“Will you?”
She shouldn’t. Everything was changing. They were supposed to be moving on… But right now as she gazed up into his shining eyes, moving on seemed like a terrible idea.
Why move on when she wanted exactly what he wanted?
“Stay,” he whispered.
“Yes,” she said. “I’ll stay.”
He took her hand. “Let’s go inside.”
She followed him willingly. It seemed like forever since they’d shared a bed. She’d missed him so much. And the effort it took to deny what she felt for him… She just couldn’t do it.
Not tonight.
He led her up the steps, into the house and across the wide great room floor. They mounted the stairs.
It was like a dream, a beautiful dream she wished she would never have to wake up from.
Once they reached his bedroom, he shut and locked the door.
“Riley…” He said her name so tenderly as he cradled her face between his hands.
“Happy birthday, Josh.”
“Thank you.” He gave her a rueful smile. “I lied.”
“About…?”
“I said no presents. But I didn’t really mean it. I wantedthis, you and me alone right now.Thisis my present.”
“Well, then…” She had no idea what to say next.
But that was okay. Because he kissed her. And as he kissed her, he walked her backward. When they reached the side of the bed, he started undressing her.
She gave herself up to him, to the wonder of his hands on her body, to the glory of his mouth pressed to hers. As he kissed her, he took her shirt away, unhooked her bra and slid the straps down her arms.
She kissed him back, her tongue sliding against his, her hands hard at work now undoing his buttons, shoving his shirt to the floor over those smooth, hard shoulders of his.
This business of undressing, it went on and on. And the whole time, his mouth owned hers, and his hands were all over her. It felt so good, like a deep thirst finally quenched, a desperate hunger satisfied at last.
He pushed her down. She dropped to the bed and fell back across it, arms outspread. He took off her shoes, got rid of her socks, slid her panties down and off.
“Riley. At last…”
She opened her eyes. Dazed with pleasure, she stared at him, standing above her—at his broad, bare chest lightlydusted with dark hair, at his shining hazel eyes, his full mouth curved in a smile just for her.
“Let me see you.” He toed off his boots and shoved down his jeans, stepping on them to get out of them, jumping on one foot and then the other to yank off his socks. And then finally, he shoved down his boxer briefs and kicked them away.
She reached up both arms for him. “Come down here…”
“Just look at you,” he said. “You are so beautiful…” He came onto the bed with her. Knees planted to either side of her, he brushed his long fingers over her breasts and lower, stopping at her belly, cradling it with his big palms, bending close to whisper to the baby, “Hello in there. It’s me, your dad…”
Riley sighed at his sweet words, at the warmth of his touch.
He looked up and met her eyes. “It’s been too long,” he accused so tenderly.
All she could say to that was, “Oh, Josh. Yes. Much too long…”
