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She was arranging the fake snakes around her again, laughing at something Kelsey said. My heart literally skipped a beat. Because of the snakes. Not because Penelope’s cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkling, or the fact that she caught me looking and winked at me.
“Shit. Sorry, Pen. I did that all wrong. Let me try again.” I lowered my lips to hers, almost touching but not quite. “Pretty Penny, can I kiss you? Please? I might go crazy if I can’t, but it’s up to you. It’s what you want.”
“I do need to ask, sweetheart.”
“Enthusiastic consent is the sexiest thing from any woman in the world, but it’s even better when it’s you.”
“That,” I said, my voice rougher than I intended, “was something I’ve wanted to do since the moment you asked me to teach you how to date. Maybe even before.”
“First of all, the saying goes that Kingman men play better when we’re getting laid,” I teased, then sobered.
“But, Pen, I need you to know... You aren’t some one-night stand or fling to me. I have real feelings for you. Feelings that Declan is going to want to murder me for, but I’m willing to face his wrath for you.”
I frowned, cupping her face in my hands. “Someone like you? You mean someone smart, funny, kind, and sexy as hell? Pen, you’re amazing. Any guy would be lucky to have you in their life.”
“Hell yeah. I want to be with you, Pen. No more lessons, no more pretending. Just us.”
“Pen.” I shook my head and lifted her chin with my knuckles so she had to look at me when I told her the truth she needed to hear. “I don’t know what kind of absolute dumbasses you’ve been dating, but later, I will use every bit of my fortune to hire angry honey badgers to neuter every single one of them. I have absolutely no doubt that not only are we going to be great in bed together, I’m betting you’re going to rock my fucking world tonight.”
Shit. No I wasn’t. Billy loved his stupid snake.
“Why, Mr. Kingman, is that an anaconda in your pants or…?”
Oh Jesus. “Too soon, Pen, too soon.”
“Maybe if you lost some weight, I’d be more into it.” “Leave your shirt on.” “You’ve got plenty of cushion for the pushing I want to do to you.”
“Pen, if you tell me no guy has ever gone down on you before, I’m moving murderous honey badgers for all of your exes higher up on my to-do list. No, wait. Honey badgers are too good for the utter shit boyfriends you’ve had, because I can already see it in your face. Snakes, Penny. I am sending deadly-ass snakes to all of their houses immediately if not sooner.”
“Good, then let me take you even higher.” He put one of my legs over his shoulder and leaned against the bed so he was over me again. “Look at me, Pen. Look at me.”
I opened my eyes and stared up at him. “I want to hear you scream my name when I make you squirt all over me.”
“Come on, Penelope, let, go, baby. Be a good girl and squirt for me.”
“Yes, fuck, yes, baby, that’s it. That’s my girl.”
“I’m just proving to you that you’re a sex goddess who deserves to be worshipped.”
“Yes. Because any man who thinks you’re not good in bed is a dumbass. But I’m really fucking grateful they were, because now I get you all to myself.”
I’d always thought finding “the one” would be like lightning striking—instant, electric, unmistakable. But as I gazed down at Penelope, her skin flushed and her eyes shining with trust and desire, I realized love could sneak up on you, building that electricity up until it exploded and was impossible to ignore.
“You’re so beautiful,” I murmured, trailing kisses down her neck. “So fucking sexy.”
“These are beautiful too, you know,” I said softly, pressing a kiss to the silvery line. “They’re part of you, and every part of you is gorgeous.”
“Mmm. I’m going to keep telling you so until you actually believe it.”
“I mean it, Pen. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
This wasn’t just sex. This was making love in every sense of the word. And I realized, with startling clarity, that this was what I’d been searching for all along.
She smiled, tears glistening in her eyes. “For making me feel beautiful. For the first time in my life, I actually believe it.”
“You are beautiful, Pen. Inside and out. And I’ll spend every day reminding you of that if you’ll let me.”
Penelope wasn’t like that. She was the one I’d been searching for since I was eight years old. And I’d face anything—even my overprotective big brother—to keep her in my life and happy.
“Every bit of you drives me insane wanting you.”
“I'm feral for this cunt, Penelope.”
“I'm crazy about your thick thighs.”
“Every day I don't wake up with you in my arms, in my bed, my heart is ripped out of my chest, until I can be with you again.”
“This is what having people in your corner feels like, and I'm sorry if I never made you feel that way before now.”
Odin thought he could tear us down, but he had no idea what he was up against. We had love, family, and an army of body-positive warriors on our side.
“You want to know how we're going to handle this? Together. That's how. Because I love you, Penelope Quinn. I'm in love with you, and I'm not ashamed of it. I'm proud of it. Of us.”
“I love you, Penelope.”
I looked at the girls and shook my head. “Pen's moving in with me. Right now. We'll be back for her things. Do what you need to set up battle stations at my house later.”
“Yes, we can,” I said firmly. “You're mine now, and you’re not going through this alone, Pen. I won't let you.”
“No quickies for us, Penny. I'm going to love you long and hard, bent over the couch, just the way you like it, baby.”
“Every lesson, every conversation, every shared laugh—they were all strikes of lightning. And before I knew it, my universe was lit up by you. You taught me that love isn't always a sudden crash of thunder. Sometimes it's a slow-building storm that leaves you soaked to the bone before you even realize it's raining.”
“Penelope Quinn,” Everett said, pulling a small box from his pocket. “You came to me for dating lessons, but you ended up teaching me the most important lesson of all—how to truly love. Will you marry me?”
Amidst the chaos, Everett leaned down to whisper in my ear. “I love you, Pen. Thank you for teaching me what love really is.”
