Because that’s what this feels like—a dream where I’ll wake up just as I grip the small zipper of her dress. I’ll be rudely disrupted, she’ll disappear, and that empty, clawing feeling will return.
“Baby,” I whisper, my forehead touching hers. “Is this . . . is this real?”
“Yes,” she says as her lips fall to my jaw. “This is real.”
“But . . . your date?”
“I sent him home,” she whispers as her lips move over my mouth again. “I realized . . .” She kisses my cheek. “Very quickly . . .” She kisses my mouth. “That the pain I felt walking away from you . . .” She kisses my other cheek. “Brought me to my knees.” She lifts up and looks me in the eyes. “I think I’ve wanted you for a long time, and it took me walking away to confirm that.”
I attempt to swallow the lump in my throat, but fail miserably. “What does that mean?”
She brings her hands between us and slowly begins to unbutton my dress shirt, one button at a time. “It means that I’m yours. All yours.”
“You’re not . . . you’re not leaving?” I still can’t believe it.
She tugs my shirt out of my pants and slides the sleeves off my shoulders, leaving my torso bare to her. Her hands slide back up my tense arms, over my carved shoulders, and down my rumbling pecs. She wets her lips as her hips move gently over my lap.
“No. I’m staying. I want . . . I want you to ask me out.”
Fucking hell. I feel the sting of tears at the backs of my eyes. I’m not a goddamn crier, but for the life of me, I can’t stop the ugly emotions seizing me. Not sure the last time someone chose me . . . for me.
For all the ugly I have to offer.
For all the halfhearted seriousness I sputter out.
For all the insecurities, the demons, the baggage.
She’s seen it all, in the flesh. And she’s choosing me.
Wetting my lips, I stare into her eyes and say, “I want you as mine. All of you. Your beautiful mind, your insane organization, your sexy-as-fuck body, and your loving heart.”
“Then”—she pauses and brings my hand to the back of her dress, to her zipper—“take it. Take me.”
Two words—who knew they could undo me?
I slide the zipper down and the straps of her dress loosen so she can push them off her shoulders. She gathers the hem of the dress and lifts it over her head, leaving her in a one-piece lingerie set.
“Did you . . . did you wear this for him?”
Her seductive eyes flash up to mine as she shakes her head. “No. I wore it for you.”
Fucking hell.
I drive my hand into her hair again and bring her mouth to mine, showing her just how much I want her, how much I’ve longed for this. When she grips me back, her fingers digging into my skin, I realize she wants this just as much as I do.
I’m not letting go, neither is she, and with that knowledge, I slow down my kiss. I part my lips and tangle my tongue with hers as I twist her to the mattress, laying her carefully down while I hover over her, my arm propping me up.
Together, we explore each other. Her hands sift through my hair, down my back, across my chest, over my shoulders.
I drag my fingers over the lace of her lingerie, over the sides of her breasts, down to her hip, and then back up to her delicate neck.
“I’ve wanted you for so long,” I whisper as I bring my mouth to the column of her neck. “And not just for sex. This isn’t just sex for me.” I lift up so our eyes meet. “Do you hear me? This isn’t just sex for me.”
“I know.” She brings my hand to her heart, pressing down so I can feel how hard it’s hammering. “This isn’t just sex for me either. Feel that? That’s what you do to me, you make my heart beat faster.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t think you felt the same way.”
“Babe.” I grip her jaw and tilt her mouth up. Inches away from her mouth, I say, “I think you know how I feel now.”
“I do,” she whispers before I press my lips to hers again. She sighs and loops her arms around my neck. I toy with the strap of her lingerie then tug the strap down a few inches, waiting to see her response. When she doesn’t protest, I pull it all the way down her arm. She shrugs out of it.
While keeping my lips on hers, our tongues colliding, tangling, I feather my fingers up her arm, across her collarbone, and then to her exposed breast. My palm connects with her hard nipple, and I groan into her mouth before rolling the hard nub with my fingers.