"Look," he murmurs against my ear, his breath sending shivers down my spine.
Through the glass, past the snow-covered yard and up a winding trail barely visible in the storm, stands a massive oak tree. Even with snow piled so high around its base that our old initials are probably buried, I'd recognize that tree anywhere.
"Our tree," I breathe, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Our tree," he confirms quietly. "I bought this house because every morning I can wake up and see the place where we carved our names. Where we had our first kiss. Where I promised you forever."
My throat closes up completely. "Ryder..."
"I came home for you, Mia. I've always been coming home for you."
I turn in his arms, and this time I don't hesitate.
I rise up on my toes and kiss him with eight years of longing, eight years of what-ifs, eight years of a love I never quite managed to bury.
Chapter Nine
Ryder
The moment Mia's lips meet mine every ounce of my carefully controlled patience shatters like glass.
This isn't the gentle, testing kiss from the ice rink.
This is desperate, hungry, years of longing compressed into a single moment that threatens to consume us both. Her mouth opens under mine, and I groan low in my throat as our tongues collide in a frenzied dance that tastes like wine and forgiveness.
Jesus Christ, I've missed this. I've missed her.
My hands frame her face, angling her head so I can kiss her deeper, claim every inch of her mouth like it's my dying wish. She tastes exactly like I remember but better somehow, sweeter, more intoxicating than any victory I've ever tasted on the ice.
"Mia," I breathe against her mouth, letting my teeth graze her bottom lip.
"Don't stop," she whispers back, her fingers tangling in my hair, nails scraping against my scalp in a way that sends electricity straight to my groin. "Please don't stop."
Not a fucking chance.
I lift her without breaking the kiss, my hands gripping her thighs as her legs wrap around my hips. She's so goddamn perfect in my arms, all soft curves and warm weight pressing against me exactly where I need her most.
"I've got you," I murmur against her throat, tasting the rapid pulse point there as I press her back against the hallway wall, the tree in the window long forgotten. "I've got you, baby."
The wall gives me leverage to pin her there, my mouth finding hers again as I lick inside, tasting her tongue, consuming every soft sound she makes.
Her gorgeous dress has ridden up, the one that's been driving me crazy while she sat across from my parents, winning their hearts all over again, just like she did the very first time she met them.
I can feel the heat of her through the thin fabric of her underwear, pressing against the hard ridge of my cock through my jeans.
Fuck. I'm not going to last if she keeps moving like that.
"Ryder," she gasps, breaking the kiss to look at me with eyes gone dark with want and pure fuckinglust. "I can't believe this. I never thought... I never thought I'd see you again. Not like this."
"I thought you'd never forgive me," I admit, my voice rough with emotion and arousal. "I thought I'd fucked it up too badly to ever fix."
"You did." Her hands cup my face, thumbs tracing my cheekbones like she's memorizing me. "But you came back. You really came back."
"It was always you, Mia." I press my forehead against hers, trying to catch my breath even as my hips press forward involuntarily. "No matter where I was, what city, what team... it was always you. Every goal, every win, every fuckingchampionship, all I could think about was how empty it felt without you there."
Her eyes flutter closed, and when she opens them again, there's something raw and vulnerable there that makes my chest tight.
"Show me," she whispers. "Show me all of this is real."
