I searched his face, wanting so badly to believe him.“You have to communicate with me,” I said, my anger melting into hurt.“If we’re going to make this work, you can’t keep things from me.You said we’d handle it together.But we didn’t.You just decided what was best without me.”
Tears ran down my cheeks.His warm hands cradled my face as he brushed them away with his thumbs.“You’re absolutely right,” he said.“I’m so sorry, baby.I promise, from now on, it’s you and me.We’ll handle everything together.I don’t want to mess this up.”
He pressed his forehead to mine.I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling my anger dissipate.When I opened my eyes, he was watching me intently.
“I forgive you.”
That grin I loved curved his lips as he dipped his head, our mouths meeting in a heated, tender kiss.Emmett’s touch scorched me through my sheer top.I grabbed a fistful of his shirt, pulling him flush against me.By the time we broke apart, we were both breathing harder.
“I love you,” he said fiercely.
And I believed him.Because I loved him right back.I loved him back with an intensity I didn’t know I was capable of.
“I love you too, Emmett.”
His shoulders sagged, and he blew out a long breath.“Fuck.Hearing you say that...”His fingers slid under my skirt, caressing my thighs.“I need you.”
His words and the unmistakable bulge against my stomach sent desire pulsing through me.I slid my hands into his hair, kissing him harder.The last remnants of our argument evaporated in the face of this hot, thrumming need.
Emmett walked us back until I hit the wall, his solid weight pinning me there as he kisses along my jaw.“Tell me you need me as much as I need you,” he said in that rumbling tone that made my knees weak.
“I need you,” I breathed, tugging at his belt.“I always need you.”
Our kisses were fevered, full of pent-up love and longing.Hands fumbled, clothes were shed in a frenzy until there was nothing between us.Then he was inside me, moving with that savage intensity that made me come apart every time.
After, as we lay panting on my living room floor, my sweaty body clinging to his, I offered my own apology.
“Emmett, I…I’m sorry.I probably overreacted a bit.”
He gathered me closer, his arms tightening around me.“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I just want to be your partner.I don’t need you to protect me.”
“I know you don’t.You’re one of the strongest people I know.”He rolled over, settling between my legs, lips hovering over mine.
“The smartest.”
Kiss.
“The sexiest.”
Kiss.
When he tried to pull away, I gripped his hair.“Enough talking.”
We made up over and over.By the time we finally collapsed, exhausted, Emmett was in my bed, plastered against my back, his arm draped over my waist.
“Fuck, I love making up with you,” he said, pressing languid kisses to my bare shoulder.“Wanna fight again?”
* * *
The followingweek was a whirlwind of activity.
The annual Memorial Day family picnic for Price Industries had turned into an extravagant affair, with more than two hundred employees and their families expected to attend.I frequently found myself working alongside Meghan as we collaborated on last-minute details for the event.
“I can’t believe you’re sleeping with my brother,” Meghan said, standing at the coffee counter in The Common, all toned legs and designer sundress.
I shot her a look.“Would you keep your voice down?”
