‘That’s such a you thing to do,’ he said, closing his eyes for a moment. She could almost feel his relief.
‘I might not love him any more, but I don’t want him to kill himself drunk driving,’ Isabella said with a shrug and he let out a short laugh, before asking, ‘Why did he come?’
She shook a long, slow breath and let it go.
‘To apologise,’ she said simply. ‘He wanted to apologise for everything he’d done to me. He wanted to put right past mistakes so that he could move on.’
Etienne breathed out and she could see that it resonated with him. He knew what it was like to feel like you’d let someone down.
‘Did you accept?’ he said, tilting his head to one side, green eyes reading hers.
‘I did. Because I want to move on too.’ She swallowed. This was it. The truth. ‘I want to move on with you.’
His eyes flashed and she saw the quirk of a smile lifting his lips again.
‘And what was that?’ Etienne gestured out towards the square. ‘This morning?’
‘That was goodbye,’ she said, holding her hand out towards him, seeing it tremble in the space between them. Her chest hurt with the need to touch him now, to close the gap between them. She heard her jagged gasp as his fingers found hers and they twined together. It was now or never.
‘And this is hello.’ She tugged his hand and they moved towards each other, wrapping their arms around each other. She held his head, pushed her fingers through his hair. Held him tight, pressed herself to him. And he pulled her close so that there was no space between them, his body meeting hers at every point, as he inhaled the scent in her hair. Eventually he loosened his grip and she looked up into his face.
‘I love you, Etienne,’ she said and her voice was certain and sure.
‘I love you, Bella,’ he replied and she could see the jut of his jaw as he spoke. The honesty behind the words he’d never said to a woman before. She felt the tears seeping out of the corner of her eyes before she could stop them, but she was laughing and smiling and crying all at once as he brushed them away with his thumb.
‘What you making?’ She nodded to the eggs he’d been cracking.
‘Pancakes,’ he said with a grin.
She licked her dry lips and felt the ache inside. The anticipation that had built since that day when he licked the batter from her arm, his eyes never leaving hers as his tongue met her skin, was prickling at her.
‘Are you hungry?’ he asked.
She ran her hands across his chest, spanning the muscles, wanting to feel his skin beneath the shirt.
‘Starving,’ she said, holding his gaze. His eyes were the darkest green she’d ever seen. They sparked under his heavy lids as he took her hand and led her out of the kitchen.
‘Then let’s eat,’ he said.
Chapter Sixty-Six
Isabella and Etienne
Those pyjamas were the hottest outfit he’d ever seen, but Etienne just wanted them off.
As soon as the bedroom door was closed, they fell on each other, lips crashing together before parting, pushing, pulsing as their tongues danced together. Isabella undid his shirt and ran her hands across his skin, making an unconscious sound of relief as she touched him. He closed his eyes at the sound, knowing that she needed him as much as he needed her.
Etienne peeled the pyjama top over her head in one move, and his hands moved to cup her full breasts, circle her nipples, feel them tighten under his fingers. She dropped her head back and arched her chest towards him and he dipped his mouth to encase her in his lips, pulling lightly, enough to make her moan. Straightening again, Isabella kissed his chest, nipping at it with her teeth, and he gasped, his erection straining in his jeans. Her hand was already there, on him, and she could feel the heat of him through the fabric. He growled in his throat and she moaned back into his mouth.
She flipped open his fly and pushed at his jeans. He’d never felt so hard, so hot. She wrapped her fingers around him, unable to close the loop he was so thick, and she ran her thumb over his end, spreading the moisture already beading there. Dropping to her knees, she tasted him, drawing him into her mouth, and Etienne held her head, controlling the motion, keeping it slow, letting her take him as deep as she could, again and again, until he couldn’t risk it any more. He pulled her to her feet, kissing her mouth that tasted of him, letting his hands roam her body, over her breasts and down to those shorts that should be illegal. They skimmed easily over her hips and dropped to the floor. His hands followed, running between her legs and feeling the hot wetness of her. He slipped one, then two fingers into the slick entry to her body, feeling her stumble slightly in his arms as her knees buckled. He brushed her clit with his thumb and she groaned, her head lolling back on her neck, eyes closed. He ran his hands over her, lifting her body. She wrapped her legs around his waist to hold the position and he pushed her back to the wall, straining against her, wanting more.
He carried her across the room as if she weighed nothing and Isabella felt the strength in his chest, his arms, his shoulders. She ran her nails across them, scoring him lightly, leaving red trails. Etienne lowered her to standing beside the bed. His breathing was ragged; her heart was racing as they faced each other.
‘Yes?’ he asked, his voice gruff.
‘Yes,’ she said breathlessly. ‘Please, yes.’
‘Wait,’ he said, yanking open the bedside drawer. She heard the rip of the condom foil and heard her own heartbeat as it pulsed in her veins.
