Slowly then, eyes set on her, Richard backed up to the large reclining chair in the corner, encouraging her to come along. He sank into the chair, grabbed Ava by the hips, and steadied her as she settled onto his lap, moving her knees to either side of him. So close. So warm.Yes.
He was quick to claim her lips with a long and lingering kiss. Each measured push and heated pull saying one crucial thing—us.They weren’t meant to live life apart. It’s why they’d been so drawn to each other from the start. They were meant to be together; him plus her equaled the bestusthey could be.
She was glad that he was in a celebratory mood because she was too. And after spending three full days wondering if she’d ever taste his kiss again, Ava couldn’t think of any better way to pass the time. Just as that thought crossed her mind, Richard brought the kiss to a reluctant close and searched her face. “I love you,” he assured.
A new thrill shot through her. “I love you too.”
Richard kissed her again, and then soon he was trailing kisses along her jaw, and then down the side of her neck, ever so slowly. At the hollow of her throat, he performed a slow tease with the heat of his mouth, the tip of his tongue, and the gentle, thrilling graze of his teeth.
Waves of bliss pulsed through her. Ava ran her fingers through his thick hair, earning a moan from low in his chest.
She’d gone three days without his lips on hers. Three days fearing that she would never have the pleasure again. But there he was, his mouth just inches from hers, thrilling her with the skilled measures of his lips along her collarbone, her throat, and the lobe of her ear.
“Mmm,” he purred against her skin, heightening the next wave of pleasure traveling through her.
When she couldn’t wait a minute longer, Ava cradled his masculine jaw in her hands and brought her parted lips back to his. He’d said some wonderful things to her today, words she hoped she’d never forget. But this—the passion and longing behind his incredible kiss—spoke of similar things. He loved her in all the right ways, and Ava inwardly promised to show him in the days, months, and years ahead that she felt exactly the same.
Soon they’d pack up her things and head back to the Homestead Inn. They’d tell the others they had nothing to fear where Wren was concerned. But for now, Ava would sink into this celebration with the man she loved, and dream of the life they had before them.
