Page 27 of Inevitable

“My grandmother got sick the summer before my senior year. We found out she had stage four cancer and probably didn’t have much time.”

“God, Claire. You didn’t catch a break.”

“To make a sad story short, she made it through June and passed away two weeks after I graduated from high school. If it wasn’t for Andi and her family, I don’t know how I would’ve made it. Her mama, to this day, is one of my favorite people.”

Not able to take the distance between them, he picked her up and pulled her into his arms. Maybe she didn’t need it, but he sure did. A lot of things made sense about this woman, and his respect, admiration, and all-out crush just rocketed into the stratosphere.

“The good news is that keeping Gran alive and social services out of our lives allowed me to develop my hacking skills. I was always really good with writing programs and coding, and when push came to shove and I needed to get my Gran taken care of, I became great.”

“So, how did you get yourself off to college and not fall apart?”

“My gran would have haunted me from the grave if I didn’t make a good go of it. There was no way I could let her down, so I got up every morning and put one foot in front of the other and finished my degree in three years. What I didn’t do was have a social life. I was the sad girl again and had no idea how to become a happy co-ed. I didn’t do hookups or meet-ups and I never swiped right. I had missed developing a whole set of social skills, and by college, I was too far behind the curve to make a real go of trying to meet people and date.”

“The whole online thing makes a lot more sense now.”

“I liked the safety of the questionnaires and the algorithms and the anonymity. No one could reject me to my face, so it felt okay.”

“You have no idea how beautiful, amazing, and desirable you are. If you did, you would know that you could have any man you wanted.”

Snorting, she covered her face. “Yeah, that’s not true.”

He almost argued with her but thankfully stopped himself. Why should he convince her she could have her pick? Truth was, she couldn’t because he’d gotten here first and she was his. It just so happened he was the lucky son of a bitch who found her, so he was going to keep her. “Your lack of experience is kind of sexy, Claire. What happens between us is what we make it. Totally unique, completely our own. I don’t have any experience with you, so I have no idea what you like and how you like it. As far as I can tell, the privilege of being intimate with someone isn’t something that can be judged. It’s not like there’s a panel of Olympic judges sitting on the sidelines and giving us scores. The only thing that matters is that we’re open and honest with each other.”

“Guess that’s true. I just got up in my head and started worrying. Turns out, I really like you, and I want you to feel the same way about me. And if I’m no good in bed, that might be difficult.”

The arrow that had been threatening to pierce his heart finally did. Claire’s words broke him open and allowed the love that had been floating around to finally find a home and fill his being. It was the sappiest, most emotional thing that he’d ever experienced, and he didn’t expect to ever recover. Leaning forward, he framed her face and tried to get himself under control. “Not anything you ever have to worry about, Claire. You pretty much own me and there is nothing that you could do that’s ever going to change that.”

“Well, that’s good news.” She laid both of her hands over his, leaned up, and pressed a small kiss to his lips. When she pulled back and looked into his face, she grinned. “I didn’t mean to let all that loss define me, and truth is, it doesn’t anymore. I fell down and lost my spark for a while, but when I figured how to get back up, I rose as the whole damn fire.”

“I see that,” he responded. “That’s what attracted me to you. You’re a bright light with fierce intelligence and humor.”

She gave him one more kiss and then scooted away from him. A moment’s panic rose in his chest. Was she going to leave?

She stood up and dropped the towel. “I feel a lot better now that I’ve told you everything. So…” Her hand went to the tie of her bikini and she unknotted it. “I want you to show me your super-ninja sex skills.”

He watched her bikini top fall to the ground and felt his heart slam against his chest. Claire was fucking perfect. Her generous breasts made his fingers tingle and his mouth water. He was about to stand and she put her hand up in a stop motion. Swallowing loudly, he nodded, because his ability to speak had pretty much vanished.

“I want you to teach me.” She put both of her hands into her bottoms and pushed them down her legs.

He couldn’t control himself for a second longer and stood in one fluid motion. When he was off the lounge chair, she stepped back. “Claire…” She kicked off the bottoms and stood before him completely naked, completely desirable in the moonlight.

God, in fact, had blessed him, and he would never ask for another thing for as long as he lived because all he would ever want, all he would ever need was standing before him. “Thank you.”

She slid her small hands onto her curvy hips and grinned. “I just realized I have nothing to worry about because I have no idea what I’m doing. You, on the other hand, are in charge of this escapade. So, if doesn’t turn out well, we can blame you. After all, you’re the one with all the experience.”

“Not a problem, Claire.” He scooped her up, turned toward the house, and was probably grinning like an idiot. “I got some good sheets and washed them a bunch of times, so not only am I going to make you happy and satisfied, but you’re going to enjoy that soft cotton beneath your very fine ass.”

Holding his neck tightly, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Now you own me.”

As he strode down the hall with Claire naked as the day she was born, laughing in his arms, he figured he could die a happy man. Every happiness he would ever hope for was here.

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