Page 85 of Almost Always

He moaned at the husky and filthy way she said it, their breath mingling as he slowly pulled his mouth away from hers. Her eyes were dark and full of wicked promises. Rafferty slid his hands down to her hips and in a well-practiced move, he bent down and pressed his shoulder into her stomach and flipped her over his back. She squealed and he smacked a hand against herbare ass, fighting the urge to laugh at how ridiculous they were being. He grabbed her clothes and carried her into the house. In the bathroom, he gently set her on the counter and took a step back, chest heaving with how fucking turned on he was.

“Your turn.”

“No time,” he forced out and added, “Besides, if I get anywhere near you in that state, we’re not going to make it to dinner.”

Her lips turned down in a pout and she unhooked her bra, sliding it off her arms. His mouth went dry at the sight of her breasts, the dark hardened tips and down to the tattoo below. He knew she had the New York skyline inked there, but this was the first time he was seeing the wordsshe found herselfprinted between the skyscrapers.

“That’s where I found you too,” he said, memories of their years together flashing through his mind. “Shower, I’ll finish the repotting.”

“Then you can help me choose what to wear tonight?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. I’ll help.”

It would kill him, but he’d fucking do it. Returning her smile, he walked out of the bathroom and inhaled deeply. When he heard the shower turn on, he returned to the greenhouse and finished the job, cleaning up all of the dirt.

When he walked back into the house, mud staining his shirt and spread over his arms, Daisy was standing in a towel in the loft.

“Gardening looks good on you, hotshot,” she said with a grin, running a comb through her wet hair. “You ready to choose my outfit?”

He had no idea what he looked like, but was glad that she approved. “Yup. Do you have a notebook I can use?”

“I have my iPad.”

“Where is it?”

She gestured to the pile of things on the couch and after rummaging through it, he pulled her iPad out.

“Putting a twist on this—you model the clothes and I’ll rate them.”

“And this will help me how?” she asked with a laugh.

“It’ll give you a chance to see how you feel in each outfit. But mostly, it’ll allow me to admire the heck out of my girl.”

“Your girl?”

“Fuck yes my girl.”

He’d always thought of Daisy ashisand he was glad that he could finally say it out loud.

“Does that make you my guy?”

“Feel free to call me anything, as long as it implies that I’m yours.”

“Silly man,” she mumbled and blew him a kiss.

He caught it and pressed it against his heart. “Show me your clothes.”

She laughed and stepped out of sight. Since he wasn’t someone who spent a lot of time on his phone, outside of texts and phone calls, the only way he knew about anything that happened on the internet was because of the guys at the firehouse. On a particularly slow day, the rookies played a video of a man rating his wife’s date night outfits.

All he could think about was doing that with Daisy.

“Okay, first outfit.”

She appeared at the top of the stairs in a floral top paired with a black leather skirt. She twirled, to show him the full look and he shrugged.

He scribbled 15/10 and flipped the iPad for her to see. “You look great, but that skirt doesn’t look comfortable. Next.”

“Have you forgotten how math works?” she teased and went to change.

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