Page 93 of The Loves We Lost

“Jesus, Miles. I wouldn’t be this upset if I didn’t. I wouldn’t even be here if I didn’t. This has all been a massive step. I was thinking about it, and then Penny was all up in your face ... it just felt ...”

“Fuck.” Miles strides back over to me and wraps me up in his arms. His hand grips the hair at the base of my neck, and my face is tight to his chest. “Lessons learned all around then. I’m sorry I gave you a single reason to worry. Let me be clear.” He releases me a little and cups my cheeks. “Penny doesn’t mean shit to me. She’s someone I know and has always been around. I did not touch her today. I did not deliberately encourage her, and at no time did I say anything to her that I wouldn’t be comfortablesaying in front of you. But here’s the thing, Vi. You’re here for four weeks. That’s all you’ve promised me. And this isn’t some weird ploy to keep Penny hot in case you leave. You think I don’t want to give you a cut with my name on it? I offered it to you once, and you turned it down. And no, I’m not asking right now, even though a part of me wants to, because you haven’t said yes to us yet. But there are things ... if you were to move here for real, a cut would send a clear message I’m taken.”

“That feels a little bit like manipulation. ‘Say you’ll stay and I’ll give you the cut that will tell everyone I’m taken, but until you do, I’m fair game.’”

“Fuck, Vi, that’s not it at all. I don’t know how today has taken such a nosedive.”

“We need a redo,” I say, remembering the day Avery called him.

Bates sighs. “We do.”

“You told me you loved me today,” I say.

His hands slip to my shoulders, down my arms. “I did.”

“If I’m honest with myself, I think part of the reason I never slept with anyone else is because I’ve always loved you. And I don’t want to think that the next five years will feel just as lonely. I think it’s why I overreacted with Penny this afternoon. I feel like you’ve always been mine. And I get why you’ve slept with other people, but it hurts to see them in the same place as me and our daughter.”

Miles kisses me then. Softly at first, then heated. Like always.

It only takes a spark to light a fire.

And we ignite.

“I’m yours, Vi. Always have been.” Roughly, his hands find the zipper on the back of my dress and yank it lower. “Everything else was just killing time. Trying to forget. Trying to find something half as good as we were. Tell me again.”

“I love you, Miles. With all my heart.”

He pauses for a moment and cups my cheeks. “Never thought I’d hear you say it again, but I guess I still hoped. I love you too, buttercup.”

His lips graze up my neck as he ruthlessly shoves the sleeves off my shoulders; the dress flutters to the floor.

“Watching you get in Penny’s face? That was hot,” he admits.

I kiss and then bite his lip. “Not sure that should be the takeaway from today. What kind of example does that set for Avery? Me fighting with someone in the yard.”

“Stop being sensible, buttercup.” He snaps my bra open and tugs it from my body before dipping his head to suck my nipple firmly into his mouth. He toys with it, licking, sucking, biting, and then blowing cold air on it before switching to the other.

The bites grow a little firmer.

“Knowing you’d fight for me, for us ... It made me feel ten feet tall hearing you defend who we are and what we mean to each other.”

He steps back for a moment and tugs off his cut. The short-sleeved black shirt he’d tossed on just before the wedding follows it.

“Did I tell you how much I like your body?” I say.

“Don’t think you did.” He runs a hand over his abs. “As good as your book heroes?”

“Probably better,” I say as I wrestle with his belt, then unbutton his jeans and slide my hand inside, gripping his length.

“Can’t wait to fuck you, buttercup,” he says, spinning me and placing me face down on the small desk.

Within seconds, he yanks my panties to one side and thrusts inside. It’s wild and reckless. His hand tangles in my hair, fisting it and tugging it. He switches between kisses and bites as he holds my cheek down on the cool surface.

I grip on to the edge, my toes only just touching the floor.

“Miles,” I cry out as he thrusts into me harder and more powerfully than he ever has before.

“Shit, my ribs,” he groans.