But, how could he say any of that without sounding like a crazy person when they’d only spent a week together? He couldn’t, not yet.
Instead, he intended to see her as many times as he could manage in the coming weeks. To speak to her every day, at least once. And if that meant he had to spend a little money to get himself to her or her to him, then so be it. Willow was worth it.
They were worth it.
* * *
His flight left before the sun had fully risen. When he booked everything all those weeks ago, he planned to catch some sleep on the plane to make up for the early departure, but once he was in the air and so fucking excited to see Willow’s face, there was no way he could close his eyes.
Harry spent most of the flight clutching his armrests and bouncing his foot. At one point, the flight attendant—probably assuming he was afraid of flying—stopped by to make sure he was okay.
He beamed at her, excitement crackling in his eyes. “I am so totally more than okay.” Considering the early hour, the energy in his voice sounded out of place even to him. When the flight attendant’s sweet smile morphed into concern, he decided to elaborate. “I’m flying to see the woman I love,” he explained and watched her grimace melt back into a smile.
She patted his arm and promised they’d be on the ground soon.
Harry spent the remainder of the relatively short flight counting the seconds in his head and pretending not to notice. By the time the wheels hit the tarmac, he was ready to launch out of his seat and race down the skybridge to the terminal—as if Willow would be standing at the gate, waiting for him. But, of course, the instant the seatbelt light turned off, everyone on the plane stood and tried to clamor into the aisle, creating a massive logjam.
After what felt like year of waiting, things finally got sorted and people started moving. When he made it into the terminal, damned if he didn’t find Willow standing at security, bouncing up and down with excitement. Harry smiled with his whole body at the sight of her—driven by a singular need to erase the distance separating him from her. Somehow, as if the people between them could sense the power of his need, the crowd parted. A direct path to Willow opened and his shoes slapped against the tile in an ever-increasing rhythm of relief.
When he reached her, Harry wrapped her in his arms, picking her up and spinning her in a circle. He breathed her in as he lowered her to the ground, pressed her body close to his and laughed from the sheer happiness of being near her.
He didn’t care that he was making a spectacle of their reunion in a public place. Let them watch, he thought. He felt no shame for loving his woman so ferociously. “It is so fucking good to see you,” he murmured in between kisses.
“And it’s so fucking good to see you.” Willow’s breath caught in her chest as she choked back tears. “I can’t even begin to describe how much I missed you.”
“However much you think you missed me, I can guarantee I missed you more.”
Willow shook her head. “I promise,” she said as he kissed her. “That I…” He kissed her again. “Missed…” Another kiss. “You more!”
As they walked arm in arm, she paused in front of a gift shop. “Tell me you brought a coat and it’s in your suitcase.”
“Of course I did.” Harry bent to unzip the mostly empty bag. “I just forgot to take it out.”
“Good. We could have popped in here and bought a sweatshirt or something, but you don’t want to know what you’d have paid for it.”
Harry pulled on his coat and zipped it up but still froze in shock when he stepped outside and a blast of winter wind hit him in the face. “How do you stand it?” he asked, shivering.
Willow ducked her chin into her coat. “Just hunker down and wait for spring.”
* * *
They took a cab straight to her apartment—a small space she shared with another dancer who was conscientiously absent when they arrived. Willow dropped to her knees, prying at Harry’s belt buckle before the door even fully closed. A vague part of him suggested that he should sweep her up and carry her to the bedroom, fuck her brains out, then fall asleep cuddled up against her, but he couldn’t hear anything over the way she looked up with him in her mouth, those big blue eyes doing crazy things to his heart.
One mind-blowing orgasm later, Willow showed him around the apartment. It didn’t take long because there wasn’t that much to see. Her place was limited in the space department. Of course, what space she did have, she’d used intelligently, with an eye on artful, economic arrangements. “And here,” she said as she opened the door to her bedroom. “Is where you’ll repay me later for that blow job you just got.”
Harry dropped his bag and pulled her to him. “I’ll repay you now.” He kissed her neck and squeezed that tiny, yet spectacular ass.
Willow dropped her head back, creating more room for his mouth to explore her throat. “No can-do, big boy,” she said, practically purring. “The orgasms you give me leave my legs jellified for hours. I can’t have jelly legs onstage tonight.” She groaned. “But after? I am so totally cashing in.”
They spent the day in her apartment, talking and cuddling and making out. She suggested they go sightseeing, but since Harry had already seen the sights before and because it was
