Page 81 of Devoted

It was how everything in my head went quiet.

How my purpose rearranged itself around the man in my arms.

How my heart felt…complete.

Since I’d seen him on the street, there’d been no question in my mind that this man was my fated mate, but now, our lips moving in perfect synchronicity, it fully sank in.

Sam was mine. Mine to love. Mine to cherish. Mine to protect.

For the rest of eternity, he’d be mine to treasure. This was the first step on our path to our happily ever after.

I couldn’t fucking wait.

But there was no rush. What was more, I didn’t want to rush this. I was only going to fall in love with this man once.

And I was going to savour every step.

With that in mind, I reluctantly pulled away. I didn’t go far, leaning my forehead against Sam’s while cradling his face.

He chuckled. “And of course you kiss like a god.”

I laughed, forcing myself to pull away completely before I forgot all my good intentions and moved us along at amuchfaster pace.

That didn’t mean I could resist teasing him a little. “Wait until you find out what I can do when my mouth is on other parts of you. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Sam’s eyes darkened. “Ah, so you can handle compliments if they’re of a sexual nature.”

I plucked a grape from the bunch on the tray and chucked it into my mouth before winking at Sam. “It’s not a compliment if it’s a fact.”

“I’m not sure there’s a difference.”

“There is.” I reached out and tugged on one of his curls, marvelling at how it bounced back into place. “Like me saying your hair is curly—that’s a fact. But saying it’s so beautifully thick, it makes me want to wrap it around my hands while you suck on my cock? That’s a compliment.”

Sam’s thin cotton bottoms did nothing to disguise his arousal. “So it’s down to interpretation. Because if my hair feels beautifully thick wrapped around your hands while I suck your cock, it’s no longer a compliment. It’s a fact.”

I couldn’t resist, I needed to touch him again. I feathered my fingers lightly along his arm, smiling at how he shivered. “Sounds like a theory we need to test.”

“I’m game when you are.” Sam’s gaze was on my mouth again. Was he picturing how it might be with our positions reversed? With me on my knees, showing him my promises weren’t an exaggeration? “In fact, I’m happy to carry out any kind of experiments.”

I reached down to rearrange myself with a muttered curse. Sam snickered, seeming far too pleased with himself. I glared at him. “You can laugh, but now we’ve got to go downstairs and meet the others, and all I’ll be thinking about is the various different…experimentswe could be doing instead.”

Sam blinked, and it was like he’d shrunk in on himself a bit. All traces of arousal vanished, leaving anxiety in its place. “Do I have to meet them?”

“Sam.” I touched his cheek until he looked at me. “If you don’t want to meet them, you don’t have to. We can hide in here for as long as we like.”

He sighed. “Why do I feel like there’s abutcoming?”

“Because you’re too smart for me.” I stroked his hair out of his eyes. “But it might be better to get it over and done with. Correct me if I’m wrong, but with OCD, the anxiety grows the longer you give in to a compulsion or intrusive thought, right?”

“I don’t know whether to be touched or annoyed that you’ve done some research.”

“Why would you be annoyed?”

He rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t stop his smile. “Because you know enough to prove me wrong. Like, I love it that you’ve taken the time to understand some of it, but hate that you don’t just automatically agree with me.”

“I’m sorry to break it to you, but that was unlikely to happen anyway.” I ruffled his hair once more before pulling away. “Agreeable isn’t an adjective my friends use to describe me.”

Sam hummed, picking up his mug once more. “Well, why don’t we finish up breakfast, and then I can find out exactly whatadjectives they use?”

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