“So talk fast.”
My gaze flicked over his annoyed face. “This right here. What you’re doing now, giving me your coat. What is this? Am I your penance?”
“You’re a pain in my ass, if that’s what you mean,” he muttered. His hands followed the zipper down the front of the coat until he got to the bottom, where he lined up the parts and latched them together.
“You winterized my parents’ house,” I accused.
He fumbled the zipper momentarily but then kept going, dragging it up to my chin. “Yeah, I did. They needed the help,and I was happy to do it. They’re not just your parents to me. Terry is my mentor. He took me under his wing, and I’ll be a damn good farrier because of him. And Angie…I just like her, okay? Of course I helped them.”
It all sounded so reasonable. So believable. Except for one thing. “It wasmylist. You knew they weren’t going to do it themselves. You knew it would be me.” I tried to shake my head, but my hair was stuck in the coat with me, holding me still.
With a soft chuckle, Steven slipped his hand underneath my hair and gently pulled it free. “There you go, princess.” He squeezed the back of my neck.
“Andthat,” I said. “You keep taking care of me. The bread that you said was from my mom but it really wasn’t. Grocery shopping and making me take the pregnancy test. Driving me to that first appointment and holding my hand. I’m your penance, aren’t I?”
“Are you serious right now?” he demanded.
“Yes, I’m fucking serious!” I shouted in his face. “Because none of this”—I gestured to myself—“can possibly be fun for you. I wasmean. Steven…you caught my vomit in your bare hands. On purpose! If that’s not penance, what is?”
“You’re not my penance, Chloe.” He cupped my face in his hands, thumbs stroking over my cheeks. “Don’t you understand? Taking care of you is not a punishment. It’s my reward.”
My lower lip trembled. “What?” I whispered.
“I have worked really hard to be a better man than I was two years ago. I didn’t do that for you. I did that for me, to be someone I could respect. If I have to live with myself another sixty years, then I’d rather not hate myself every goddamn minute of the day. But you… Even before I fell in love with you, I wanted to be near you. For two years, you wouldn’t give me the time of day. Kicked me out of your presence like a princessexiling riffraff. But things changed after that night we rescued Stevie. You let me stay. You let me help you, when you don’t accept help from anyone. I never expected it, but I craved it. You’re my reward, and I’ll never stop trying to earn your love.”
I drew in a shaky breath. “You’ve earned it a thousand times over. I love you so goddamn much.” My eyes held his as I looped my arms around his neck and dug my hands into his hair. “You’re mine, Steven McAllister, and I want the whole fucking world to know it.”
And then I crushed my mouth to his.
29
STEVEN
Chloe Adams was kissing me.
Chloe Adams loved me.
Chloe Adams called me hers.
There was an asshole voice in the back of my mind telling me it wasn’t true, that this wasn’t real, that I wasn’t good enough. I told that voice to fuck all the way off.
Chloe Adams was no liar.
She had me by the collar of my flannel, hauling my face down to her demanding mouth. Her lips were cold and clumsy, but her tongue was warm and soft. The entire world disappeared. It was just her and me and?—
I yelped as her icy fingers grazed my neck. I ripped my mouth from hers. The moment she lost the warmth of my mouth, her teeth started chattering. I swore softly. “Let’s get you inside.”
I didn’t give her the opportunity to respond, just scooped her up behind her knees and carried her to the door. She didn’t protest. It seemed like a miracle that she didn’t protest so I didn’t stop there. I braced her against my raised thigh so I couldopen the door without dropping her, and she did her best to distract me, nuzzling her cold nose against my neck.
“Chloe,” I growled, and she laughed.
Down the hall. Into her bedroom, kicking the door closed behind us, bypassing the bed for the bathroom.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
I reached into the shower and spun the knob. “Getting you warm. Getting me clean.”
We stripped off our clothes. I took her hand and helped her step into the tub, then turned us around so she was under the hot spray. She faced me and tilted her head back, letting the water sluice down her hair, her strong shoulders, her full breasts, her round belly.
