Knowing this will make her smile tomorrow, I copy the lines of E.E. Cummings’ “i carry your heart,” onto a piece of paper and tuck it inside her lunch.

After putting everything back into the fridge, I punch out a quick text to Jade, seeing if she has some free time tomorrow.

Sure. What’s up?

Need to do a little jewelry shopping. Figured you might want to help.

Are you serious? You better be serious. OMG this is amazing.

Laughing at the words popping up on my screen, I realize I probably shouldn’t have said anything until I was face to face with her.

I am serious. Very serious in fact. But you can’t say anything. You got that, loose lips?

Pinky swear. I’ll call you now.

And in total Jade fashion, she includes an emoji of said pinky swear.

No. She’s here now. I don’t want her to hear anything.

We finish out the rest of the conversation, making plans to meet up during her lunch break at a jewelry shop close to her office. I delete the texts to be sure that a certain hot redhead doesn’t see anything she shouldn’t. Just as I slide my phone back, I hear the bathroom door open and soft footsteps pad into the bedroom.

“What’s the goofball smile for?” Wrapped in a towel, her skin all pink from the hot water, Grace sits on the edge of her bed. Her red hair is darker when it’s wet, looking more brown than red, but beautiful nonetheless.

Sitting down next to her, I turn her so she’s facing away from me. The drops of water on her shoulders mix in between her freckles, tempting me to drink them up before I devour her. “Nothing you need to worry about,” I answer as my fingers move over her skin, working out the knots and kinks from the day.

Rolling her neck to the side, she groans, making my body instantly stiffen. “That feels so good.”

Fighting as hard as humanly possible, I resist the urge to kiss her neck, lick those damn droplets of water. “Good, baby. Just relax. Let me take care of you.”

She groans again, leaning into my touch and what I intended to simply be a massage to help her ease into the night quickly morphs into something more. Reaching around to the front where the towel is tucked into itself, I unwrap the fabric, letting it drift down her body. “David,” she whispers my name. Her shallow breaths convey her need and amplify my own.

The spot where neck meets shoulder calls to me, making it impossible not to nibble on the soft skin there. My lips move across her neck and shoulders as my fingers work their way down her chest, tracing the curves of her lush breasts. Hardened into stiff points, I toy with her nipples, making her lean back into my chest. With her back to my chest, and the towel in a damp heap on the floor, I openly take in her body. Naked and writhing into my touch, Grace’s beauty is too much for me to take in. Needing more room than only the edge of the bed, I pull us more fully onto the mattress. Moving her head into my lap, her face rests on my upper thigh. “Open your legs, baby. Let me touch you. Make you come.”

Without hesitation, she spreads her legs, exposing her sweet flesh. My fingers dip into her tight pussy, reveling in her warmth. “Fuckin’ hell. You’re so hot.”

Near breathless, she writhes against me, grinding into my hand. I arch my body as her hands move to my waist. Sliding down the waistband of my mesh shorts and boxers, she wraps her hand around my cock. Pulling it toward her mouth, she licks and kisses it as my finger circles her clit. “Your mouth. Holy shit,” I cry out when she takes me all the way to her throat. My fingers move frantically in her pussy, plunging deeper as her mouth takes more and more of my cock. Seeing this erotic fantasy play out right before my eyes is almost more than I can take. “I need to be inside you. Now,” I demand with one final circle around her clit.

In a quick move, we’re in the center of the bed, her soft, needy body beneath mine. Smirking down at her, I wrap an arm around her waist and flip her onto her stomach. Without saying a word, I move her body, loving how easily she complies. On her hands and knees, facing away from me, I stroke a hand down the center of her back. “You’re stunning.”

Shooting me a sexy-as-sin look over her shoulder, she tells me, “You’re pretty incredible, too.” Her eyes travel over my body, settling on my hand working over my cock. “Please tell me you’re about to use that on me.”

“Only ever you, baby,” I promise, my words holding more meaning than she can fathom right now. Teasing the wide head of my cock over her slick flesh, my legs begin to shake. Only Grace does this to me. Makes doing the simplest things, like breathing and holding my body steady, far too impossible. Easing into her, I revel in the warm deliciousness of her tight body opening for me. Her hands grip at the pillow, white knuckled and flexing in pleasure.

“Oh, God . . . David . . . oh, my God . . .” Her words fall from her lips, a delicate balance of curse and prayer, of satisfaction and need.

“I know, baby. Oh, God, do I know.” With each plunge, her body shakes more. Within seconds, she’s incapable of holding herself up. More than happy to help her out, I secure an arm around her waist, supporting her. The soft curves of her body fit perfectly into the muscled lines of mine. In a grip I’m sure will leave bruises on her hip, I hold her steady, diving into her from behind. She bounces on my lap, crying out my name on every hard thrust.

Running a hand down her stomach, I go further still, not stopping until it lands on her hardened clit. “Oh, fuck,” she growls. “It’s too much, baby. Too much. I can’t,” she begs, but I can’t tell what it’s for.

“What do you want?” I whisper into her ear. “Do you want me to stop?” My fingers stop their assault on her body. She whimpers in response, sounding as if she’s mourning the loss of my touch. “Want me to keep going then?”

“Just make me come. Please, I can’t take it anymore. You’re too much for me. It’s all too much.” Her admission, that she needs everything I can give her, sends me over some imaginary line of my control.

Picking up the pace, I drive into her from behind, loving the friction of her back to my chest. My finger circles her clit, bringing her right to that line with me. My legs start to buckle as the searing energy of my orgasm gathers at the base of my spine. “Fucking hell,” I ground out, spilling into her convulsing body.

In a breathless heap of tangled limbs, we fall to the bed. Sated and exhausted, Grace curls into my body, resting her head on my chest. Her fingers dance across my skin, tickling through my chest hair. “This is my favorite place to be.” With bright eyes, she looks up at me, smiling like a fool. “Right here next to you.”

“Naked, right?” I add, wrapping my arm tighter around her back.

The laughter in her face fades away. Smiling, her eyes wrinkle in the corners, making room for a single tear to fall. “Anyway possible. Naked, or clothed. Sleeping or awake. Laughing or fighting. Here.” Her fingers flex on my chest as she wiggles her body even closer to mine. “Next to you. In your arms. Breathing the same air as you. You’re where I always want to be, no matter what.” She presses her lips to my chest, right over my heart, as if she’s placing a seal on a sacred vow.

Falling asleep with her in my arms, her calm, even breaths rising and falling at my side, the feel of her kiss lingering on my skin, I know in my bones she had the same revelation I did earlier.

We are each other’s forever.