Page 73 of The Night
“I mean the two of us making inappropriate jokes and laughing while we have sex.”
I bit my lip and pondered this. “Yep. All the times when you don’t catch me coming out of the shower with that intense look in your eyes and get on your knees for me,” I agreed. “Or the times when you don’t make me cry because you’re so damn beautiful and I love you so much. Other than those times… yeah. It’s gonna be inappropriate jokes and fucking.”
“Good,” he said. Then kissed me again, exploring my mouth with his tongue like he was as addicted to my taste as I was to his.
The thought came back to me from earlier that there was no right way to do this life thing, and no right way to do this marriage thing either. And so, for us, it would be laugh-sex and way too much sugar, in this tiny, absurd, beautiful town.
Later, when I was hard as a fuckingrockand nowhere near laughter, after Gideon had slid off my underwear with his teeth and made me sing half the “Hallelujah Chorus” with his talented,talentedtongue, he slid inside me and showed me just how much he loved me with hot, whispered words and clenching hands. And when we came together, deep in my heart I heard azing…and it sounded like coming home.
* * *
I laid my shower-damp head on Gideon’s shoulder in a place I’d reclaimed as my own. One I’d never willingly give up again.
His fingers trailed up my spine, making me shiver and press my still-interested—fuckingperpetually interested—cock against his hip, but sex three times in one day was enough for me, coming out of retirement as I was, and my ass was still thrumming from the last go-round after Hazel finally fell asleep practicallyinher spaghetti at the kitchen counter, so instead of making a move to take it further, I yawned hugely.
Christmas tree decorating wasn’t for the faint of heart.
Christmas tree decorating when your husband and daughter had brought you home afa la la-ingredwood treewas an exercise in madness.
My hands were still sticky and smelled vaguely of tree sap, and I expected them to stay that way until February. I’d pulled more pine needles from Gideon’s hair than I’d thought humanly possible. I’d marveled at the way the light companies sold the strands pre-tangled, right out of the box, to ensure maximum frustration. And we still hadn’t gotten the ornaments on, since Fia kept taking each one down and thenkilling it dead.
But I’d laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
And for once, I’d enjoyed every moment of the process—the smiling onesandthe frustrating ones—because in twenty years, when I looked back on this day, I wasn’t gonna remember the tree, only the people gathered around it.
Myfamily.
A gift I didn’t deserve but had gotten anyway.
“Hey, Princess Lavender?” Gideon said lazily, his fingers dragging over my skin.
“Oh, no.” I lifted my head. “Nope. You’re not doing this.”
Gideon’s hand cupped the back of my neck and pushed me back down on his shoulder.
“Lavenderrrrr,” he sang.
“No!Gideon! This is the least sexy thing ever,” I moaned. “I will never be able to have sex in this bed again.”
“Lavender, you’re so very beautiful.”
“You know how you feel about Santa Claus and his soulless zombie eyes?” I complained. “That’s how I feel about being called Lavender while we’re naked.”
Gideon brushed a hand across my forehead, pushing back my hair. His fingers trailed along my scalp and I shivered. “You’re so fucking smart, Lavender.”
I sighed and buried my smile in his chest.
He lowered his head and nipped at my bottom lip at the same time his hand traced the seam of my ass, spreading his cum into my skin, which was… okay, it was legit the hottest thing in the known universe, even if hedidcall me Lavender while he did it.
“And I want to spend the rest of my life—ourlives—showing you just how special you are.”
His words were a breath against my skin, and he lifted my chin so our gazes met, held, burned, and melted into tenderness.
“You want me to go to the ball with you?” I demanded. “Because I will so go to the ball with you. Especially if you let me sleep now.”
He shook his head solemnly. “I’m looking for something more permanent than a ball.”
“Yeah?” I smiled and stretched against him lazily. “Like what?”