He walked to the bedroom, lowering me directly on the bed, then climbing over me, pinning me to the mattress. His knees were at the sides of my thighs, his forearms caging in my torso.

“Trust me to love every part of you, Val, because I swear that I will. Forever.”

I melted into him, wrapping my arms around his neck, holding him close. “I promise to trust you, but I want the same promise from you in return.”

“I promise.”

“You thought I left?”

He closed his eyes. “It was a weak moment. Won’t happen again.”

He kissed me again, just as urgently as before, then moved his mouth to my throat, descending to my chest. He’d somehow managed to gather my dress around my waist, and then he pulled it over my head. His gaze roamed over me once, and then he rained kisses on my collarbone, stopping at the ribbon holding together my bra cups and popping it open. He tormented one nipple with his tongue, the other with his fingers. I bucked my hips, but Carter pushed them into the mattress with one hand, taking control.

“As to the other part, you’re right. We’ve never discussed you living here. Let’s rectify that immediately.”

“Right now?” I cried.

“I have the upper hand right now, so hell, yes.”

“No, you don’t,” I challenged, even though my entire body felt ablaze.

He looked at me with a devilish smile, moving to kiss between my breasts. I kept my composure and quirked a brow to prove my point. In response, Carter nudged my thighs apart, settling between them.

“Back to our discussion. Let’s make moving in together official. I don’t care if we live here, at your house, or if we buy something new.”

“I don’t care either. I just want us to be together.”

“I would walk into City Hall with you right now and marry you.”

“You would?”

“Yes.”

Oh, be still my beating heart.

“I’d love to,” I whispered. “But I think Lori might kill us both. She’s been mentally planning my and Hailey’s weddings for years.”

He laughed against my skin, then moved his mouth lower along my body until his jaw was pressing against my pubic bone, and then lower still, peeling off my panties. We were a tangle of limbs as we removed his clothes together. I went on a mission to map his body. I managed a trail of kisses to his navel before Carter pushed me on my back, aligning our bodies.

The tip of his erection was pushing at my entrance, and I needed him inside me so badly that I was close to begging. I rolled my hips, but Carter pulled back, smiling like the devil he was.

“You’re too impatient. I want to explore you first. I’ve missed you.”