“How could you be so stupid?” she groaned. “You know how I feel about motorcycles!”

“You’re more comfortable shooting a gun than being on the back of my bike.”

“With good reason.” She indicated my beat-up body.

“Don’t have good experience with guns either, darlin’.”

Her whole face softened with pity. I hated that look from her. No one needed to pity me. This was why I’d never told anyone about my past, not even Miller knew the sordid details.

I looked away from her. “Let’s just get out of here.”

“Grant,” she murmured, reaching for me.

I stood and brushed past her. She grabbed my hand anyway. The pity was gone when I next looked into her eyes. It was replaced with determination.

“Whatever you’re thinking right now, just stop. All we’ve been doing the past couple of months is fighting and running away from each other. I’m over it. I’m just over it.” She balled her hands into fists at her sides. Her eyes were fierce. “We can’t push each other away anymore. You trusted me with the information about your parents. I gave you…” She blushed furiously. “Well, me. Whatever. You know what I mean. And I can’t keep up this cat-and-mouse game. Either, we’re okay, or we’re not—”

I wrapped my arm around her waist and silenced the rest of her speech with a kiss. She growled low in her throat and tried to fight me off. When I winced at her outburst and only deepened the kiss, she gave in. Her body went slack, and she leaned into me.

“Okay,” I whispered against her lips. Then, I kissed her one more time.

She nodded. Her eyes were still closed as she stole another kiss from me. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Make me forget what I was saying.”

“I plan to do more than that.”

She softly poked me in the stomach, and I groaned.

“You can barely stand up. We shouldn’t have even done anything earlier.”

I smirked down at her. “And here I thought you liked it.”

She rolled her eyes and prodded me toward the door. “How about we get you home?”

I laughed but relented. I actually felt a lot shittier than I was letting on. After all the adrenaline had worn off, I completely crashed. As much as I’d claimed to want to take Ari home and fuck her all over again, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to more than crawl into bed and pass out—if I could even make it to the bed.

Spending my birthday night in the ER hadn’t exactly been what I had in mind. But I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.

It felt ridiculous to me to be so happy in a stale sterile environment full of sick people, but it was the first time in a long time that things were right with Grant. Sure, we had a lot to talk about, but at least it felt as if we were getting somewhere. The complications that had been brought up with the return of his dad and the motorcycle accident seemed to have brought us closer. And I wasn’t about to let that slip away.

I drove Grant home from the hospital, and despite his protests, he fell asleep as soon as he got into bed. I crawled in next to him, trailing my fingers over the mottled bruises on his bare skin. I fell asleep listening to his even breathing, thanks to the painkillers the doctor had given him for his ribs.

Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Grant rolled over, wrapped an arm around my waist, and rested his chest flush against my back. My eyes slid open in surprise at the feel of his dick pressing through his thin cotton shorts and into the small amount of space between us.

“Ari,” he groaned through his half-asleep daze.

His lips landed lightly on my collarbone. My body molded to his, and I felt the intensity in his desire. How had I ever been too afraid to succumb to this? How had I ever thought that by saying no, when I’d really wanted to say yes, we’d somehow be able to talk more? I didn’t want to stop, not anymore.

Scrounging up some courage, I pressed my butt back against him and made teasing circular motions with my hips. He mumbled something incoherent in the crook of my neck and nipped at the sensitive skin. I arched back toward him, and then he grabbed my hip in his hand and pulled me back even harder against him.

I was fully awake at that point. Desperate to go further, our bodies rocked against each other, waking up the deep-seated desire coursing between us. Grant slipped his hand from my hip and moved it down between my legs. I was already hot and pulsing with anticipation. He squeezed his hand into the tight space and then massaged up and down, flicking his finger against my clit through the material, while I bucked against him.

A fiery inferno rose up all around us. We were barely doing anything, yet at any moment, I was going to combust. The room was so dark, and our bodies were so connected. The tension of the previous months stretched between us, snapping and pushing us over the edge.

I couldn’t wait another minute. I rolled over onto my back and crushed my lips to his. “Fuck me,” I breathed. I didn’t even feel ridiculous requesting it of him. I’d come so far in such a short period of time.

Our clothes were quickly strewn across the bedroom floor. Grant eased himself over my body, pressing my legs open for him. My grinding against him had lengthened his dick, and I could tell he was already rock-hard as he slipped into my opening. My wetness coated the tip, drawing him deeper. I expanded and tightened all around him as he filled me.

Our breathing quickened in time with his measured thrusts. I buried my hands into his hair and tugged his lips back down to mine. I couldn’t get enough of this moment. Grant made me feel alive as if I could conquer the world.

And I came apart while telling him how much I loved him.

I lay back, satiated and content. Grant fell back onto the bed and pulled me into him. He struggled to get his breathing back to normal.

I nuzzled closer to him. “Are you okay? Do you need medicine?” I whispered. I hadn’t meant for things to get so out of hand, and I didn’t want him to get worse because we couldn’t keep our hands to ourselves.

He kissed the top of my head. “I’m okay, Princess. Just lie here with me.”

I complied and closed my eyes. This was pure magic right here.

My nails scratched lightly down his chest. He sighed pleasurably, and goose bumps rose on his arms.

“That feels nice,” he whispered into my hair.

“Good.”

After ten minutes of silence, I thought Grant had finally fallen back asleep. I was about to hop out of bed and use the bathroom before trying to shut my brain down and getting some more sleep myself.