Page 19 of Kiss me Forever

“We were and are,” he says, his expression soft. “We did so much together. We used those woods as our own personal playground. We had safari’s dressing up with what we could find, making binoculars our of toilet paper rolls, and exploring the wild. I’ve forgotten about this stuff until talking about it. We even built our own traps that caught nothing in reality, but in our imagination were containing lions, tigers, and bears.”

“Even without money you had an incredible childhood,” I tell him. Even if all of this is drawing me in closer and closer to him, I love every minute of it.

“I think it was wonderful because we didn’t have money. We were forced to use our imaginations, forced to play with what we could make ourselves. It’s easy to be isolated in today’s world with electronics at our disposal. Back then, we either played and talked, or we were bored to pieces. I wouldn’t change it.”

“I had an older brother that wasn’t there most of my childhood, and had a really hard time making friends when I was young because I was so shy, but then I met Livie my freshman year of college and learned the importance of having a best friend. Everyone needs a person they can tell everything to without being judged. I can’t imagine my life without her now. It would’ve been even better to have had her when I was young.”

“You don’t like to talk too much about your childhood,” he points out.

I feel myself close up a little. “There’s not a lot to tell. That was the past, and now I’m here today, and I’m happy. I want to make new memories. I wish I would’ve had half as perfect a childhood as you did, but we aren’t all that lucky.” I don’t allow this to bum me out. It’s simply reality. I’ve accepted it.

“I’m sorry you didn’t have a great childhood, but I’m here now, and I’d love to help you make some wonderful memories.”

The sincerity in his voice nearly brings me to tears. How has this man stepped into my life? It seems so unreal I don’t know what to think about it. I’m waiting for the bubble to pop while praying it doesn’t. I want to live in the moment now, though, and not look for what might happen. The past is done, and the future is yet to come, but I have full power in the moment, and I choose to make each moment wonderful.

“I wouldn’t mind a few more memories,” I admit. He reaches over and takes my hand again, squeezing my fingers.

We leave the restaurant and take a walk along the water, the night air cool and inviting, making me feel even more relaxed. We continue talking, the topics running from light-hearted to more personal, all of it thrilling. Magnus has a way of making me feel seen and my words valuable to him. I love walking at his side. The moonlit path is serene, the gentle sounds of the waves soothing, and his hand in mine a perfect ending to an even more perfect day. I’m not going anywhere.

He stops and pulls me into his arms. “I wasn’t sure how you were going to top the helicopter ride, but each moment of today has been amazing.”

“I’m happy you’ve enjoyed yourself. It’s the best date I’ve ever had, and it’s all about the company. I’d be just as pleased sitting alone with you on the couch. As long as you’re in my arms, I’m right where I want to be.”

“You’re dang smooth, Mr. Carter,” I tell him.

“I’m not trying to be,” he says, and I believe him. This man speaks from the heart. He’s much softer than I realized the first time we met. His hard shell is nothing but a show.

He leans down, and captures my lips in a tender, lingering kiss that has me melting in his arms. “Come home with me,” he demands.

“Oh yes,” I reply.

All of this is romantic, but as soon as we decide to head home, we’re in a hurry. He pulls from me, takes my hand, then we practically run back to his vehicle and the speaking stops as he breaks every speed limit on the way to his home.

I reach over and lay my hand on his thigh, squeezing, which makes him press down even harder on the accelerator, making me smile. If this is a fling, I’m okay with it, because I can’t imagine anything being better than it is right now. I’ll take all I can get, and I’ll enjoy the entire journey.

Chapter Twelve

Magnus

We barely make it in the door before I’m pulling Piper to me. The entire day has been wonderful from the moment I saw her standing in the doorway of her apartment, her hair in a ponytail, her jeans hugging her hips to perfection, and her smile lighting up my world.

Her enthusiasm all day long has been music to my soul, and I can’t get enough of this woman. I love doing normal things with her, love doing extraordinary things as well, but none of it compares to her being in my arms. This is where we belong.

As soon as the door closes, I pull her to me, and push her back against the wall, kissing her the way I’ve wanted to all day. Now there won’t be any interruptions. I can show her how much I desire her, show her what she does to me. I kiss her until neither of us can breathe. Never have I understood losing your breath over a woman until meeting this one. She literally takes my breath away.

She grabs the front of my shirt and I feel us moving. I’m shocked when I’m the one pushed against the wall next. She kisses me this time as her hands circle my neck and she pushes into me. I nearly lose all sense of control. I reach behind her and pull her up and she encircles my body with her legs. I push forward, needing sweet relief for the painful erection I’m sporting. She grinds against me as she wiggles her hips. I nearly black out.

I start moving without realizing I’ve sent the signal to my brain. She doesn’t let go of me as I break the kiss so I don’t run into the walls. She latches onto my neck and bites, and I growl with lust as she sucks the skin she’s just bruised.

We somehow manage to make it into the bedroom, and I rush to the bed which I fall into, our limbs entangled. I want our clothes gone. She’s ripping at my shirt, and we somehow manage to pull it off. I’m not sure where the clothes go, but there’s a lot of groping, moans, and cries of frustration as we have to release each other long enough to strip.

I somehow manage to reach into my drawer and grab a condom, which I’m thankful for, as this woman is consuming me so fully it’s amazing I have a brain cell left in me to protect her. I slide between her thighs, too needy for foreplay. She grabs me again and pulls my head to hers as our mouths crash into each other’s while I surge my hips forward and sink into her blissful heat. She bites my lip as she cries out at how perfectly we fit together.

I pull up her thigh and hold on as I surge in and out of her, faster and faster. It’s been far too long since I’ve been inside her for me to slow down my urgency. We have time to slow down later. I hit against her again and again, and then she rips her lips from mine as she screams and as body grips mine tightly while an orgasm is ripped from her. I push hard inside as I join her, my own pleasure coming out as a guttural moan as we shake.

We’re both sweating and panting and unable to catch our breaths. Before I collapse on her, I twist, not yet willing to let her go, but needing to catch my breath. We lie side by side, her leg over mine, our arms wrapped around each other as we take a couple of minutes to catch our breath.

“Wow, that was . . . intense,” Piper says before she chuckles.

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