Page 129 of Lunar Crest University

His dark eyes search my face as his smile falters just slightly. “I guess I…I’ve never done this before. I don’t really know what it means for someone to love me.”

This man.

“Lucky for you,” I tsk playfully, leaning down and pressing my lips to his. It’s slow and sweet, and his hands grip my hips as I pull away. “You’ll have to deal with me every day as yourwife. I guess I’ll have to show you how much I love you in every way imaginable. Just so you don’t forget.”

“Oh yeah?” he rasps.

I hum in agreement, kissing him again.

His cock, still inside me, hardens again, and I gasp as it stretches me out. I can’t help but clench around him as I wrap my arms around his neck, deepening our kiss.

“Do you have to wait until you’re my wife to show me?” he questions teasingly, jerking his hips ever so faintly in a way that has his jaw popping open from the friction. “C-could give me a little tease right now if you wanted.”

Smirking, I say, “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Very much.”

His soft moans turn into desperate pleas as I lift off him completely, pressing another kiss to his mouth that hangs open in despair. Swinging my leg back, I plop my feet on the ground with a subtle smile tugging at my lips.

“Andwehave to get to your mom’s,” I remind him, running my fingers through his curls and chuckling as he sticks his lip out in a pout. “But if you’re a good boy, I’ll reward you with celebratory fiancé sex tonight.”

He raises an excited brow as he pulls his pants back up.

“And you’re going to hate this,” I continue, readjusting my skirt and smoothing out my sweater as I peek down at him. “But I’m not going to wear the ring to your mom’s. I don’t want to take away from Emilia’s big weekend. We can have our time later, but this is her moment.”

Standing up from the chair, I’m a tad surprised when a smile dances along his lips instead of a scowl. He tugs me toward him by my hips, planting a kiss on my forehead as he brushes my hair back over my shoulders and fixes the out-of-place strands. My heart swoons in my chest at his attention to detail.

“God, I love you.”

“You’re not mad?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No. I agree, actually. Emilia’s happiness is important to me, and you’re right. This is her weekend. There will be hundreds of other weekends for us, but this one is hers.”

Luca from a year ago would’ve never responded like this, and something about that warms me from the inside out. He’s changed so much over the past year, and while I never doubted he was a good person, hopefully now, he would start to believe it himself. He may be thirty-five, but he just needed some guidance withfeelings.When you’ve never been shown something like that before, how could you possibly know how to navigate it?

I’ve helped him navigate this far, but he’s got it all on his own. I don’t have to be his guide anymore; now, we can growtogether. I’ve poured into his cup, and he poured into mine while I was healing and renovating the bookstore and figuring out what I wanted after college. Now, with both of our cups full, we can justbe.

THE END

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