He frowned at her, though he appeared curious over her statement. “How so?”
“Because it took what happened with Louden to make me realize exactly where my priorities lay.” Her fingers gripped the railing tighter, keeping her grounded and focused. “I allowed my narrow-minded goals, and the need for this promotion, to totally consume my life.”
His gaze sharpened, turned cautious. “And it no longer matters to you?”
“Oh, it matters,” she admitted, knowing she owed him honesty. “But it’s not the most important thing in my life anymore. You see, I now have the career I always wanted, but I have no one to share it with.” Swallowing the huge knot forming in her chest, she risked everything she had. “And I’m in love with this man who is incredibly generous and understanding and would never do anything to stifle me, but I was too afraid to trust him.”
“And he was afraid that he wasn’t good enough for you,” he replied, his voice a tad rusty.
“What?” she whispered.
“Yeah, it’s true.” He met her gaze directly, revealing insecurities of his own. “We’re so different, you and I. How we were raised, and what we come from. I’m not a blue blood, just a down-to-earth man who doesn’t wear a suit unless I absolutely have to. I have no interest in politics, or money, or being an investor, and I own a landscaping business. Most often than not, I come home at night filthy and covered in dirt and sweat. After meeting your parents, and getting a good idea of what they expect for you, I don’t think I would fit in.”
She laughed, not because she found his concerns amusing, but because none of those things mattered to her. And judging by the few conversations she’d had with her mother the past two weeks, her parents had warmed to him, too.
“Oh, Austin,” she said with a bright smile, one as warm and glowing as their future together. “First of all, I don’t give a damn what my parents, or anyone else, thinks about you. I love you, just the way you are. But I don’t think you have to worry about impressing my mother and father. I get the feeling that they like you. My mother has asked me twice now when I plan to bring you over for dinner again.”
“You love me?” he asked, his voice ragged, his gaze filled with pleasure and excitement, and just a hint of disbelief.
“Yeah, I do.” Finally closing the distance between them, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his, craving his heat. “And just for the record, Austin, I’ve never told another man that I loved him,” she said, repeating the same words he’d told her Christmas morning. Her feelings for Bart had never extended beyond caring, and their relationship had been more of an arrangement than a love match. “You’re the first, and I don’t make the declaration lightly.”
A full-fledged, sexy grin claimed his mouth, and his hands found their way inside her lambskin coat, sliding around to stroke over her jean-clad bottom. “Damn, but you’re bossy.”
“Yeah, I am, so you’d better get used to it,” she said with an impudent smile. Twining her fingers through his thick, soft hair, she brazenly pulled his mouth down to meet hers. “Now shut up and kiss me, because I’ve missed you so much.”
His reply was a deep, thrilling groan that vibrated against her lips. Their time apart dissolved beneath the onslaught of a hot, needy, tongue-tangling kiss. They made magic. They affirmed their love. They both moaned in frustration when the melding of their lips was no longer enough to quench the burning, out-of-control desire that had ignited between them.
“Too many clothes,” she complained breathlessly as she stole another deep kiss to assuage her hunger for the taste of him, then slipped her cool hands inside his jacket and beneath his shirt so she could touch his heated flesh. She lost all sense of time and place—she could only think of this man and how he made her feel. And how much he loved her so unconditionally.
Her entire body tingled, causing her thoughts to shift to more urgent matters. Breaking their kiss, she said huskily, “I want you naked.”
His low rumbling laughter tickled her skin as his mouth found the soft hollow under her ear. He nuzzled the sensitive flesh, and she shivered. “I don’t think the neighbors would appreciate the public display.”
She bit her bottom lip, imagining that sensual mouth on her breasts. Knowing too well the delicious, exquisite sensation of her nipple being finessed by his tongue, she melted a little more. “Should we go back to my place?” she whispered.
He lifted his head, shaking it, his eyes feverish and impatient. “I can’t wait that long.”
The unmistakable erection pressing against her belly attested to his barely suppressed restraint. Excitement and awareness seized her. “Me neither.”
They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity to Teddy, both of them uncertain as to what to do about this awesome need they had for each other, and how to satisfy it. Then a reckless grin slashed across his features, and she sensed trouble was about to begin. He bent his knees, and in one fluid motion hefted her over his shoulder caveman-style.
A surprised shriek escaped her. By the time she’d dragged in a breath and could talk again, they were inside the house, and he was carrying her across the foyer toward a set of stairs that led to the second landing. Blood rushed to her head, making her dizzy.
“Austin!” she said, choking back laughter, and managing to prop herself up by bracing her hands on his backside. “Put me down!”
He gave her thigh a loving, intimate squeeze. “In a minute.”
Jordan rounded the corner from the living room into the foyer at that moment, a comical expression on his face when he saw the two of them. Teddy blushed to the roots of her hair.
Austin didn’t stop his stride. “Don’t mind us, Jordan,” he said, then loped up the stairs, two at a time, giving Teddy a jarring ride. “We’ve got an itch that can’t wait to be scratched.”
A grin quirked Jordan’s mouth, and he reached for the set of keys on the small table by the front door. “Gotcha. I’ll take this as my cue to ‘get lost’ again, this time for a few hours.”
“At least,” Austin agreed wholeheartedly, shamelessly. Entering a room, he kicked the door shut behind them, then lowered her back to her feet.
Light-headed, she swayed slightly, and he grabbed her hand to steady her. As she gained her balance, Teddy glanced around, registering the warm, masculine tones of Austin’s room, and the big four-poster antique bed dominating the middle. Her pulse quickened, and she brought her gaze back to Austin, who was looking at her very intently, their earlier play replaced by something serious and intimate.
“Will you marry me, Teddy?” he asked, his voice strong, and clear, and infinitely tender. “If you need time, I’ll give it to you, but I need a commitment.”