He gave Carter’s shoulders another squeeze to reassure him that he had his back. Well, and also because hugging Carter was like eating a Lay’s potato chip—physically impossible to stop at just one.

Rip woke up to the ping of an incoming text, but given that he had a naked, sleeping Carter draped half on top of him, he had approximately zero motivation to get out of bed and check it.

Carter made a fluttery little sound, sighing in his sleep as he snuggled closer, and it hit Rip all over again just how damn lucky he was. Seriously, how Carter managed to be both insanely adorable and sexy as hell Rip had no idea.

Carter’s breath gusted against Rip’s chest again, and something just as fluttery and warm as Carter’s sigh happened inside Rip’s chest. He tightened his arm around Carter, planting a kiss on the part of his face he could reach from his current angle—cheekbone—and debated the idea of waking him up.