“Iris…” I begin, taking a deep breath. I should tell her. I should say,My sister has this and I think you might too, and it’s okay, it’s wonderful and I want to help, but when I open my mouth, that’s not what comes out.
Instead, I take one look at her beautiful face, eyes soft and trusting, and say the words I can no longer contain.
“I love you.”
33
IRIS
My pulse scatters. I swallow, forcing myself to remain still. To make sure I’m not imagining the words.
“What?” I whisper, needing to know I’ve heard him right. Because if I have…
It’sallI could ever want.
A warm smile curves his lips, his hand coming to gently stroke my cheek. “I love you, Iris. I’m so completely in love with you I don’t know what to do with myself.”
My breath rushes out, something between a disbelieving sigh and sheer relief.
He loves me.
He feels this too.
This week was torture. Every moment around Aidan I fought to keep my mouth shut, not to blurt out how I feel. To focus on work and not on the man I’m so desperately in love with. I was terrified I’d let it slip, that it would burst out of me at the worst moment and shock him into realizing I’m too much for him. That he’s making a mistake by being with me.
But gazing at him now, seeing the tenderness in his eyes, his hopeful expression as he waits patiently for me to respond,I realize how foolish I was. His words from our last visit to the studios play through my head,You don’t have to hide your emotions with me, and I almost laugh. How could I have doubted him?
“I love you too,” I whisper, hand trembling as I place it on his chest, over his pounding heart. “I didn’t want to scare you, didn’t want to be too much, but… I really love you, Aidan.”
Everything about him softens. “Baby,” he murmurs hoarsely, “you could never be too much for me. Never.”
My heart glows bright and hot in my chest. This man, the way he sees me, the way he doesn’t turn away… My eyes prick with tears, and when I’d usually glance down to hide it, I keep my gaze steadily on his. I let him see, because he wants to. He wants me just as I am.
And it’severything.
His eyes move between mine, bottomless and aching, and I sense there’s more he wants to say, but he lowers his mouth to mine in a gentle kiss.
But I need more. I need all of him, every part of him, on top of me, inside me, everywhere at once. He loves me, and I want tofeelit. I need to.
I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He takes the cue, tilting his head, parting his lips to let my tongue sweep greedily across his. I tug at his jacket, his tie, needing his clothes off. We part just long enough to undress, then he pulls me onto his bed, hands roaming my skin. I feel every caress, his touch burning a trail from my cheek to my collarbone to my breast.
I can’t get enough of him either, fingertips tracing the cut of his beard along his jaw, the hard swell of muscle in his shoulders, the firmness of his pecs. I trail my fingers through the salt and pepper of his chest hair, then bury my face there, inhaling his warm, spicy scent. I’d consume this man if I could, every inch of him.
“God, Iris,” he rasps, so hard where he rests against my thigh. “I never imagined I could feel this way.”
My heart fills my chest as I drag my mouth along his neck, the coarse bristles of his jaw, finding his bottom lip and sucking it into my mouth.
“I love you,” I whisper, reveling in the way it feels to say the words out loud again. “I love you, Aidan.”
“Fuck.” His breath rushes out against my lips, warm and sweet. “Baby…” Then his hands are on my hips, pulling me under him. His thick length settles between my thighs where I’m achingly wet for him, and he groans into my shoulder.
I can’t wait any longer.
I shift my hips, feeling him nudge my entrance. My hands grab at his ass, tugging insistently, and he sinks inside me. Pleasure spirals out to every corner of my body, and a moan tears free.
He stills, buried deep inside me, breathing hard. When he draws back to meet my gaze, he looks wrecked. Eyes glassy and hooded, cheeks flushed, lips parted in awe, like he’s seen God. He drops his forehead to mine, pressing his eyes shut. When they open again, they’re glistening with emotion.
And my heart nearly bursts from my chest.
