“Back.”
As she moved, she yanked off my boxers.
“Eager, Mrs. VanRyan?”
She snuggled back to me with a sigh. “You have no idea.”
Sliding my arm under her, I tugged her close. Cupping her face, I turned her head and kissed her. Long drags of my tongue, soft touches of my mouth. Deep, intimate moments where I mimicked fucking her with my tongue, and sweet, light tastes of her lips. I feasted on her, using my hands to touch her the entire time. The swell of her breasts that were made to fit into my hand, and my hand alone. I teased her nipples into hard points. I traced her curves—the gentle dip of her waist, the flare of her hips. The sweet, wet lips of her pussy opened as I tugged at her leg and lifted it over my hip. She whimpered my favorite noise as I teased and stroked her clit. Slipped two fingers inside her and thrust them until she moaned my name as I used my thumb to keep the pressure she needed on her clit. She began to move, meeting my movements, begging in her breathy whisper for more. For me. My cock.
I slid inside, burying my face in her fragrant neck. Grasping her hip, I rocked into her slowly and deliberately. Taking my time, feeling the grip of her warmth. I felt the flutter of her muscles, tasted the sweetness of her breath on my face, reveled in the look of desire and want in her eyes. The world, the pain of the past several weeks faded away. There was only her. Only us.
“Richard,” she pleaded. “I need you.”
My orgasm built, tendrils chasing up my spine, exploding in shards of ecstasy as I stilled. I came hard, my mouth open on her skin, my breaths short, heavy gasps, unable to articulate the moment with words.
Katy clutched the back of my neck, riding out her own bliss. Her low keening was a prayer of joy. The celebration of our coming together, the culmination of our need for each other.
One I would never deny again.
She collapsed into my chest, her skin damp against my own. I kissed her shoulder, her neck, and lifted her hand to my mouth, feathering kisses to her palm.
“God, I love you, Katy VanRyan,” I murmured into her hair.
She hummed, kissing my forearm that held her close to me.
“I love you,” she responded. “I love you so much, Richard.”
I lifted the blanket over us, not wanting her to get cold. I grazed my hand over her side, tracing the curve of her hip and indent of her waist.
I spoke low into her ear. “You’re too thin, baby. This has been difficult on you. I’m sorry.”
She sighed, her breath a soft breeze on my skin. She played with my wedding band, twisting the platinum around aimlessly. “I don’t want to dwell on it, Richard. You’re moving forward. We’ll do the same. We’ll go to counseling and put it behind us.”
“But—”
“No more apologies. I know how bad you feel. You’ve proven it. Forgive yourself now, and move forward with me.”
“I’ll move anywhere as long as it’s with you.”
“I’m right beside you, Richard. I always have been, and I always will be.”
I dropped another kiss to her shoulder. “Good. Still, it’s time for me to take care of you again. Be the husband I should have been all this time.”
“Why don’t we look after each other and call ourselves what we really are?” she asked. “Equals.”
“Because in this relationship, Katy, you’re so far ahead of me, I struggle to catch up at times.”
“Then I’ll stop and wait. How about that?”
I traced a finger along her cheek, seeing the love in her eyes. The one that always was there for me. Even when I was too blind to see it.
I pressed my mouth to hers.
“Perfect.”TWO WEEKS LATER“Today’s the big day, eh?” Maddox’s voice filled my closet.
“Yeah,” I said, tugging on my shirt. “Brad went back to work last week, and today is my first day back.”
“You’re not jumping in full time, are you?”
“No. I’ll work from home too, the way I have been the last couple of weeks.” I selected a tie—Katy’s favorite one since I had worn it when we got married—and flipped up my shirt collar as I tied the knot. “But it’s time to start back. I’m a lot stronger, and I need to get back into a routine.” I chuckled. “And Katy needs me out of her hair.”
He laughed. “I am sure Dee would sympathize with her. I drove her crazy when I was recovering.”
There was a commotion in the background—voices and the sound of a loudspeaker, then it cut off as suddenly as it started.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“Sorry. I walked into the building. The café is busy, and I stepped back out. I have a meeting outside the office.”