“But you didn’t.” She sat up, curling her hand around his neck. “You showed up when I needed you.”
“Brittany, I don’t know where this leaves us. I don’t know what’s going to happen after today, or after the convention, or anything. But I need you in my life. You’re essential.”
She gave him a skeptical look. “Is this the adrenaline talking?”
“No, this is me. Terrified at how bleak my life almost became because the woman I love was attacked and almost killed. Adrenaline is just a nice bonus.”
She kept staring at him, her eyes darting from one eye to the other.
“Say it again.”
“What?”
“That you love me.”
Gus didn’t hesitate.
“Brittany, I love you. And it may seem fast, but I’m suspecting that I’ve loved you since I met you. And I know you love me too, but you don’t have to say it yet if you don’t want to. It’s enough that you’re here, in my arms, letting me hold you after this terrible fucking day.”
She smiled then, big and wide in a way that made Gus’s heart turn over.
“I might love you, too,” she whispered.
He kissed her, keeping it soft, sweet. Letting her know through the kiss how much he cherished her, adored her, worshipped her, and could feel the tension leave his body the longer it went on. He was home, right where he was supposed to be, with the woman he loved, and he was going to enjoy it for as long as he could.
CHAPTER 26
BRITTANY
The first feeling Brittany had upon waking up was how warm she was. There was a delicious weight on her, and when she lifted her hand, Gus’s hair slid through her fingers. A glance down showed that he was holding her in his sleep, his body half on top of hers, chest to chest, his head tucked into her neck like she was his lifeline. She let her hands drift down his broad back, loving the feel of his smooth skin under her palms.
Last night Gus had helped her to bed, tucking her in before stripping down to his boxer briefs and sliding in next to her. She’d been worried she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but with Gus there, she had knocked out in record time.
And now here he was, clutching her like a teddy bear, one of his legs thrown over hers, shielding her with his body even in his sleep. The wave of love and affection that hit her was strong, and she breathed in his scent, grateful to be there in that moment with him.
“Tell me you’re awake.”
His voice was rough with sleep, and he didn’t raise his head from her neck. But his hand slid from her torso along to her side and down to her hip in one long stroke. Brittany couldn’t stop what she knew was a goofy smile on her face.
“Define ‘awake.’”
“Alert and ready to beg for my mouth on that gorgeous pussy of yours.”
Holy fuck, okay. He woke up much faster than her, which meant Brittany was going to have to get her brain going. Hard to do when his hands kept slipping closer and closer to exactly where she wanted him to be.
She hummed. “Not quite that awake. But maybe awake enough for something else.” She slid her own hand between them, grabbing him beneath his boxer briefs, loving the hitch of his breath as she held him, firm and possessive.
“Fuck.”
“You’ve taken such good care of me,” she said into his ear. “Let me take care of you.”
She ran her hand up his length as she spoke, wanting him mindless, wanting him under her spell and command. And he must have sensed that in her, because he gave a soundless laugh.
“You’re seducing me.”
“Damn straight I am.”
She gave him a small shove, and he turned onto his side, resting his head in his palm as he stared at her. She continued teasing him through his underwear, loving how his eyes darkened with each stroke. When she reached down to cup his balls, still feeling him through his underwear, his hips shifted, tensing for a moment before he fell onto his back.