He pauses and I continue to stare at the linoleum floor until his boots appear in my line of vision, and then I angle my chin back to meet his eyes. “What?” I ask as he aims a suspicious look at me.

“What do you mean, what?” He positions himself in front of me, his jacket still speckled with wet spots from the falling snow outside. “This is bothering you and I want to know why.”

“It’s not bothering me,” I start to protest but he targets me with a warning look. “It’s just that this will be the first party we’ve ever been at as a couple.”

“And?”

“And from my knowledge, a lot of the people who came to these parties… the female ones…” I search for the right words that won’t make me sound like a jealous asshole, but there aren’t any so I decide just to be blunt. “You fucked.”

He winces, but then quickly composes himself. “I know, but that’s in the past. What matters is that I’ll be fucking you at the end of the night, over and over again. In fact, I’ll be fucking you every night for the rest of your life.” He gives me a flirty smile and I swat his chest with my hand.

“What?” he says innocently, trapping my hand against his chest. “Would you rather me say ‘make love’?” He brushes his thumb across the ring on my finger. “Because we can do that, too.” With one swift movement, he slides his palm down my side, grips my hip, and spins me around. Pushing down on my lower back, he presses up against me as I grip onto the counter for support.

“It’s really up to you.” His breath caresses my ear before he draws his mouth away to nibble on my earlobe.

I shudder and his chest collides against my back as he laughs. “Of course if we make love then the vibrator isn’t going to be much use,” he says.

“It’s a gift from Lila.”

“It looks fun.” His voice comes out gravelly.

“Fun for me or for you?” I joke.

His hair tickles the back of my neck as he leans his head against me, sucking in a slow breath. “Keep it up, pretty girl, and you’re going to get it.”

“Maybe that’s what I’m aiming for.” I bite my lip in anticipation, waiting for him to react.

He misses a beat and I feel him shift his hips. “I swear to God, you’re going to be the death of me.” His lips touch the back of my neck, feather soft, and then he rubs his hips against me, before stepping away and I turn around and we return to putting the groceries away.