Page 226 of That Rush

I know what he needs.

“Don’t pull out.”

He drives as deep as he can and comes inside me.

The hot pulse of him sends another tremor through my body. Aiden holds me against him while his cock jerks, his forehead dropping between my shoulder blades as he groans my name.

Neither of us moves until his breathing begins to slow.

Aiden eases us down onto our sides and pulls the blanket from the reading chair over my back. His arm stays around my waist, keeping me pressed against his chest.

“You okay?” he asks.

“I’m deciding whether the rug was an inspired design choice or a safety hazard.”

His laugh rumbles against my shoulder. “I’ll order a thicker one.”

“You are not renovating the room after I’ve already accepted it.”

“Can I submit a formal request?”

“Six to eight weeks.”

He kisses the back of my neck. “Worth trying.”

When he eventually slips out of me, he reaches for his discarded shirt and cleans between my thighs. His touch is gentle, careful, and so different from the way he held me a few minutes ago that my chest aches.

I turn beneath the blanket and curl against him in front of the fireplace.

“We should test the rug more often,” I say.

“I’ll add it to the maintenance schedule.”

“Weekly inspections?”

“Minimum.”

I laugh and press a kiss to his shoulder.

After we dress, I retrieve my purse from beside the desk. The paperback inside was my constant through the entire breakup, because leaving home without a book would have been one crisis too many.

I carry it to the nearest shelf.

Aiden watches as I slide it into the empty space.

“One book?” he asks.

“For tonight.”

“And after tonight?”

I turn toward him. “I’ll bring more on Friday.”

Hope moves across his face without becoming an assumption. “Next Friday?”

I cross the room and place his hand over my heart.

“Every Friday.”