Page 108 of Without You

I cling to him as tight as I possibly can, my arms protectively wrapped around his body. I drop kisses wherever I can, and when my mouth is directly by his ear I whisper, “We never have to do that again.”

He whips his head back, his arms still around me, nothing but his heart and all the hope in the world in his eyes. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

I give him a teasing grin. “What do you think I’m saying?”

“You better not be fucking with me right now.”

“Close your eyes,” I demand. “And no peeking.”

Taking a step back I run my hands down his shoulders, down the length of his arms, and entwine my fingers with his. Walking backward, I drag him into the house until we’re standing in front of my surprise.

Letting go of his hands I move behind him, circling his waist with my arms. “You can open them now.”

Because I can’t see him, I wait for his body or mouth to give his reaction away. I don’t have to wait too long, because he spins around, grabbing my face, his eyes wide. “Really?”

I look behind him to the group of boxes, each individually labeled with a ‘Seattle Bound’ sticker I had made, and then back at Deacon. “Not obvious enough for you?”

Deacon‘s resounding answer is in the form of a brutal yet breathtaking kiss.It’s weeks of built up emotion; our original glass half empty now more than full. It’s overflowing with love and commitment and forever and always.

When our tongues tangle the heat between us rises exponentially. Weeks of distance and abstinence have my body feeling like there’s nothing but waves and currents of high voltage electricity running through me.

Breathlessly I pull away from Deacon, needing to get the single most important task of my whole entire life crossed off my checklist.

“I love you,” I exhale, my body deflating in a monumental wave of relief. No other three words in the English language have ever held this much weight and pressure over me. And finally, I’ve been given the most perfect moment to give them wings to fly.

“I love you,” I repeat with even more conviction. “I love you, and I don’t want one more second to pass without you knowing how I feel about you.”

Taking deep, heavy breaths, Deacon closes his eyes and rests his forehead against mine. “It feels like I’ve waited so long to hear you say those words to me.”

He presses his lips to mine, quick and forceful. “I feel like I’ve waited even longer to be able to say them back to you.”

Opening his eyes he keeps his gaze locked with mine, his hands still resting on my cheeks. “I am so ridiculously in love with you.”

My heart bursts like a ball of confetti inside my chest, the smile on my face evidence that this is the happiest I can ever remember being.

A throaty chuckle slips through his lips while he shakes his head softly. “I can’t believe how good I feel now that I’ve said it.”

“God, me too,” I groan.

“Now,” Deacon starts, kissing the corner of my mouth. “I just need to hear you say it while I’m inside you and this will go down as my favorite Christmas ever.”

“Yeah. About that?” He looks at me quizzically. “I literally have no furniture.”

He finally takes the time to look beyond the boxes. “Not even a fucking chair you can ride me on?”

I bark out a laugh. “While you get an A for creativity, and the visual is highly motivating, I really don’t even have a chair. The landlord needed the key by tonight, so I’ve got to pack my car up with the boxes, drop the key at the realtor, and then check into the hotel I managed to book.”

“You fucker,” Deacon says. “You could’ve led with ‘I booked a hotel room.’”

“Well, I figured sleeping in your childhood bedroom, with your parents in the house, wasn’t really an option.”

His face scrunches up in anguish at the mention of Elaine and Bill. “We’re going to tell them, aren’t we? Tomorrow?”

I cock my head at him. “Are you asking me if I want to tell them? Or asking me if I don’t want to tell them?”

“I’m asking if you have any preference.”

“Do you?” I counter.

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