He doesn’t make me wait long.
Warm, soft lips cover mine, and he eagerly explores my mouth. Murmuring appreciation, he pulls me onto his lap,moving his hands from my waist to my breasts. Firmly but gently squeezing them.
I moan and deepen the kiss.
Moving on, he caresses my back—then lower. A shiver jolts down my spine when he bites down on my bottom lip at the same time. I pull his shirt out of his pants and slide my hands up his chest.
Letting myself breathe him in and breathe him out, I take in his oxygen and let go of all my doubts.
When he finally breaks the kiss, his words are choppy—rushed.
“I want you so much, Crystal. But.”
Please don’t stop this time. I need you, Nathan.
“I need to be sure that I’m the man you want. I know you think I will right now, but I may never get my memories back… In fact, it’s more likely that I won’t.”
I hate that for him. That he may never regain the beautiful memories of his life. But I wasn’t lying. All our interaction, and how I’ve seen him act around others.
He’s the same man.
“I love you, Nathan. You. Just as you are right now. I don’t want anyone else.”
He lets out a small sound and pulls me closer, kissing my neck, working his way back to my lips.
Before I let him take me to bed, I get the one thing I’ve been holding on to off my chest. I don’t want to do it. But I have to. I gently break our kiss.
“Do you have questions about Mark and our…relationship? I’ll never mention him again if you don’t want to know anything, but if you want to know—I’ll tell you everything.”
“I don’t care a damn thing about Mark.” He glances away, pure hate etched across his features, then returns his softer gazeto mine. “But I do want to know everything. To know what he put you through.”
Taking my mouth with more urgency, he adds on a breath. “Just not tonight. If that’s okay.”
“What are you waiting for, sailor?”
He carries me to my bedroom and sets me on my feet while he locks the door and turns on the fan and radio. Fiddling with the knobs until he gets to a station playing something passably romantic. That makes me giggle. He doesn’t want Natalie to hear anything. He’s forgotten that he’s a quiet lover.
Then he turns to face me.
Taking the air in quick gasps, I search his face, wondering what he’ll do next. Will he pull me close and lose himself in me like he did during the storm at sea? Or ask me to undress slowly, the way he did on his birthday after I told him I was pregnant. Or maybe it will be like our honeymoon in Belize, when he promised to make love to me all night and kept his word… and then did it all over again the next morning…
His hands tremble as he reaches for me, fumbling with the buttons on my dress. I gently still his fingers and kneel in front of him instead. When I look up, his desert eyes have darkened. Full of desire and something else.
Slowly, I unbuckle his pants and study his face as he watches them fall. His heart is beating so loudly.
Or maybe that’smyheart.
Pushing his hips toward me, he gives me his answer, and I take him.
He slips his fingers into my hair, holding me there as he draws me closer. I follow his lead, hands tight on his hips, glancing up now and then to catch the storm in his eyes.
“Please. Just like that.” His grip tightens.
His moans build until he takes over, shifting the pace with confidence. When I take a breath, he scoops me up and tumbles with me onto the bed.
He slides his fingers under my panties. Impatient, he grunts and quickly pulls his own pants down, positioning himself at my center. But then he stops.
He looks up with desperation in his eyes. “Can I?”
