the favor. Gladly.

I was so lost and caught up in the kiss that I hadn’t heard the whistles from someone who was out on a boat.

And neither had Carter because he was still kissing me, until the moment he slowly pulled his lips from mine, then he rested his forehead against mine, “Better stop.”

I nodded, then whispered, “Yeah.”

He pulled his forehead away, looked at my lips, smiled, then he looked down at my shirt, cocked his brow, then he looked back up at me, “Come to think of it, that shirt looks awfully familiar.:

I felt my cheeks tinge pink, “Umm.”

He winked, “Fucking cute. Looks better on you.”

Then he reached back and tagged the bag of food but not before pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

My thigh was brushing his, and when I shifted my leg to give him a little space, his hand came down softly on my thigh, and I stilled, “Been craving your touch for years. Don’t take it away from me. Please.”

I nodded, and then together we ate the meal my parents had thrown together.

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and apple pie.

We sat there, talking about our hopes and dreams, and at his sixth yawn, I narrowed my eyes at him.

He chuckled as he shook his head, “Fine.”

***

Half an hour later, we were outside my front door.

“Need to tell you something.” He said as he caressed my lips with his own.

I nodded, “Okay.”

He wrapped his big hand around the nape of my neck and said, “When I’m down there in the deepest parts, so fucking dark, you wouldn’t believe, there’s always a little light, guiding me on my way back home. To you.”

I smiled up at him as a tear trailed down my cheek and then smiled even wider when he brought his thumb up and brushed the tear away.

“Be that for you. Happy to,” I whispered.

He winked, “Okay, get some sleep.”

And yes, he didn’t walk away until he heard my locks click in place.

And then I had a thought.

I unlocked my door, just as Carter was halfway down my porch.

At the sound of my door opening, he stopped mid-step and turned his head to look up at me, “You, okay?”

I nodded, “Yeah. But I don’t want you to make the drive home, I know you're tired. And you said you didn’t want me to take my touch away, so umm, wanna stay the night?”

I watched as his body twisted to face me as he came up my stairs, and then his hand was wrapped around the back of my neck, “You sure?”

I nodded, “Yeah. You’ve got at least half an hour or more of driving. Stay here. With me.”

He winked down at me. Don’t have to ask me twice, Harlee Belle.”

Then, together with his hand in mine, we walked into my house, he flipped the locks, and then I led him to my bedroom.

I went into the bathroom and changed into my pajamas and did what I needed to do.

Carter took his time in the bathroom doing what he needed to do, as I got the bed ready and climbed in.

He opened the door, stepped out, and I felt my thighs clench, seeing him without a shirt on and in his boxers, goddamn.

All that glorious, tanned skin on display, and those tattoos. He was sexy. Oh, so sexy.

He winked at me, “Baby, keep looking at me like that, and I’m going to have to sleep on the couch.”

I stopped immediately. It was hard. But I did it.

He chuckled, then he said, “Slide over.”

I lifted my brows, “Why?”

“Because I’m your man. I’m here to protect you no matter what. And if god forbid someone breaks into your house, they come through your doorway to your bedroom, they’re going to have to go through me to get to you.”

At his words, my insides melted.

This man.

Freaking hell.

I slid over, and then he slid into bed next to me.

He reached over, turned out the lamp, and then he wrapped me in his arms, curled his body around mine.

Front to front.

And then I whispered, “Glad you're home, Carter.”

He winked, “Wasn’t home until I had you in my arms, Darling.”

And with that, I fell asleep.

What I didn’t know was that Carter lay awake exactly five minutes longer, taking me in, and vowing once again to never cause me to regret choosing him.