“Have a seat, Cole.”

“Only if you sit with me.”

“Would you like something to drink?”

“No, I just want to talk to you.”

“All right.” She sat on the sofa, and he came over and sat next to her.

She swallowed, her throat dry. There were so many thoughts whirling through her mind, so many things she wanted to say, but they were jumbled up in her head. She should have written them down, made an outline so she could go through them step by step.

He took her hand. “I was a jerk.”

She lifted her head. “What?”

“Let me back up. When you first met me, I was a jerk. You changed me. You made me think differently, to learn to pause before I blurted out the first thing that came into my head, which was usually something that was all about me and how I felt and what I wanted. I learned from that, you know?”

She smiled at him. “Yes, I know. I’ve seen evidence of that over the past few months. You’ve done a wonderful job.”

“Thanks. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about, other than to thank you for being patient with me when I know I wasn’t easy to be around.”

“You weren’t as difficult as you’d like to think you were.”

“I took those lessons to heart. And along the way, I got used to having you in my life. You were the backbone of the person I became, the person I always wanted to be. And I guess I became complacent, always assuming you’d just be there, that you’d want to be with me.”

She did want to be with him. But this was his moment to talk, so she’d let him finish.

“What I said to you that night I asked you to move in with me—it was thoughtless. I wasn’t prepared to tell you how I really felt about you, and it came out all wrong. I knew I wanted you with me, but I choked.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know. You’ve worked with me on being clear in what I say, so the media doesn’t misinterpret me. And when it came down to the most important conversation I’ve ever had, I fucked it all up.” He rubbed his finger over her thumb, distracting her. The sensation sent shivers up her arm. She fought hard to concentrate on what he was saying, but all she could think about was how much she’d missed his touch, being near him, and how much it hurt to be apart, to have this distance between them. And she needed him to know that.

“I love you, Savannah.”

That got her attention. Her gaze shot to his. “You do?”

“Yeah. Do you think I’d ask someone I wasn’t in love with to move in with me?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t know how you felt about me. You said you liked me, that we were compatible.”

He rubbed his temple. “Yeah, that. Like I said, I was being an asshole. I was scared. I’ve never told a woman I loved her before. And when it came time to say it, I dropped the ball. I’m sorry.”

She scooted closer to him and swept her hand across his jaw. “It’s okay. I didn’t handle it any better than you. I doubted how you felt about me and I got scared, too. So instead of telling you how I felt, I kicked you out. Instead of opening a dialogue between us, I ran and hid from you.”

He took her hand in his. “I’m in love with you. I don’t take those words lightly, Peaches. And with love comes commitment. I’ll always be here for you. I’m not going anywhere. I’m never going to leave you.”

The words sunk in. Her heart blossomed with such an outpouring of emotion she thought she might burst with it. And she realized he needed to hear it from her, too. “I love you, too, Cole. I’ve loved you for a while now. I’m ashamed to admit I was too afraid to tell you, because I didn’t know how you felt about me.”

His lips lifted. “Well, now you know. Can I say I’m damn happy to hear you say it? I was afraid you didn’t feel the same way, that I was going to tell you I loved you and you were going to pat me on the shoulder and say ‘that’s nice’ and that we’d always be friends.”

She laughed, then climbed on his lap. “I was hoping you knew how I felt.”

“I was hoping you knew how I felt.” Now it was his turn to laugh. “Christ, we’re such a mess. I think we need to work on our communication skills.”

“I think you’re right.”

“You’ve always been a good teacher. I’ll trust you to help me work on mine. I promise to tell you I love you every day.”

“And I’ll try harder to always tell you what I’m feeling. I admit I’m pretty good at telling others how to live their lives, but not so good at dealing with my own. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, so I’m going to need your help.”

“I’ll always be here to help you.”

She loved hearing that from him. And even better, she believed him, because he had always been there for her.

She bent and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and laid her on the sofa, deepening the kiss until her head was filled with love and her body was filled with desire. When he reached for her breast, she covered his hand with hers, holding it there, letting him feel the rapid beat of her heart.

When he lifted his hand, she was out of breath. “Want me to tell you what I’m feeling right now?”

He raised her skirt and rested his hand on her panties, teasing her sex. “You’re wet. I’m not psychic, but I have a pretty good idea what you’re feeling.”

She gazed at his face, unable to fathom that this extraordinary man loved her. “What are you going to do about it?”

He slipped his fingers beneath the silk and rubbed her aching flesh, teasing her until she was panting. “I’m going to make you come, Peaches. And then I’m going to slide my dick in you and make love to you and make you come again.”

She grinned. “I like this idea.” She arched against his hand. He removed her panties, slid his fingers inside her, and rubbed her clit with his thumb.

He dropped off the couch and onto his knees, drawing her legs over his shoulders. He put his mouth on her pussy and licked her, the heat and wetness of his tongue taking her right to the edge of madness. She lifted up on her elbows, watching him as he lapped at her with his tongue and sucked her clit. Sensation spiraled within her until she couldn’t hold back. And when she came, their eyes met and she let him watch her release, arching against him as wave after wave washed over her.

When the pulses subsided, he stood, licked his lips and smiled down at her, then kicked off his shoes and dropped his pants to the floor. He grabbed a condom and took a seat on the sofa, pulling her on top of him.

“You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever known,” he said as he lifted her skirt over her hips.

She rocked her sex against his erection. “You’ve always made me feel sexy.” She took the condom wrapper from his hands and tore it open, then fit the condom onto his rigid cock. “You make me want to do things I’ve never done before.”

“Like having sex outside my family’s bar?”

She laughed, then raised up and slid down over his shaft, gasping as he filled her. “Yes, like that.”

He grabbed her buttocks and spread them as he speared his cock into her, burying himself deep. She unbuttoned her blouse and undid the clasp of her bra, releasing her breasts. His eyes went half-lidded as she grabbed her breasts and teased her nipples while he surged into her.

“You have no idea how much I like seeing you play with your nipples like that.”

“We have a lot to explore with each other, don’t we?” she said, moaning as he rocked back and forth. With his cock buried deep inside her, she pulsed, her clit rubbing against him. She plucked at her nipples, sending sensation coursing through her nerve endings.

He wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and brought her toward him for a blistering kiss that made her tingle all over. With the other hand, he held tight to her ass, grinding against her until she felt the stirrings of orgasm. She whimpered against his lips.

“Come on, Peaches. Come on my cock so I can let go.”

His words never failed to rock her world, to encourage her to soar. And as he gripped her butt and lifted against her, she broke, crying out against his mouth with her orgasm. He went with her, groaning out her name as he thrust upward in several bursts, both of them shuddering and gripping each other as their worlds collided.

He swept his arm over her back, divesting her of her blouse and bra. She much preferred his caresses on her bare skin.

“See how much easier this will be when we’re living together?” he said later as they climbed into her bed. “One of us always has to get up and go home the next day. I’d much rather already be home.”

“Which of our places do you want to live in?”

“Well, there’s your house, which would make more sense than my condo.”

“That’s true.”

“But I actually thought we might want to buy a bigger house.”

She arched a brow. “Really? Why?”

“Well, because eventually we’ll want to get married and have kids…”

She gaped at him.

He paused. “I’m rushing you. Or scaring the hell out of you. I should propose or something first, shouldn’t I? I never get this shit right. Or would you rather we take this slow?”

She shook her head, no longer afraid. “No. You’re doing it all right. And I’m fine with taking it one slow step at a time. A bigger house it is.”

She leaned against him, listening to his strong heartbeat as they cuddled together.

Maybe he didn’t say all the right things, and maybe he didn’t do it all in the right way, but he was hers, and she was his, and they’d figure it all out together. Because she knew now that both of them were in this for the long haul, and that he’d be there for her no matter what.

And that’s what counted the most.