Page 63 of Come A Little Closer

Tallulah reached out to hug Sayra, who eventually walked back to the guest house with us because she’d also parked behind it. Once she was gone though, I was more than ready to make good on my promise to Tallulah and then to curl up with her.

“Man, that was a busy day,” she said as we walked into her house. Covering a yawn with the back of her hand, she kicked off her shoes and drifted toward the kitchen. “Can I get you a glass of water?”

“Please.” I locked the door behind us and strode after her, sliding my arms around her waist from behind where she stood in front of the sink with a glass in each hand. I moved my mouth to the crook of her neck, pressing my lips to her warm, soft skin. “It was a busy day, but the only thing that could make it better is burying myself as deep inside you as I’m about to.”

She reached for me without turning, sliding her hand around the back of my neck and smiling as she rested her head against my shoulder. “Are you sure you’ve still got energy for that?”

I pressed my lower half firmly against her ass. “I’ve been waiting for hours and I said the L-word for the first time today. I’ve still got energy for it. If you do.”

Tallulah brought her glass to her lips, taking a long drink of her water before she put her glass down and turned in the circle of my arms. Running her palms down my sides, she held my gaze, then undid my belt and flicked open the button of my jeans.

“I’m always going to have energy for you.” As she said it, she unzipped me and I kicked off my shoes, letting my pants drop after she pushed them off and then reaching for her.

Sliding one arm behind her shoulders and hooking the other behind her knees, I picked her up in a bridal carry and took her upstairs to her bedroom. She squealed with laughter when I first lifted her off her feet, clinging to me as I strode out of the kitchen with her.

“Why is it that you’re always carrying me from a kitchen to a bedroom?” she teased. “I’m not saying I don’t like it, but it is uncanny.”

“You’re right,” I agreed as we ascended the stairs. “We should’ve just stayed in the kitchen. Those counters are a fun height.”

She let out a bark of breathless laughter. “We’ll have to try it sometime.”

“Oh, we will. We’ll try everywhere. Twice.”

She grinned, squealing again as I tossed her down on her bed and followed her onto the mattress, claiming her mouth for my own and relieved as hell that we didn’t have anywhere to go until morning.

29

TALLULAH

Niall undressed me slowly, like I was something precious he was taking his time to unveil. It made me feel a little guilty for just dropping his jeans in the kitchen, but at least I had a chance at redemption with his underwear and his shirt.

I still couldn’t believe everything that had happened today, how I’d gone from waking up not knowing if I’d ever feel the same way with him, to his apology and telling me that he loved me, to spending a long, awesome day at the festival, to this, with him kissing me like he was saying his vows. It was almost too much for me to process, but deep, slow kisses kept me grounded, assuring me that it was real and that although it was hard to believe, it had gone down exactly like that.

Niall Morrison loved me and I loved him, and as he took my clothes off with so much reverence and care, I knew for a fact that I’d never felt what I did for him. I’d always known that I hadn’t loved Carter the way that I should’ve.

He’d never given me butterflies or the warm and fuzzies, but I’d thought I’d had some mild kind of version of love for him for a while there. I hadn’t.

As Niall’s lips moved against mine, his arms cradling me and his heart racing against my chest, I even felt tears stinging the backs of my eyes. I was so happy I could cry, and that wasn’t something I thought I’d ever feel.

He broke away from me to look into my eyes. “Are you okay? It seemed like I lost you for a minute there.”

“I’m fine,” I said, though my voice was all choked up with emotion. “I’m just a little overwhelmed, I think.”

“What can I do?” he asked gently, tucking a lock of loose hair behind my ear. “Do you want to stop? I can draw you a bath.”

“That actually sounds pretty good, but only if you’re getting in it with me.” I smiled and caught his face in my hands. “I definitely don’t want to stop.”

“Give me a minute,” he said, laying another kiss on me before he got up and strode out of my bedroom.

The tent in his underwear made me smile, helping to break the heaviness of the moment. I watched him march his tight ass into my bathroom, and a moment later, I heard water starting to run. He didn’t come back immediately though and I frowned, finally getting up and going over to see what he was doing.

I was down to only my panties, but I wasn’t self-conscious about walking around like this in front of him. In fact, when he straightened up and saw me after lighting another candle, he made me feel even more desirable than I had before.

Need darkened his eyes and his lips parted, his breathing suddenly getting harder as he ran his eyes all over me. “Fuck, you’re beautiful.”

I looked right back at him, standing there in only his underwear with his shirt in a pile next to the tub. Every toned inch of his torso was exposed to me, all that tanned skin and chiseled muscles on full display.

Surrounded by a dozen lit candles and with the sweet scent of vanilla bubble bath filling the air, those blue eyes were bright and his blond hair was sticking up in all directions after having my hands in it. I smiled as I crossed the room toward him.