Sunshine Kisses

Abby was grateful for the strong arm around her shoulders and the sturdy chest supporting her body. Her legs still weren’t quite steady. Erik’s performance in the shower had been…impressive.

‘Plausible deniability?’ Abby suggested. ‘Your arm around me isn’t anything too newsworthy, at least. Because I think I might fall over if you let go of me.’

Erik smirked down at her.

‘Don’t give me that look,’ she groaned. ‘Your ego is inflated enough.’

‘Someone swearing three different languages when you make them come will do that to a man. Why did I not know you spoke Italian?’

‘That was about the extent of my proficiency,’ Abby muttered as the doors slid open in front of them. ‘I don’t want to hide this. Us. But can we wait to tell them? I don’t know if I can handle the onslaught of questions. Nora just saw me in your bed wearing your clothes, for goodness sake.’

‘Whenever you’re ready, Sunshine.’ Erik tightened his arm around her, and seconds before their parents turned to greet them, she felt the quick press of his lips against her hair.

Erik might have been happy not to tell their parents about the shift in their relationship status, but he was gleefully testing the boundaries of what was appropriate public conduct.

Pushing Abby against dusty, hidden bookshelves to kiss her. Pressing his hips and chest into her back as he stretched to grab something off a tall shelf. Tucking his fingertips into the waistband of her jeans and tugging her backwards so he could kiss her exposed neck, quickly changing his target to her cheek if he noticed a parent in their vicinity. The last one was hardly subtle, and they were almost caught no less than four times. But it said a lot about how non-platonic their so-called friendship had been that despite the number of raised eyebrows passed between Susan and Nora, nothing was said. Though there was one old lady who shot them a glare when Erik’s hand drifted much, much lower on her back than could be considered polite for public consumption. Abby may have arched into it.

He was behaving like an addict, and she was only too happy to be providing his fix.

If she’d worried that taking their relationship further would change their dynamic, it had been entirely misguided. Shopping with Erik was as fun as it had always been: him teasing her for her eccentric tastes in decor, giggling together over the occasional erotic art print, his small smile when he presented her with something silly and she lit up. She hadn’t lost her best friend. Only now he couldn’t keep his hands off her, which was certainly a plus.

Erik willingly left her side only once, saying he wanted to duck back to the previous shop to grab a gift for his mother. He returned, glum-faced and empty-handed, to find Abby still browsing an impressive shelf of worn historical romance novels. Apparently the earrings he’d been eyeing had sold mere minutes before.

As the afternoon wore on, Abby’s tote bags came close to bursting with books, ornaments, and tea cups. Erik was lugging a pair of brass candlesticks under his arm. He’d suggested they would look nice on a dining table, maybe when they got their own place, and started blushing as soon as the words slipped out, stammering that he didn’t mean it had to be soon, and he wasn’t trying to rush her. Abby had tugged him behind a tower of silverware so eagerly that a shirt button popped off in her hand.

The idea of living with a man had never appealed much. She liked having her own space to retreat to at night, and Sarah approved of her eclectic design choices. When Sam had hinted at moving in together, she had changed the subject or conveniently misunderstood him.

And maybe it made sense, given their history. Erik had always been there, so her life had grown around him, rather than needing to fit him into her existence. Still, it shocked her that after one day together, she was practically ready to nest.

The feeling only intensified when they returned to the hotel with a few hours to spare before dinner. Abby had been expecting to pick up where they’d left off at Nora’s interruption. Instead, when Erik hopped on the bed, he pulled out his book, told her to grab her laptop, and patted the space between his knees when she returned, wrapping an arm around her stomach when she fell back against his chest.

‘Why are we clothed? And not kissing?’ she asked with a pout.

‘We’re clothed because you’re going to work on your thesis, and I don’t want you getting ideas. And if you want to be kissed, you’re going to have to earn it. Every two hundred words you write, you can get a reward.’ He pressed his lips against her neck. ‘That was a free sample.’

Abby knew she should be taking advantage of the precious free time, and she loved him for supporting her. But it didn’t help her frustration. If anything, his gently commanding tone made her more desperate for him.

‘Or we could have fun now and I could work later.’ She arched her neck and felt Erik laugh lightly against the sensitive skin there.

‘Trust me, Sunshine. If you’re good, I’ll make it worth your while. But for now, let me relax and support my girl while she does important work.’

There went her damn heart again, spiralling at the way he always knew what to say.

And surprisingly, sitting in the cage of Erik’s body turned out to be a more productive than distracting experience. The rhythmic movement of his chest against her back was soothing. The slight rustle as he turned the pages of his book provided the perfect amount of ambient noise. His lips, warm from the tea they were drinking, offered sweet encouragement rather than anything sensual.

Within an hour, she’d made more progress than in the previous two weeks. And as she sat there, enjoying his closeness, the scrape of his stubble, the solid arm wrapped around her, it hit her fully: he was hers. Hers to kiss and tease and love and share her bed and her space with. Finally. Those soft, quiet moments of comfort together would be her life.

‘Done?’ he asked when she cast her laptop aside and wriggled around in his arms, tilting her head to examine his jaw, his eyes, the curve of his throat. ‘You’re going to give me a complex if you keep staring at me.’

That was something he’d have to come to terms with. She’d denied herself the pleasure of looking for so long. She didn’t plan to stop any time soon.

‘I really, really love you.’ It wasn’t a revelation. She’d told him the night before. She herself had known for years. But coupled with the feeling of them as something real and tangible, her heart threatened to explode with the force of happiness it contained.

Erik’s lips curved into that tiny, soft smile—half adoration, half bemusement—that sent her stomach into freefall. ‘Yeah. I think we established that last night, Sunshine.’

‘No, I—’ She gave a little huff of frustration, unable to find the words she needed. Such a rare problem for her. ‘It kind of hadn’t hit me that this is real. It still felt a little like a dream. And the intrusive thoughts were telling me it was. But you’re here and you’re mine, and I…I get to keep you this time.’

Tenderness bloomed across his features. ‘Yes, baby. It’s real,’ he said, lifting her chin to kiss her gently.