Page 188 of Made Better Together

I step into his living room, quickly taking in the bland furniture and curtainless windows with their five-story view. “So I see.”

He grabs me from behind, kissing my hair. “You add all the color, Rosy. It was dreary without you.”

I melt against his embrace. “Missed you too.”

We stay there, looking out into the night sky, me wrapped in his arms. It’s like another reset, this time here at his place. A return to our normal from these three weeks apart.

Finally, he breaks the spell. “Do you want to stay up to watch the ball drop?”

“Yeah, I mean, neither of us has to do anything tomorrow morning, right?”

“Nope.”

I turn around and rest my head against his chest. “Our first New Year’s together. Let’s make the most of it.”

His hand comes under my chin, tilting it up. “Mmmhhhmmm.” He bends down to claim my lips. It starts chaste, confirmation he agrees.

But he doesn’t pull away, and I part my lips a fraction. A sigh escapes him, and he takes advantage, his tongue slipping in my mouth. Slowly exploring me. My heartbeat surges as our tongues meet.

I press my lower body against his on instinct, and his hands slip to my ass, squeezing me closer.

“I want you,” I whisper in between kisses.

Squeeze. “Do you want a scene? Or not tonight?” His voice is low and raspy.

It’s so rare that we have nothing to rush to the next day, and I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to lose myself completely in him. “Scene.”

Squeeze. “Good answer.”

One more squeeze, and he releases me. “I need to give you your Christmas present first.”

What?

“Wait, we said no gifts?” My lips pout. I feel bad.

His brows lift, and I see signs of a smirk forming. “Trust me, this will count as a present for me too.”

It takes a second for me to connect what he means, but then I get the gist. It’s something for us to play with, like the cuffs. Okay, that’s…promising.

He goes into his bedroom and comes out with a gift-wrapped box. It’s barely larger than the one I brought for the “housewarming gift” when he first moved in. The wrapping paper has peppermint sticks all over it.

I shake the box after he hands it over. “Did Santa think I was a good girl?”

He huffs out a laugh. “Very much so.”

Without further delay, I open the paper and—oh!

It’s a vibrator. The picture on the box reveals it’s flower-shaped.

He’s gotten me a vibrator. A present I do want. “This is…I’m so excited to try it.” I had one last year, but it was in a different style and got lost in my traveling sometime before senior year.

“I thought we could use it…together?”

I’m not surprised; it was on my list. “In the scene tonight?” He nods. I start considering all the things he could do with it, and…yeah. “I’d love that.”

Grinning widely, he takes the box back. “It probably needs to get charged, and I have to load the app with the controls.”

“I’ll grab us some drinks and put on the countdown show in the meantime.”