“You can ask whatever you want.”
“Will you kiss me?”
He didn’t waste a second, didn’t give her chance to change her mind. He molded his lips to hers and the heavens opened, the angels sang, and for the first time in forever he felt like he was truly home.
18
Wrapping her arms around Lane’s neck, Celine closed her eyes and got lost in the feel of the man she loved. She was still hesitant to trust him—trust a future where they were more than successful co-parents.
But for tonight, she didn’t care.
After years of wondering and second guessing every word she’d uttered to Lane, she finally had answers. She might not completely understand his reasons, but she knew Lane. Knew his heart and now his intentions. And no matter how she looked at things, each decision he made led to Parker being conceived.
Her tongue slipped into his mouth and a deep desire to erase the space between them moved her to her feet. She pressed her body against his, loving the feel of him against his. Strong and safe. Familiar yet also new and exciting.
Lane broke away, his heavy breaths skimming her cheeks. Red creeped up his neck and desire shone from his bright blue eyes. “What are we doing? I thought…”
She pressed her finger to his lips. “Don’t think. Don’t talk. Just keep kissing me.”
He settled his hands on her hips and grinned down at her. “I don’t think that’s going to help you sleep, and your milk’s getting cold.”
She returned his grin with one of her own. “I’m not interested in sleep right now.”
“What are you interested in? Because as much as I want to pick up your sweet, sweet ass and carry you to my room to finish this, I don’t want to mess anything up. I meant every word I said. I’m serious about showing you I’m here for the long haul. In whatever terms you need.”
Her head told her to slow down and listen to reason. To hear his logic and stop this insanity before she got her heart broken yet again. The last thing she needed was to complicate things with a man she not only had so much history with but who was the father of her child.
But her heart…oh her heart was singing a whole other tune.
And after all the fear and uncertainty of the past few days, she didn’t want to pay any attention to logic and reason. She wanted to feel love and cherished and dammit, she just wanted to feel good.
And no one could make her feel as good as Lane.
“Right now,” she said, grazing her knuckles along the rough whiskers of his jawline. “All I need is you. If you’re up for the challenge.”
“Oh, I’m up for it.” In a flash, his hands moved from her hips to the backs of her thigh and he hoisted her in the air.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as her arms circled his neck. She crushed her mouth on his, savoring the softness of his lips and the taste she’d memorized from high school. She pulled back and pressed kisses along his jawline. “Take me upstairs.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
She swiped the baby monitor off the island, grateful Parker was still asleep and held on tight as she prepared for one hell of a ride.
Hours later,Lane struggled to catch his breath as he held Celine close to his side, her head nestled on his shoulder. He brushed the pads of his fingers along the soft skin of her arm, not wanting to sever the connection they’d made.
Hell, if it were up to him, he’d still be inside her. Maybe he could make that happen in another twenty minutes.
But for now, holding her against him was the best feeling in the world.
Shifting to prop her head on her fist, she stared down at him and her long blond hair spilled around her shoulders. “If you would have told me a couple days ago that I’d be back in this room with you doing what we just did, I would laughed and said never in a million years.”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, hating that his actions had hurt her so badly. “I’m sorry I ever made you doubt what we had—made you doubt me.”
“No more apologies, okay? We’ve talked enough tonight. It’s time to put it all behind us.”
“Okay.” There was so much more he wanted to say, but he held it back. Scaring her with the depths of his feelings was the last thing he wanted to do. He’d meant it when he told her that she was in charge of their timeline.
Besides, even if she’d forgiven him, it didn’t mean his word held much merit. He’d spouted them out before, even meaning them for a brief moment in time when he’d imagined a perfect world with Celine by his side.
