Finally, the dreaded Thursday came around. Watching Carson hug Sasha goodbye and try to explain he wouldn’t see her for a few days was actually incredibly sad. As she took his hand and tried to lead him into the living room to watch TV with her, he actually looked like he didn’t want to leave at all. He groaned, looking up at me for help, so I smiled at Sasha and shook my head.

“Daddy has to go to work for a couple of days. He can’t watch The Fimbles,” I told her. “Say bye, and you can see him again in a couple of days. Daddy has to go.”

She frowned, clearly not understanding as she tugged on his hand and shook her head adamantly. “No go.”

Rory stepped in then and picked up Sasha. “Right, we’re going to go play in the garden. Want to ride that shiny new trike and see if we can get it all scratched up before Daddy comes back?” he asked, throwing a wicked grin in Carson’s direction.

Carson rolled his eyes but didn’t answer as Sasha finally let go of his hand and nodded in agreement with the trike idea. “Thanks, Rory,” Carson said. “See you Sunday. Take care of the girls, huh?”

Rory smiled sarcastically. “I always have done.” He carried Sasha back through the house and toward the garden. Carson waved at her, smiling moronically like a guy who was hopelessly in love.

“Ugh, I hope goodbyes aren’t always gonna be this hard,” he muttered under his breath before turning back to me and forcing a weak smile. “So, now you.”

I kicked my toe on the floor and nodded. “Yep. Want me to hold your hand and beg you to come watch TV with me, too?” I joked, chewing on my lip uncomfortably.

He sighed and stepped closer to me as he shoved his hand into his pocket and produced his wallet. I frowned, confused, until he pulled out his credit card and a folded piece of paper. “I’m going to leave you my bank card. The pin number for it is written down. I’d hoped yours would be here before I had to leave, but it’s not, so I’ll leave you this just in case you see anything you want. Anything, Emma. If you see something, just buy it, there’s no upper limit on the card.”

I gulped, shaking my head. “I don’t need your bank card. I have my own money,” I protested.

“I’m not fighting with you about this,” he stated, taking my hand and placing the card inside as he folded my fingers around it. “Take the card. You and I are getting married. What’s mine is yours. End of story.”

I sighed, knowing I shouldn’t bother protesting because I knew I’d lose. I’d just agree, take the card for now, and just not spend on it. Simple. “Fine. Thank you.” I nodded, pushing the card into the back pocket of my jeans.

A beautiful grin stretched across his face as he stepped closer to me and dipped his head so we were both almost level. “I’d better go before I miss my flight,” he mused. “Kiss me goodbye.”

I frowned, confused by his words. I looked around, seeing we were the only ones in the hallway; there was no one to put this act on for. “But there’s no one around,” I muttered.

“Exactly.” His smile grew bigger as one of his arms wove around my waist, pulling my body flush against his, and his other hand slid up my back, tangling into my hair. I didn’t even have time to work out what he meant by that before his mouth covered mine.

His soft lips felt so right against mine that I sagged against him and whimpered. When his lips parted and his tongue touched mine, deepening the kiss, my insides melted. Unconsciously, my arms rose and wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer to me as I crushed my body against his. Every nerve inside me seemed to come alive with excitement as he moaned in the back of his throat and pushed me against the wall, pressing his body against mine tightly.

My passion was spiking, rising through the roof as my hand fisted into his hair. The kiss was getting a little out of control. Well, ‘getting’ probably wasn’t the right word because my control had slipped the second his lips touched mine. His hands slid down my body, caressing my buttocks before he gripped tightly and lifted me off my feet. My legs acted as if this were a well-practiced dance, wrapping around his narrow hips where they seemed to fit perfectly.

My clothes felt scratchy against my oversensitive skin as I moved, and I longed to peel them off, to feel his skin on mine, to have his body cover mine like a blanket. My loins burned as the intimate position made us rub together, the friction causing me to gasp and break the kiss. His lips didn’t leave my body, though; instead, they travelled down my neck and his teeth sank into my shoulder gently, nipping me.

“Fuck, I don’t want to go. I want to carry you upstairs and bite every fucking inch of you,” he growled.

Don’t go. Please, don’t go. It was on the tip of my tongue.

“You always do this to me. It’s not fair how much I want you,” he murmured against the skin of my neck. “Ugh, I hate saying goodbye to you.”

I guided his mouth back to mine again, kissing him roughly because I just had no words. My brain was a mess, my emotions were a mess, and his words were cutting me deeply because that was exactly how I always felt about saying goodbye to him.

A car horn blasted outside, but Carson didn’t break the intense, steamy kiss. I was losing my breath; my body was writhing in need of relief as I kissed him like it was the last time I would ever be allowed to. When the car horn blasted again, longer this time, Carson groaned and pulled his mouth from mine. I gasped for breath, not opening my eyes as I tried to come down from the cloud I seemed to be floating on. My jittery body was like a live wire as he pressed his forehead to mine.