“Okay.” Damn her and her inability to listen to internal warnings.
“I spent years avoiding intimacy. Dating woman after woman as a way to prove to my parents that I wasn’t a marriage orcommitment kind of guy.Thatwas easy. Maybe as easy as you found it to avoid men. Until I met you.”
Oh shit.“You could change your mind about me.”
“It wouldn’t be mymindthat needs changing. It’s this.” He took her hand and pressed her palm over his heart. Soft thuds beat into her skin.
Her own heart gave a little kick.
“Just so you know,” he added, “I’m not going anywhere. And I don’t care if you need me, depend on me, or just want me. I will be whatever you choose.”
“What if it’s all three?”
“Even better.”
“Why do you have to be so perfect?” she breathed.
“Not perfect. Just scared to death to lose the first woman I’ve ever loved.”
Love…he loved her. He’d said that before. And for some reason, the word didn’t scare her. It didn’t make her want to run or hide or push him away.
Instead, she leaned forward and kissed him, no longer able to fight the storm that raged in her.
His tongue slipped straight in, tangling with hers. Dancing like they both knew the moves by heart.
Kissing him after being apart for so long felt like deep gulps of air after drowning. Like that first full breath after not being sure you’d ever have another.
He reached for the hem of her shirt, his fingertips whispering over her skin. Then the material was up and over her head. She did the same with his shirt.
There was a quiet desperation in the way they moved. A need to get as close as possible, as fast as possible, in case time ran out or something split them apart.
When the last piece of clothing hit the floor, he lifted her, but only for a second so he could reposition her in the center ofthe bed. Immediately, he rose and crossed the room to close the door with a soft thud before returning.
When he hovered over her, she could feel all of him. He surrounded her, his cock pressing into the apex between her thighs, his wide chest pushing her into the mattress.
But he didn’t stay there for long. His mouth started to move down her neck, kissing and tasting. Treating her body like it was glass, fragile and valuable.
She barely silenced the cry when his lips wrapped around her nipple and his teeth grazed her bud.
God, she throbbed for this man. It was this deep, pulsing need for him to be inside her. A need she’d fought for so long.
But she was done fighting.
Instead of coming back up, he moved lower, only stopping when he hovered over her core. Her lungs seized. His head lowered. Then his tongue swiped over her clit.
A strangled cry squeaked from her throat. She grabbed the sheets, clenching them in her fists. He licked her again, his thick arms wrapping around her thighs, holding her in place.
It was torture and pleasure and a million other things all wrapped into one.
Her muscles tightened and the heat in her veins burned as he continued to lick and suck.
She was so close, she thought she’d snap. Quickly, she grabbed at his upper arms and tugged him up before pushing him to the mattress and climbing on top.
His eyes burned into her as she reached inside her side drawer and pulled out a condom. Then slowly, she slid it over his length. His muscles twitched beneath her thighs, his chest heaving. But she took her time, running her fingers over his tip, playing and exploring as she sheathed him.
“Polly…” Her name was a growl on his lips. “You’re killing me.”
She lowered her head and nipped his ear. “Save me a seat next to you in heaven.”
