“But I wouldn’t want to change you. At all.”
“Even though I made your life hell?”
“Connor, at the darkest point in my life, you gave me something to believe in. You reminded me that there was more out there than just the tiny, closed-off little life I was living. You’ve got to stop thinking you’ve been so awful to me.”
“But I legitimately have been, sometimes.”
“And I’ve been my worst self too, sometimes. Yes, we’ve fought, and I’m old enough to know that we probably will again. But you hold me accountable, and inspire me, and there’s no one I’d rather—”
I broke off, my brain for once acting a little faster than my mouth, as I heard the words I’d been about to say.
“What?” Connor asked.
I rolled onto my back, grimacing at the ceiling. “It’s gonna sound really embarrassing.”
“Didn’t you just get done telling me that I keep you honest?” Connor pushed himself up on his elbow and raised an eyebrow at me.
I covered my eyes. “Ugh, there’s no one I’d rather spend the rest of my life with. Happy? Was that mortifying enough for you? We’ve been dating for two hours and I’m already talking about—”
That time, I didn’t finish my sentence because Connor stopped me—with his lips.
“Good,” he said, when I let my hands fall back down to the mattress. “Because that means I don’t have to agonize over how soon is too soon to tell you I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too.”
I peered up at him. “You really don’t think I’m crazy for saying that so soon?”
“We’ve wasted ten years hiding from each other. I don’t want to waste a single second more.”
I laughed. “At this rate, we might as well decide to move in together.”
“Done. Clear me a drawer, I’ll bring my stuff over tonight.”
“Seriously?”
“You think I’m joking? I’m not. Let’s move in together. Let’s get fucking married. Let’s do it all.”
“Yeah. Sure. We can adopt five kids while we’re at it.”
“And ten more cats and dogs. Each.”
“Fine, but then we also have to get a tandem bicycle for riding around town. Baby blue.”
“Great. It’ll go perfect with our matching sets of His and His towels.”
“We have to start referring to each other exclusively as Hubby, Hubs, and Hubster, then. Or Husbeast, in your case.”
“Well I’ll need to call you something in all the obnoxious couple pictures I’m going to start taking and posting on social media.”
I made a face. “You don’t have social media.”
Connor raised an eyebrow again. “You’ve checked?”
“Maybe once or twice. Over the years.”
He grinned. “Well, for the chance to rub my insane happiness in all of our mutual acquaintances’ faces? I’ll get it.”
“God, my dad would hate that.” I laughed. “Let’s do it.”
“Excellent. I thoroughly look forward to our future together with five children, twenty dogs, and fifty garden gnomes.”
“Garden gnomes?”
“Lily wants some.” Connor shrugged. “And Deacon’s on the fence.”
“So you want us to get garden gnomes in a bid to make her love you more, and annoy your brother?”
“Pretty much.” Connor’s smile was gleeful. “A full twenty-three percent of my energy is directed at annoying my brother at all times. You know this about me.”
“I do know that,” I admitted. “I really do.”
“Luckily, one hundred percent of me is also directed at making you smile,” Connor said, nipping at my ear.
“Ah, yes, One Hundred Twenty-Three Percent Connor Murphy.”
“That’s what they call me.”
He rolled on top of me again, and this time, there was no objection as I stroked his cock through his jeans. No sounds at all, even, except for the occasional moan that, okay, fine, I really did hope Katie couldn’t hear.
Connor’s lips were everything. Hungry and rough and claiming mine. His stubble scratched my chin, his fingers found my lower back, and I wanted to drown myself in his kiss.
I tugged at the bottom of his shirt and he obliged, pulling it off over his head, then sliding mine off as well. I let my hands roam over his skin, through the thatch of hair on his chest, across the muscles of his abs, along the planes and angles of his back.
Connor ground down against me as I squeezed his ass, and God, I wanted to be inside him. I wanted to take him apart, piece by piece, and put him back together with myself as the mortar, touching every part of him. I wanted his arms around me as I slid into him, wanted to know that I was his and he was mine.
He