still cuddled against him, hanging on to his every word. Warmth swirls in my chest, and I rest my hand over my heart.
As if sensing my presence, End glances my way, a smirk twisting his lips. The effect of it hits me straight in my core. After we got back from the barn, we all came home, showered, and got ready for bed. As part of her nightly routine, Luna wanted her daddy to read her a story. It’s something I’ve gladly given him full rein over.
I watch for a bit longer until she falls asleep in his arms. He gently slips out from beneath her, pulling the covers over her. It’s such a dichotomy, watching this broad-shouldered man be so gentle with her. It’s like he was born to do this.
He meets me at the door, his hands sliding around my waist. His hold is a possessive one, one I find that I adore. Pressing a kiss against my neck, he inhales deeply, and it sends a wave of flutters through me. End guides us into our bedroom, and my core clenches when he locks the door behind him, prowling toward me with a predatory gleam in his eyes.
The way he touches me and holds me is a contradiction to the heat swirling in those green depths. He handles me with such care, cupping my cheek gently here and petting my curves there. His thumb swipes over the skin on my shoulders, and his gaze rakes across my flesh. As I stare up at him, I get the urge to say the words I’ve been too afraid to let go of.
“I don’t know a lot about love, other than what I feel for you.” I slide my arms around his neck, drawing our foreheads together. My next words come out thick and unsteady, but directly from my heart. “I love you, Endymion Black. And what is between us? I want it forever.”
Something akin to a possessive growl reverberates in his chest. His hand finds purchase at the back of my head, and he grips there. He leans closer, bringing the scent of the sage soap he uses and something that is purely Endymion. The scent of him is so familiar, it’s burned into my memory, so much so, that he feels like home.
His green eyes are wild with lust and a handful of so many other emotions I can’t pin down. “Do you know how fucking long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that?”
My heart is beating like an angry metronome in my chest at his admission. “How long?”
“Since our daughter let it slip all those weeks ago that her father was in love with her mother.”
I laugh, just thinking about the memory.
Since the day I spotted him in that damn grocery store, I’ve felt the words. I just never had the guts to say them aloud until now.
Did he really not know how I felt about him? Judging by the expression on his face, I realize that maybe he’s been waiting for me to tell him all this time.
Cupping my face in his calloused hands, End leans down, grazing my lips with his.
“I love you, Selene. I want to give you forever and everything after that. I want years of us building a happy family with Luna. Years of hearing your stories about the moon and why you love it so much. I’d chase the moon and bring it to you if I could. I’d handpick every goddamn star in the sky if it were possible, and I’d do it all for you.”
A constellation of fragmented shells and sand floats in his light brown hair as he stares down at me. The way he’s looking at me right now is something I’ve always dreamed of. He’s something I’ve always dreamed of.
“You once mentioned that you looked at the stars because it was like staring up at dreams and endless possibilities. You’re that star for me, Selene. You’re the entire goddamn universe, consuming my orbit. Consuming my every thought.”
Emotions clog my throat. “How can you possibly remember that?”
He smiles. “I remember, Selene. I always have.”
My lips part. “So what Holly said back at the barn tonight, about you…about me…that was true?”
Those vibrant greens search mine, and he nods. “I’ve never not noticed you, Selene. How could I?”
Something filters through my chest while an ache simultaneously blooms in my core. “Kiss me,” I urge.
Endymion doesn’t waste a single second. His mouth swoops down, and he takes my mouth in