I swallowed hard. Every instinct inside me screamed to wrap her up, promise her I’d never let anything or anyone hurt her or Vincent again. But she didn’t need promises, she needed the truth.
We carried our stuff inside, and while we got Vincent settled on his playmat, I searched for the right words. “You know.” I stared at the carpet so I didn’t lose my nerve. “After my parents died, I just…” My voice cracked. “I told myself I’d never have what they had. That I could never live up to them.”
She sighed. “Jasper.”
“I mean it. I thought I was better off as the good-time guy. The fun guy. I could be useful. Work hard. Throw myself into burning buildings because it’s easier than thinking about what I lost.”
She sank down next to me on the floor, wrapping her arms around me.
“You deserve everything. You are everything. To Vincent and to me. You believe in us. Hell, you believed in me, even when I was pushing you away.”
“I will always believe in you. And I’ll work my ass off to be worthy of you. When you stood up to your father? You were so strong. I just—” My throat tightened. “I realized then that we’re a family. You, me, and Vincent. It’s us against the world.”
She was crying now, happy tears as she kissed me softly. “I believe in you too,” she said as her kisses turned urgent. “And I believe in us.”
We kissed and kissed, clinging to one another tightly.
“I can’t believe I have to go to work,” I hissed, cupping her chin.
“It’s going to be a long twenty-four hours.” She climbed into my lap.
“But then we’ve got the Founder’s Festival this weekend,” I said. “And I’m off for two days.”
I kissed her again, enjoying the tease, going slow. For so long, I’d been desperate to soak up every minute I got with this woman, never knowing when they’d run out. Now, I knew I had time. There was so much to look forward to.
“How long until you have to be at work?” she asked.
I checked my watch. “One hour.”
She broke into a grin. “Good. Give me five minutes.”
She picked up Vincent and Sophie the Giraffe, then hustled toward the nursery.
When she returned, she was pulling her shirt over her head.
My heart skipped a beat. “What?—”
She put her fingers to her lips, then sank to her knees. “He’s in his crib. We have a few minutes.”
“But—” I protested, though all rational thought left me when she was half naked and this close.
“I’m not going to see you for twenty-four hours,” she said, her fingers at my fly. “I need to make the most of this time.”
With quick, precise movements, she pulled my aching cock out, and when she kissed the tip, my knees buckled.
I had an active imagination and had spent the better part of a year obsessing about this. Her smell, her taste, the way she glared at me when I annoyed her.
But nothing my brain could imagine came close to the sight of her on her knees for me. To the desire in those hooded dark eyes as she opened those plush pink lips and took me to the back of her throat.
I groaned, swaying a little. Fuck.Get it together, man. The sight of her was already awe-inspiring, but add the feel of her mouth and hands, and I was close to blacking out in seconds.
She trailed her fingers down my abs, her focus locked on my face.
Gripping me hard, she ran her tongue up my shaft.
I raked my hands through her hair and inhaled sharply.
“You like?” The playfulness in her tone gave me all kinds of dirty ideas.
