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We stopped at a local deli on the way home and picked up sandwiches and chips. Once home, Alaric carried the bags into the kitchen and set them on the table. I followed behind him and went to the refrigerator to get some drinks. He came up behind me, his hands snaking around my waist as his lips gently kissed my neck.

I tilted my head to the side so he had better access as I slowly closed the refrigerator. I relished in his touch and kisses and the fact I was here with him right now. He had been such a brilliant light in my life, such a source of kindness and a reminder that there really was good in the world. And now he was mine. I was the one he kissed and held and slept beside. I was the one to make him smile, to make him cry out my name, and the one who held him after a hard day at his job.

I turned slowly in his arms, his lips moving from my neck, to my cheek, to my lips. My body sprung to life with forceful desire. Butterflies still set flight within my stomach and my head got