Page 90 of My Star-Crossed Summer

His brow lifts as he slides his arm around my waist. “Is that right?”

I give him a teasing eye roll. “I’m nuts about you,” I confess. “And most days I don’t know what to do about it.”

“I have some ideas,” he says, his voice so gravelly it makes the little hairs on my neck tingle.

I give him a playful nudge and he shoots me a cocky half-smile that means we’ll definitely revisit this conversation later.

He brings my hand to his lips, planting a kiss on the inside of my wrist. “I get it,” he says, serious again. “Sometimes I have to step away to get clear on what I really need, too. But know that you can tell me anything. Always. When you’re feeling lost, I’ll come with you so we can find the way forward together.”

“Fair warning,” I tell him. “I get lost. A lot.”

“You’ll have to try a lot harder than that to scare me off, Griffin.”

I smile, looping my arms over his neck.

“I love the idea of getting lost with you,” he says, sliding his fingers along my cheek. “I have from the moment we met. And just for the record, I never wanted anything as much as I want you.”

He leans down and kisses me tenderly at first—but it only takes a moment for this spark to ignite. He catches my lip in his teeth, his hands squeezing my hips as he pulls me closer. And then my body melts into his, and I feel the pounding of his heart against my chest.

All I can think isyes. This. More.

“Wait,” he says, pulling away. “I forgot something.” He takes a step towards the door, but I catch his arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“I brought dessert,” he says, his tone teasing. “And wine. And flowers. I couldn’t possibly show up to win your heart empty-handed.”

“Later.” I pull him against me, sliding my hands along his chest. His eyes darken as he steps forward and pins me against the kitchen counter, his hips holding me in place. If his gaze was any more intense, it would burn this cabin to ash.

“I’ve been waiting for ages to get you all to myself,” I tell him, dropping my hands to his waist. “The last three weeks have been both amazing and absolute torture.”

He grins at that, one hand finding the small of my back while the other winds in my hair. “Same,” he says, his voice low and deep. His hands slide along my skin, as if memorizing every curve, and my heart bangs against my ribs. There’s no better feeling than this.

And there’s no other place I’d rather be.

“We have a week until the next camp starts,” I tell him. “I say we make it count.”

He leans closer, his lips moving against my ear. “I’m all yours, Griffin,” he says. “But then, I always have been.”

He scoops me onto the counter, and I lock my legs around his waist because somehow, he still feels too far away. His eyes pin me in place, and when he bends to kiss me again, I rake my fingers through his hair and catch his bottom lip in my teeth. I could kiss this man for days and still not get enough.

He murmurs my name, his lips moving against my neck, and I am both lost and finally found. When he mumbles something I can’t quite make out, I pull his face to mine and tell him to explain because I don’t want any more words lost between us.

“I can’t wait for our next adventure,” he says, eyes glittering with promise.

When he folds me into his arms again, my mind is quiet, and my heart is full—and for the first time I can remember, I know I’m exactly where I belong.

Epilogue

VICTORIA

Six months later

You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?” I ask, though I know his answer.

“And spoil the surprise?” Noah says. “No way, sweetheart.”

I can’t see him through the blindfold, but I know he’s smirking over there in the driver’s seat. There’s the telltale rumble of cobblestones beneath the tires, and based on how long we’ve been driving, that means we’re in one of the historic districts of downtown Charleston.

---