“Luke,” I whispered on a moan. “Oh, God.” I felt the hard planes of his body against my soft curves. I moved my hands over his shoulders, down his strong arms, up his chest, then back to his face again. My fingers trembled as I unbuttoned his shirt. All I wanted was his skin on mine. “I can’t get close enough,” I breathed.
He groaned, pushing the straps of my top down to pool around my waist as he trailed his lips down my neck to the laceof my bra. He reached behind me to unfastened it, then buried his face between my breasts as I squeezed his hips with my legs and arched against his mouth. He moaned as his hands dug into my hip bones, pulling me closer.
The small part of me that doubted—the part that made me afraid of succumbing to him again—whispered in my ear demanding that I stop before I got hurt. I ignored my doubts and ground down against him, relishing his labored breath against my fevered skin. He grabbed my hips even tighter and pulled me down as he pushed his pelvis up into mine. I gasped as we rocked together.
“Luke...” The intensity of this moment hit me in my soul, filling me with so much need that it burned me from the inside out. I grasped his shoulders and moved against him as he held me tight and gazed into my eyes.
“Yes.” He gasped. In his eyes was everything—everything I had ever wanted, everything I thought I would always have but had lost... and everything in the future we could build together. All we had ever felt for each other boiled over as we moved, winding each other tighter with every stroke of our bodies until we exploded. He shuddered beneath me as his head fell back against the couch, and I collapsed onto his chest, tucking my head under his chin. He stroked my back and kissed the top of my head.
“I swear I’ll never leave you,” he whispered.
“I believe you.” I felt him relax beneath me as I wrapped myself around him.
“I only want two things in this world. I want you, and I want those kids.”
I laughed softly. “That’s everything.”
“I know it is. I want everything with you because you mean everything to me. I’ll never let you go again.”
“I’ll fight you if you try,” I promised.
He laughed softly. “Good.”
I sighed and rested against his chest once more before popping back up with a start. “What now?” I exclaimed.
“What do you mean?” He grinned like he knew what was coming.
“Well, we can’t go slow anymore, not after what we just did.Ahh, what have we done?” I started to scurry off his lap but two warm palms on my thighs held me still.
His smile broadened. “Shh. Quit worrying and calm down.” He followed that dangerous order with a chuckle.
Had we just traveled through a time machine? This felt very familiar. “I willnotcalm down. I didn’t like it when you said that back then, and I still don’t.” I looked at the ceiling, then at the wall behind him and tried to forget I was shirtless in his lap.
“Baby, everything will be fine.” He stroked up my back and tilted my head down so he could look at my face. “I know what you’re like, and I love every bit of it. Please never doubt it. It will take time to prove it to you, but I’ll never leave again.”
I whispered my doubts. “I’m scared. Of everything.” Still, I didn’t move from his lap. I needed more reassurances, but I was afraid I wouldn’t believe him even if he gave them. I kissed him softly, on his lips, his cheeks. I looked into his eyes. “I don’t want to go slow, but maybe we should.” I pressed myself against him, loving the feel of our bare bodies pressed together.
“Slow is off the table.” He sighed and nibbled sweet kisses up my neck. I tipped my head back so he could have better access. He groaned, gripped my waist, and nipped his way to my mouth.
As good as this felt, we couldn’t stay here forever. I was supposed to be at Violet’s. Plus, didn’t he have a secretary? Coworkers? “Do you have a secretary? Anyone else coming in today? Is the door locked?” I whispered against his lips.
He pulled back. “Liam has the other office but he’s not here. I need to hire another secretary. I fired the oneI had because she wouldn’t stop coming on to me even after I told her to knock it off.”
My eyes got big as jealousy shot through me. The thought of Luke with another woman upset me, and then I felt guilty because I had been married and had a baby with someone else. I didn’t like to think of what—or who—Luke might have done when we were apart. I sighed and started to climb off his lap, but he held my hips and stopped me.
“What’s wrong? What thought put that look on your face?” His eyes searched mine, trying to glean the answer.
“What look?” I tried to evade the question, but he just raised his eyebrows and squeezed my hips. I sighed. “Oh, all right. I just felt a touch of jealousy when you said your secretary flirted with you. Then I thought of you with other women, dating or whatever...” I looked away. “I have no right to feel that way. I’m so sorry.”
“You have every right to feel whatever you want. But I haven’t been with any other women. I didn’t date or do anything with anyone.”
“What do you mean? You haven’t been with anyone? You haven’t even slept with anyone?” He nodded at me. My jaw dropped. “Have you seen you?”
He laughed, then his expression turned serious. “Lily, I love you. I never stopped. Didn’t even try. I knew I would always belong to you and only you.”
My heart nearly burst at his words, but he continued to give me more. “How could I be with someone else when all I could think about was you? I didn’t want to taint the memories of us together by being with another woman. I couldn’t put my hands on someone else when all I wanted was you. You own my heart. You own every part of me, Lily. I’m yours.”
The tears were back, but these felt different. My heart had lightened and filled with hope. “Good, because I’m yours too, Luke.”
