Page 158 of Reluctantly You

“Hm, perhaps. We’ll see. As long as I have you at my place at night.”

“Or here,” I counter.

“Or here,” he replies as I nuzzle into him once more.

“Why haven’t we gone to your place since we got back?” I ask.

“Patience,” he murmurs. “You need to be patient.”

I don’t know what that means, he’s as clear as mud, but fuck, I want to know what he’s kept hidden from me.

When I disappeared up north, there were days when he wouldn’t text me until late in the evening. I thought he was over me, but now, I know it’ssomething. And it’s not a bad something. I don’t think so, at least. No, I think it’s something forus.

It’s a surprise.

“Come on. I want to eat dinner and then draw us a bath. I want to wash every inch of you.”

“Yeah, guess I can allow that.”

“You guess,” he says and then swoops in and kisses me until my toes curl. Goddamn, when did I become this man? A man who nuzzles into another, who begs to be fucked, who feels everything, every emotion, swirling within me?

I don’t know, but…

This is me now.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Gideon

I’m nervous—the audacity I had to do this. The assumption I made that he’d want this.

What if he doesn’t want it?

What if I overstepped?

All those days working to make this come true, to make this space for him. God, let him love it.

“Can I open my eyes now?” Mitch asks, a blindfold over his face.

I stare at him candidly, letting my gaze roam across him. Fuck, he’s so hot. How did I never think he was my type? I had it all wrong. All fucking wrong.

He’s mine. In every way.

I’m keeping him.

“One second,” I murmur as I lean down and capture his lips with mine. He groans, leaning into me, always such a needy boy for me. I never knew he’d be like this when we first met, but something in him called to me. Something in him fit right into that missing part of me.

I hated him then, but I love him now.

I fucking adore him.

“What was that for?” he asks, breathless.

“Because you look edible. I want to eat you.”

He scoffs, but I see the color bleed into his cheeks. He likes it when I talk dirty. The past few nights, I’ve whispered filthy things into his ear whenever I’ve had the chance. Watched him squirm, watched him anticipate.

He’s anticipating this.