His stomach growled, ruining our romantic moment.
“Didn’t you eat anything while I was gone?”
He levered off me, reaching a hand down to pull me to my feet too. “Shit, I totally forgot. I was wrapped up in work stuff and didn’t even realize what time it was until you got home.”
“I guess it’s a good thing I put my famous chicken taco recipe in the crockpot before I left this morning. It’s amazing what you can do with chicken breasts, a drizzle of oil, and salsa in one of those things.” As we walked into the kitchen, I lifted my nose and sniffed. “Although, I have to admit that I’m worried about your sense of smell. How could you have forgotten to eat with all this yumminess in the air?”
“That’s a damn good question,” he chuckled, following behind me to lean over my shoulder and peer into the crockpot when I lifted the lid. “I spent most of the morning reading through assignment proposals from my editor. I narrowed it down to a couple that sounded the most promising and spent the next couple hours doing some research on them.”
“What kind of assignments?” I tried asking it as nonchalantly as possible, but my voice wavered at the end. Harrison’s work usually took him all across the globe, but I was stuck here until graduation. The thought of being separated by so many miles this early in our relationship scared the crap out of me.
He nuzzled his chin in the crook of my neck, his breath hot against my skin. “What do you think about alligators?”
“I try not to think about them usually.” I tilted my head to smile up at him. “Even though that’s hard to do when I spot one at least once a month or so.”
“But they don’t completely freak you out, right?”
“Nah, I’m a Florida girl after all.”
“It’s a good thing my girl grew up in Florida because one of the assignments my editor offered me involves a short trip to the Everglades, and I was hoping you’d want to come with me.”
“Really?” I squealed, turning in his arms.
“Of course, really, silly girl.” He tweaked my nose. “I told him I was unavailable for anything outside of the country for the next three months. Several of the proposals he sent would work, but the Everglades one is the closest to home so it’s the one I told him I’d take.”
“Closest to home,” I echoed in a breathy voice.
“Yeah, I figure we can look for apartments over the next couple days.”
“Apartments. Here?”
“Of course, baby doll. Where else? My home is wherever you are.”
While he continued to ramble on, as though he hadn’t just said something earth-shattering, I dropped the lid back on the crockpot and turned the setting down to warm. Then I turned around in Harrison’s arms so we could have this talk face-to-face.
“It shouldn’t be too hard to pick one that’ll work for us until graduation. My lease isn’t up on my place in Miami, but that’s not a big deal. It won’t matter if I leave it empty for a while. As soon as we find a place here, I’ll arrange for the movers to box all my stuff up and get it to the new house. That way, everything will be set before Stanley and Bunny make it back into town on Sunday.”
“Harrison,” I interrupted softly. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Fuck, no, baby doll,” he breathed against my lips as he lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. “There’s no asking involved. I’m telling you we’re getting an apartment together. There’s no way in hell you and I can live here with Stanley and Bunny.”
My heart stuttered a little. “Because they aren’t going to approve of us as a couple?”
“No, because you’re a screamer,” he corrected. “And we aren’t going to spend the next few months having quiet sex just because we don’t want them to hear how wild I make you. Not when I love to hear your voice ringing in my ears when you come. I’m not giving that up for anybody.”
“I’m not that loud,” I pouted as a wild blush stole across my cheeks.
“Yes, you are,” he purred.
“Oh yeah?” I huffed. “Prove it.”
“Game on,” he growled.
It was a game he won. Repeatedly. After the third screaming orgasm, he made me agree to move in with him. What I didn’t say was that I would have said yes from that start. I didn’t need any convincing, but I sure as heck wasn’t going to argue with his method of persuasion.
Chapter 9
Harrison
My phone beeped and I flipped my shades up so I could see the screen in the bright sun. I smiled at the message. I’d just gotten the confirmation I’d been waiting for. Maggie would be out of school any minute and I was leaning against my car in the parking lot, waiting for her.