I wrapped my legs around his waist and reached between our bodies to grasp him in my hand. With my eyes on his, I guided him to my entrance and lifted my hips so that he slid inside.

“I promise, Mitch. This is the only place I ever want to be.”

With a heartbreaking smile, Mitch pushed inside me and I stretched and strained to accommodate him. It felt perfect.

Like coming home.

“I love you, Mitch,” I moaned as he thrust into me over and over and over again.

“I love you, Gracie! So fucking much.”

This was his unconditional forever. It was a promise I could trust.

We were Mitch and Gracie.

Gracie and Mitch.

And this is exactly how we should be.

Together.

Always.

I felt Mitch against my back before I opened my eyes. I smiled into my pillow and held myself perfectly still. I didn’t want to move and ruin this perfect, perfect moment.

I could smell him.

I could feel him.

He was everywhere.

My mind flipped backwards to last night and I knew that we had a lot to talk about. But right then I only wanted to lie in bed with him wrapped around me.

Too soon, I felt him begin to stir. The first indication was the very hard appendage digging into my backside.

Ever so slightly I parted my legs and lifted my hips, letting him slide against me. I was already wet and hot and ready.

“Gracie,” he whispered into my hair, his arms holding me tight.

Then lazily, still half asleep, he slipped inside of me again where he had been all night long.

Our hips moved languidly together. His breath hot on the back of my neck as he slid in and out of my body. His hand cupped my breast and his teeth bit down on my shoulder as I cried out softly.

“Gracie,” he murmured again and I smiled. I never wanted to lose this sensation. This incredible fullness in my heart.

Our movements became jerky as Mitch thrust deeper. And right before he came, he pulled out and sat up, grabbing a wad of tissues from the bedside table so he could finish the job.

I rolled over and watched him clean himself up. He stood up, completely naked, and dropped the tissues in the wastebasket.

“Is Vivian here? I don’t want to pull a Cole and walk around in my birthday suit if we’re not alone,” Mitch smirked. I bit down on my lip and shook my head, appreciating the view.

He came back over to the side of the bed and leaned down, kissing me long and hard on the mouth. “I’ll be right back,” he said softly.

After Mitch was gone I sat up in bed, pulling the blankets up over my chest. I was deliciously sore between my legs. Muscles I hadn’t known that I possessed were achy and tired.

Mitch and I had only slept for a few hours, neither of us wanting to interrupt our time together with sleep. We had stayed up into the early hours, laughing, talking, and making love until we couldn’t keep our eyes open.

But now it was morning. And all the unanswered questions that neither of us had wanted to answer last night were staring us in the face.

“Here you go. Milk and sugar, just how you like it,” Mitch said, reappearing with a cup of coffee and a plate full of cookies.

I raised my eyebrows at the sight of the sweets. He shrugged. “You need to go grocery shopping, babe. There’s nothing in your cabinets but Saltine crackers and these. So cookies for breakfast, it is.”

He got back into bed and handed me a cookie. I ate it happily, not caring about the calories or whether I should be eating junk food for breakfast. The only Gracie would have starved herself for days to make up for this one slip up. Not the new Gracie. She licked her fingers and enjoyed every delicious bite. I took a sip of coffee that was a little too strong with not enough milk. Oh well, Mitch couldn’t be perfect in everything he did.

Though his coffee making skills were going to have to be addressed.

I snuggled up against his side when I was finished. He put an arm around me, holding me tightly.

“You’re still here,” he said shyly.

I propped my chin on my chest as I looked up at him. “Were you expecting me to run?”

Mitch’s eyes were troubled, the fear still there. The worry that this was only temporary. That I would leave again and we’d be thrust back into that horrible place we had lived in for the last year.

“I hoped you wouldn’t,” he said after a while.

I ran my hand through his hair, wishing I could turn back time and take back all the things I had done to hurt him. My callousness. My selfishness.

“I’m not going anywhere, Mitch. As long as you want me, I’m here. But I have so many issues, so much baggage. I’ll understand if you can’t deal with it. Most days I can’t deal with it—”

Mitch cut me off with a kiss. Rough and real.

“Just stop. Don’t say it. I won’t let you put a question mark on this. On us. You may be a mess, but you’re my mess.” I rolled my eyes and snorted.

“Did you really just say that?”

Mitch chuckled. “Damn straight! And I mean it. I love you. I love everything about you. I love your mess and your chaos. I love your ups and I love your downs. And you should know that I wouldn’t jump ship when things get tough. I’ll be here until the bitter end. If you let me, that is.”

There it was again. The fear. Would it always be there? Would he ever be able to trust me not to leave?

But I had done this. So I would have to work to make it better.

And I knew I was up for the challenge.

Because Mitch was worth it.