Chapters (89)
- Dedication
- AUTHOR’S NOTE
- ONE
- HENRY
- TWO
- EMMA
- THREE
- HENRY
- FOUR
- EMMA
- FIVE
- EMMA
- SIX
- SEVEN
- HENRY
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- HENRY
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- EMMA
- THIRTEEN
- HENRY
- FOURTEEN
- HENRY
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- EMMA
- SEVENTEEN
- HENRY
- EIGHTEEN
- HENRY
- NINETEEN
- HENRY
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- EMMA
- TWENTY-TWO
- EMMA
- TWENTY-THREE
- HENRY
- TWENTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- TWENTY-FIVE
- EMMA
- TWENTY-SIX
- EMMA
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- HENRY
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- EMMA
- TWENTY-NINE
- HENRY
- THIRTY
- HENRY
- THIRTY-ONE
- HENRY
- THIRTY-TWO
- EMMA
- THIRTY-THREE
- HENRY
- THIRTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- THIRTY-FIVE
- EMMA
- THIRTY-SIX
- HENRY
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- EMMA
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- HENRY
- THIRTY-NINE
- HENRY
- FORTY
- EMMA
- FORTY-ONE
- HENRY
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- EMMA
- FORTY-FOUR
- EMMA
- FORTY-FIVE
- HENRY
- EPILOGUE
- ALSO BY CHELSEA CURTO
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
“Henry, I would very much like you to come inside when we get home.”
Home.
Not her home.
Just… home.
I think I like how that sounds.
Fifteen minutes later, we park in her driveway, both staring at the facade. I realize for the first time that perhaps she’s as nervous as I am.
“We don’t have to,” I start. “I can head back to my place.”
“I want you here.” She climbs out of the truck, taking the bag of food with her. As I stand behind her at the front door, I bring my hips to meet hers, her chest flush against my back. She fumbles with the keys and I kiss her shoulder, sliding my hand over hers.
“Need some help?” I undo the lock and push the door open.
“Thank you,” she breathes out, walking inside. I close the door behind us, taking off my shoes. I set them to the side, smiling as I see the black leather stacked next to a pile of her sneakers and sandals. I like my stuff mixed with hers.
“No expectations tonight, okay?”
“Henry.” Her voice has changed, now silky and sultry, sliding through the air and reaching my ears. “I want you to fuck me. Hard. I want you to ravish me. I want you to kiss me until I want nothing else to do with you. Which is going to take a long, long time.”
“Well,” I answer, lip curling in delight. “We better get to work.”
THIRTY-SEVEN
EMMA
“Meet me in the bedroom in five minutes,” I say, slipping off my wedges.
“Which one is your room?” Henry asks, taking the bag of food from my hold.
“Down the hall, third door on the right. The bathroom is the first door on the left if you need it.”
His eyes sweep over me in a parting glance before he turns for the kitchen, humming a melody as he leaves. I hurry down the hall, nearly slipping on the rug. Stumbling into my room, I close the door and pull out a few candles. A glow settles over the space, the dim lighting calming me.
My heart feels like it might fall out of my chest. This is no different than what we’ve done the last few nights but it feels different. There’s a heavy realness associated with these next steps. When Henry walks through the door, he’s walking in because he wants to. He doesn’t want to leave. He wants to stay.
And that empowers me.
I shake out my hair and yank the zipper of my dress down, shimmying out of the material and kicking it to the side. When I look in the full-length mirror hanging on the door to my bathroom, I barely recognize myself.