Page 121 of Finding Home

She bit her lower lip.

Wickedness sparked in his eyes. “Tell me.” He tugged her panties off before coasting kisses down her body.

“I want you to taste me until you have your fill.”

“Impossible,” he growled with a deep inhale of her sex.

“Oh…god…” she hissed with pleasure with the first flick of his tongue against her clit.

Every muscle in her body wound tighter as Clayton took her to the edge and back again. His slow licks, hard sucks, and teasing flicks ignited every nerve ending into raging bonfires until Elle thought she’d be consumed.

“Clayton!” Her legs seized around him.

He pressed his smirk against her trembling thigh. “That’s my girl,” he murmured, stroking his rough hands against her smooth skin.

“Inside me! Now!”

“Yes, ma’am,” he drawled, straightening and taking off the remainder of his clothes.

Climbing back on to the bed, he prowled up her body with nipping kisses until he reached her mouth. The taste of her still on his lips as he took her mouth in a devouring kiss.

With a seductive smile, she pushed him onto his back and climbed on top, sinking onto his rigid length. The fullness ensconced her in a sensation of belonging. She to him. Him to her.

“I love you,” she breathed.

He cupped her cheek. “I love you.”

Gazes locked, Clayton’s strong hands guided her hips in a deliciously slow movement on top of him. Their “not normal” behavior had never beenjust sex.There was a physical desire and need for each other, but it was so much more. It had always been love, even before she admitted the words to herself and spoke them out loud.

They were a tangle of naked limbs as they lay, the cotton sheets twisted around them, talking. Elle told him everything she wanted to tell him since she’d left. His lips gently kissedaway her cautiously relieved tears about her mom. Then they laughed at how she had two ambush-style grand gestures in one week. He told her he read the article about the ribbon cutting and the partnership announcement on the plane this morning. Elle wiggled happily as Clayton told her about the fourth veterinarian who would be joining the practice in December.

His fingers traced her starfish pendant as he told her about Liam coming to the clinic on Saturday and how Meghan got him a child-size lab coat withVet in Trainingstitched on it.

“Jerome’s been calling him ‘fun size’ Clayton.” He grinned happily.

She teased him asking if Noah had intervened to push him to fly to Chicago and surprise her.

Winking he said, “Perhaps.”

She grinned. Thankful for their friend.

“Oh, I brought something.” He scooted out of bed, walking over to the large black suitcase in the corner.

Clayton tipped the case flat, unzipped, and dug around. Her face scrunched at how much he had packed. There were neat piles of clothes, a Ziplock bag with toys for Fitz, a plasticware container full of dog treats, a pair of running shoes, and a pair of dress shoes. When they went to Boston for the night, he’d only had a small overnight duffle.

“That’s a big suitcase. When are you planning to fly back home?” she said perplexed.

“Well, I’m flying with you to Long Beach tomorrow and staying ’til next Sunday. Meghan and Jerome are covering for me.” A boyish grin played on his face as he looked up at her, his hands blindly searching for whatever he was looking for.

That’s why Braedon had canceled next week’s meetings.Her big smile couldn’t be contained.

“Found it.” He straightened and turned back toward the bed. “We have a book to finish.”

“Our book… Wait, didn’t you have book club on Monday?”

“I didn’t finish it.” He lifted Fitz into Elle’s arms. “It’s our book. It didn’t feel right finishing it without you.”

The familiar flip of her belly andthump-thumpof her heart hit simultaneously. Books are littered with stories of men that conquer lands, slay monsters, find treasure, build kingdoms, or discover new worlds, all for the women they love. Life is full of stories of men showing up with roses or jewelry to declare their love. All the fictional and the real stories were nothing compared to the knee-wobbling, swoon-inducing idea that Clayton, who adored books as much as Elle, wouldn’t finish one because they had started it together and together, they would finish it.

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