“Darlin’.” He dips his neck down and moves his face level with mine. “Seriously?”

I shiver with the look in his eyes. Soft and hard, all at the same time. But not for a second holding back his happy adoration.

“Seriously?” he questions again.

Coming out of my fog, I shake my head and when he pulls back I hurry to find my voice.

“I know,” I gasp. “I know. I mean, I think I know. I, you, uh . . . we . . . what I mean is, shit. I just wanted to know if you have a spare toothbrush.”

I look up when I feel his body start to move slightly and his knee-melting smile hits me at full force, dimple and all.

“It isn’t funny, Lee.”

His eyes drop with my words and those hands at my lower back move down and hit my bottom. With each hand, his fingers flex and he pulls me closer. I stumble when the sheet tangles with my feet, but move to fall into his body. My eyes losing his as my vision fills with his tan chest.

“You aren’t single either, Megan.”

“I just need a toothbrush,” I mumble against his skin and pull back enough to place a kiss against his pec.

“And you know you aren’t single.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“You know that because last night, you felt it. You felt everything that I’ve seen since day one.”

I nod, but don’t speak.

“You felt it all.”

“I did,” I confirm and with my words, I take the last bit of the wall I had around me for years and kick the shit out of it. “Lee, I just need a toothbrush.”

His body shakes, hard this time, and I pull my head back just in time to see him tip his head back and laugh. The sound, rich and like velvet to my skin, brings a smile to my face and a feeling of completeness settles in, taking the void I have felt for so long and filling it so full, it’s spilling over the edge.

“Had my mouth on you just hours ago. All over you, darlin’. My mouth was inside of you. As deep as I could go. I think it’s safe to say, my toothbrush, is your toothbrush.”

I narrow my eyes and his smile grows.

“You just ruined the moment, bucko!” I snap and pull from his body then stomp into the bathroom.

His laughter trailing behind me.

And when I look in the mirror for the second time this morning, I don’t see that lingering sadness. I pick up his toothbrush and as I stand there and brush my teeth, all I see is happiness.

Finally.

I unloaded on him last night and I know he wants to talk about that, I just don’t know what to say. It was so much easier in the darkness. I used his strength and that helped to get the courage to open up. He deserves me giving it all to him and in order to do that I need to give him the light too.

With a deep breath of courage, I rinse off his brush and open the door. He walks over from the spot just in front of the door where I left him, the second I step out of the bathroom. His head comes down and I get a quick kiss.

“Don’t get dressed, darlin’. I like your skin on mine.”

And then he’s gone, with the bathroom shutting to a crack behind him.

Well.

I might not get dressed, but the sheet stays.

My ass had just hit the bed when he came back into the room. Not even giving one thought to the fact that he is still very naked and very aroused. I hear his laugh and snap my eyes up from where I had, once again, been staring at his erection.

“Darlin’ I really need you to focus. You’ll get my cock when we finish, okay?”

“I am focusing,” I retort.

He laughs, “Yeah, focusing on my cock isn’t going to help us right now.”

He reaches out and his large hand wraps around the base of his shaft. His long fingers curling to pull his sac up. He moves his hand, fingers dropping his sac, and he gives himself a few lazy pulls. I close my eyes and drop my body to fall to the mattress with a groan.

I feel the mattress dip with his weight and when my eyes open his face is right there, so close that our noses are just a breath away.

“Good morning, darlin’,” he says, repeating those words he rumbled earlier.

So carefree and confident. He’s changing me. Every second that I’m with him, I feel myself changing into a person that feels the lightness of happiness. He is making me a better person.

“Hey,” I smile.

His hand moves up my side and when he reaches the top of the sheet, it’s pulled and thrown away from our bodies and out of my grasp in seconds.

“I told you, I like your skin on mine.”

My pulse speeds up and I look into his amused eyes.