Rupert nodded at Fred as he continued to hold her. She was right. Ethan could wait. Fred was the most important thing right now. Always would be.
He let Fred take him upstairs to the loft, where he sat down with her on the bed. Reaching up, he gently ran his hand through her hair, brushing it back from her temple before they kissed.
All that mattered was her. He couldn't lose her. He still didn't know what he was doing half the time, but he couldn't. As her fingers slipped inside his shirt, he ran his hand over her shoulders and down her back. Reaching the hem of her top, he tugged it up and off her.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered against her lips, trailing his hands up her side to her breasts and cupping them. He swiped a thumb across her nipple as he began kissing down to her neck, to the junction with her shoulder.