“Read fast then, baby.”
I slid her panties over her thighs, groaning at the sight. My wife was stunning and wet, for me. I inhaled her musky scent, nipping at her inner thighs as she moaned my name. I glanced up at her, finding her watching me.
“Read,” I commanded before sliding my tongue between her folds. She bucked, but the paper was at least in her hand.
That paper was the memo I had typed up—hadn’t sent—but was going to share with the board Monday morning. It laid out the new structure with Petra, allowing me to have more time at home.
No more than four work dinners a month, max. Board retreats once a quarter, if not a year. If they needed to meet weekly, they could with Petra. If that didn’t show Laney I was serious, I wasn’t sure what would.
I held both her thighs around my face, finding her swollen nerve with my mouth, and sucked. It had been weeks since my mouth was on her, tasting her and driving her wild. Sweat pooled on her skin, the dampness all around my face as I slid a finger into her. She trembled now. Her thighs shook and tightened around me.
“You’re close,” I said, flattening my tongue against her. “You finish reading it all yet, baby?”
She made a sound, something like a whine and a moan before she threw the paper on the ground, gripped my hair tight, and screamed my name.
“Yes, Connor, oh my God!”
She came hard. Her legs shook around me, but I never stopped. I stroked and let her ride out the pleasure as long as possible, watching the way her body reacted. She had a mole on her lower stomach that looked like a heart. She had a scar on her inner thigh from a nail on a bench when she was a kid. I knew this woman inside out, and I’d never forget her.
When she stilled, I pressed a soft kiss on her skin before sheslid off the counter and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. She trembled, and my stomach clenched.
I cupped the back of her head and held her against me. “What do you need, baby?”
“I can’t believe… you’re…” She lifted her head and sniffed. “Are you sure?”
“Sure about what?” I scanned her face, totally confused. She was butt naked, face still flushed from an orgasm, and yet tears filled her eyes.
“Stepping away from the CEO role? That’s all you’ve ever wanted.”
“I’m not stepping away. I’m adjusting.” I pushed her hair behind her ear, smiling softly at her. “I’m pivoting. I still get to do the things I enjoy, bossing others around and making money—”
She rolled her eyes. We both knew I loved the challenge and problem-solving required of the role. I kissed her nose and continued, “We’re not where I want to be. There are a lot of hurdles still, I won’t lie to you. There’s a chance this won’t happen. That was the only reason I hadn’t told you about it yet, because I didn’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“You idiot.” She grinned so widely that she looked like a cartoon. “The fact you’re even thinking about this means so much. I could just… damn it. Come here.”
She grabbed my face and kissed me so hard that it knocked me on my back. The air rushed out of my lungs. Her hair hung in waves, her perfect round breasts were almost in my face, and she clung to me.
“I need you. I need you right now. Please. Let me feel your heart.”
My chest ached. She used to ask to feel my heart when she felt overwhelmed. She said there was something about the rhythm, when your heartbeat connected with another. It had been too damn long since she asked me that, and my eyes prickled a little.
“Get naked. Right now.” She tugged at my shirt, the awkward angle making it get stuck on my shoulder.
“Move faster, Connor.”
“Baby,” I chuckled, kissing her quickly as I tossed my shirt to the side, “we have all night. We can slow down.”
“No. I need to be close to you. I… I fucking love you so much it hurts.”
She rarely cussed. She rarely saidfuck. To hear her exclaim that to me right now? Holy shit. My heart raced, and I held her to me. I didn’t realize how much I needed those words. They reassured me that we’d be okay, we could survive this, and relief so strong, so powerful rolled through me that I had to close my eyes and breathe.
Laney kissed me, drawing me back, and I shuddered at the way she stared at me, like she needed me.
Somehow, we removed my clothes. Laney slid onto me while on the kitchen floor of her parents’ neighbor’s house.
It had been the right choice to show her the plan. I vowed, then and there, to never keep anything from her again.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
