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The moment our lips touched, everything else fell away. His mouth was soft and warm, and I moved under him, slowly at first, savoring the feel of him. His breath hitched as I deepened the kiss and widened my legs so he could nestle between them. I cupped the back of his neck, pulling him closer, needing more of him.
He responded in kind, his lips parting, inviting me in. I didn’t hesitate. The kiss grew more heated, more urgent, as I angled my head, and he pressed harder against me. The world outside could have been burning, and I wouldn’t have noticed. All that mattered was how he felt in my arms and how he fit against me as if he was made to be there.
I broke the kiss, but only long enough to breathe, my forehead resting against his as I tried to gather myscattered thoughts. His eyes were heavy-lidded, glazed with the same desire that was coursing through my veins. I couldn’t help the small, satisfied smile that tugged at my lips, knowing I’d been the one to make him look like that.
“Connor…” he breathed out, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Yeah?” I murmured, brushing my thumb over his jaw, my heart pounding.
He didn’t answer with words. Instead, he pulled me back in, his lips crashing into mine with a renewed intensity that left me dizzy, craving more. And I gave it to him, pouring everything I felt into that kiss, into every touch, every brush of our lips, until nothing else existed but us.
He was hard and needy, naked the same as me, and in a matter of seconds, we were grinding against each other, slip-sliding in movements that were slow but insistent. Neil lost control first, hot and wet between us, and I was quick to follow.
And we kissed.
I could feel his hands fisting in the fabric of the sheet as if he could push himself closer still. I groaned into his mouth, the sound low and filled with a hunger that had been building for far too long. His tongue flicked against mine, and I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through me, igniting every nerve ending. He reached for my discarded T-shirt, and I didn’t even argue when he wiped us down and then flopped onto his back. I grabbed it, tossed it aside, and pulled him into my arms.
His body relaxed into mine, and I couldn’t hold it backany longer. All the feelings I’d been holding onto, which I hadn’t entirely found the words for, spilled out.
“I love you,” I whispered, the words catching in my throat, but there was no stopping them now.
After a heartbeat of silence, he whispered in the dark, “I love you too.”
Everything clicked into place. I held him tighter, wrapped up in each other.
Neil’s voice cut through the stillness when I thought he’d drifted off. “So, was that worth more than a seven out of ten?”
I felt a laugh bubble up in my chest, and I rolled over to face him. I kissed him slowly and deeply without hesitation, savoring his taste. When I finally pulled back, I grinned. “That, my sexy sheriff, was a fifteen.”
He chuckled, resting his forehead against mine. “Good to know.”
I held him tighter, his warmth pressed against me, and we drifted off to sleep again, wrapped up in each other.
Whatever forever looked like, I was all in.
Over the next three weeks,box by box, I moved in with Neil. I was still paying rent for the apartment above the diner, but that space had become more of an office than a home. Neil’s place—our place, if I were honest with myself—had become my new base where I returned at the end of the day. I wouldn’t leave anything over the diner, given that Quinn was talking about converting one of theold stores along Main into an office for our new venture, but that was an issue for another day.
First, I had to overcome a new challenge. I was heading out to meet up with my SEAL team for a reunion. And I was taking Neil with me. He didn’t have a choice. I wanted my Navy brothers to meet him, but mostly—selfishly—I wanted him by my side when the memories and emotions of the past, and the missing teammates, came crashing back. I needed him to hold my hand when it all became too much.
Neil was more than my lover—he was my anchor. And in all this chaos, I realized I wanted him with me through everything, for as long as he’d have me.
We’d flown into LA, the City of Angels bathed in late autumn sunshine. I glanced over at Neil, who seemed as out of place as I felt, and couldn’t help but smile—this was going to be interesting.
We made our way to a bar tucked away in a quieter part of the city; the place noisy enough to drown out casual eavesdroppers but not so loud that you couldn’t have a conversation. Oberon had booked a backroom, a space where we could be ourselves, let loose, and remember the ones who weren’t with us anymore.
As we walked in I saw Trick and Oberon, along with some other guys who I assumed were part of Oberon’s security company, given that I saw Carter was one of them. Oberon was the first to spot me, his broad grin stretching across his face as he clapped me on the shoulder. “Connor, you made it!”
“Had to happen one day, right?”
The others were quick to follow. With his sharp wit and easygoing demeanor, Trick pulled me into a bear hug, thumping my back. “About time, man. We were starting to think you’d gone soft on us.”
“Never,” I shot back, grinning as I returned the hug. “Someone’s gotta keep you two in line.”
“And who are you?” Oberon deadpanned as he shook Neil’s hand.
“This is my partner,” I talked over whatever Neil was going to say, and got elbowed in the side for the trouble. “My boyfriend. My lover. Hands off.”
“I’m Neil,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
