Hunter chuckled. “I’m good and I kind of liked that greeting. Makes me think you missed me.” It was a good thing he’d had the column to brace against, however, because she had knocked him slightly off balance. The bright smile on her face and her excitement would’ve been worth the fall.
She pulled him inside and closed the door. “I thought you said you weren’t coming back for another two weeks.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“I’m more than surprised. How long are you going to be here?”
“Thursday.” He sat on the sofa, pulled her down onto his lap and kissed her. “Do you have any plans for tomorrow evening? I like to have dinner with you.”
“No. And I’d love dinner.” Michaela bit her lip, as if she wanted to say something else.
“What is it?”
“Can we eat here or at your place? I’m not in the mood to have the entire town interrupting us every five minutes trying to be nosy.”
She had a point and more than likely, he’d be the target of more than a few hostile glares and outright nasty comments. Yeah, eating at home would be best. Hunter didn’t want to have to risk cussing somebody out. “Definitely. We can figure out the details between now and then.”
She nodded and laid her head against his shoulder.
He held her close in his arms for several minutes. “I owe you an apology, Michaela.”
She lifted her head and he met her wary gaze.
After all that had happened, he couldn’t blame her for the way she looked at him, but he wanted to reassure her they were good. “Everything’s okay, sweetheart. I want to tell you how sorry I am for leaving you to deal with this town alone, for the pain and embarrassment I caused you. For everything.”
“It was hard, so hard,” she whispered.
“I know, baby, and I was so wrong to do that to you.” Hunter alternately wiped and kissed her tears away. “Forgive me.” He’d never begged a woman for anything in his life, but if he had to get down on his knees, he would. He rested his forehead against hers. “Please forgive me. I love you and I promise I will never make you cry again. I’ll never cause you another moment of pain.”
“Yes. I forgive you.”
“Thank you,” he whispered over and over, placing butterfly kisses all over her face, while his hand slid over her hip, waist and up to cup her breasts. She moaned and her head dropped back. Hunter transferred his kisses to her throat and the portion of her chest left bare by the low-cut tee. “You are so beautiful.”
“And so are you.” Michaela grabbed his head and pulled him into a soul-stirring kiss.
Arousal began to flow through his body, sending a sharp jolt to his groin. He sat her up, divested her of her shirt and took a moment to just stare at her smooth cocoa skin and sexy red bra.
“Hunter?”
“Yes.”
“Make love to me.”
Her words were music to his ears and unleashed all the desire that had lain dormant for the past year. “You only have to ask, sweetheart.” Michaela stood and held out her hand. He grasped it and rose to his feet in one swift motion, and let her lead him to her bedroom. Once there, he laid her on the bed and took his time removing her clothes, piece by piece, lingering over each part of her body as if it were a priceless artwork. He started at her ankles and kissed his way up one leg and inner thigh, then the other. “I’ve missed you so much.Somuch.” Gently turning her on her stomach, he continued his journey upward. Straddling her hips, he used his tongue to chart a path down the center of her spine.
She moaned loudly. “I missed you, too. Missed the way you touch me.”
“I’m going to make up for all of it,” he said, trailing his hands everywhere his tongue had been. He massaged every part of her body, then rolled her onto her back again. Cupping her breasts in his hands, he kneaded and massaged them before bending to take one nipple in his mouth. He released one breast and kissed the other while his hand traveled down her flat belly to the softness between her thighs.
Michaela arched off the bed and cried out.
He’d gone without this connection to her for too long. He needed her in his life like he needed to breathe. Going back to her mouth, he slid his tongue between her parted lips, capturing her tongue and absorbing her essence into his very soul. She reached out and unbuttoned his shirt, trailing her hot tongue down his chest as she went and sending sharp jolts of electricity straight to his groin. She pushed it off his shoulders and added it to the growing pile of clothes. Hunter left the bed briefly to finish undressing and don a condom. Coming back to the bed, he kissed his way down to her center, gently spread her legs and swiped his tongue against her clit.
Her hips flew off the bed and she let out a scream. “Hunter!”
He swirled his tongue deeper and deeper inside her, wanting her to remember how it was with them, how it always would be—an all-consuming passion. He took his time, using slow, long licks to increase her pleasure. The sounds of ecstasy spilling from her mouth sent his desire soaring straight through the roof. She erupted with a loud cry, her sounds of pleasure stoking the flames of his arousal even more. He moved up and over her body, taking her mouth in another scorching kiss that made his body tremble right along with hers. He slid two fingers inside her and noted the tight fit.
“There’s been no one else. I couldn’t…you’re the only one I want,” Michaela said.
