She swallowed. “Enough about that stupid report. I—”
“Not that one,” he whispered, kissing the spot he’d just wiped dry. “I promised not to fall for you.”
She held her breath. “I promised the same thing.”
“I promised a lot of things back when we first got together, but I’m going to make different ones now. I promise to be there for you, in public and private, in any way you want. I promise to treat you as the most important person in my life and to always work hard to deserve you, because you’re so much better of a person than I am. And I promise to love you for the rest of my life, Sam.” Locking eyes with her, he cradled her face with his large palms and smiled at her. That smile stole her breath away before his words could. “I love you.”
A small sound that she didn’t recognize escaped her, and she lurched up on her tiptoes to kiss him. Fisting his tuxedo jacket, she clung to the only thing holding her down on the ground right now: him. Even on her toes, she was at least four inches shorter than his towering frame. Tears wet her cheeks as she ended the kiss, sucking in a deep breath. “I love you, too,” she breathed.
He froze.
“When I lost you…it hurt so much I thought I was going to die,” she admitted in a broken whisper. “I never want to go through that again.”
“Now who’s the dramatic one?” A smile teased at his lips as he continued backing her toward the wall.
Her heart skipped a beat because the second they reached it, he’d lift her up, step between her thighs, and bring her to heights she’d missed more than anything over these last few days. “Me,” she said, smiling.
The kiss deepened as her back hit the wall, and his hands under her butt supported her weight as he stepped between her thighs. His fingers slid where she needed him most. The second he pressed against her, they both groaned. Her because she wanted him, and him as he ended the kiss and took his fingers away. “Shit.”
“What?” she asked impatiently, trying to kiss him again.
He avoided her mouth, arching his neck as she nipped the skin under his ear, since it was all she could reach. “We have to go.” He tightened his hold on her hips. “The driver is outside.”
She sighed, dropping her head back and gripping his shoulders. “Can we send him away?”
“Unfortunately, no.” He stepped back, his fingers lingering over her butt as he lowered her to her feet. “It’s time to make our first official appearance together as a couple.”
She tugged on her gown, smoothing it, her heart dropping like an anvil. “Are you su—?”
“If you ask me if I’m sure again, I might lose my temper.” He cradled her face, his soft touch at direct contrast with his words. “What did I tell you my answer would be?”
“Yes, always yes,” she whispered.
He nodded, dropping his forehead to hers.
Her heart was so full with love and happiness it was a miracle it didn’t burst or lift her off the floor like a balloon. “I love you,” she said.
“I’ll never get sick of hearing that,” he rasped, kissing her again, but unfortunately keeping it short and sweet. “I love you, too. Now come on. I’m ready to show the world you’re mine.”
Smiling, she let him drag her out the door, only stopping long enough to grab her jacket and her purse. After they were settled in the back seat of the SUV he’d ordered, he touched his tux jacket pocket nervously, clearing his throat.
“So I pulled something together for you, in case you were interested. Please don’t think you have to accept this, but you were so upset when my investigator found out your past, and you said all you wanted was a clean slate.”
She frowned. “Okay…”
“Well, I got you one, if you want it,” he said, handing her an envelope. “If you want him to, my guy can make it so that whoever searches you up, no matter how good they are, they’ll only find what is in that envelope, if that’s what you want.”
She opened it, her heart beating fast.
As she unfolded the paper, her eyes widened, because according to the background check in front of her, she’d grown up in Georgia, lived a normal, boring life, attended private school, and moved to Chicago for college and stayed. No stories of her parents, no mention of a name change, nothing, just boring stuff no one would read twice.
“How…?”
He covered her knee with his hand. “Connections and money. I mean, it probably wouldn’t hold up against the cops or anything, but as long as you don’t get arrested, you could have your clean slate. Not because I want it, I don’t care if you go around telling everyone in that party tonight what your parents did, I’ll be right there with you, but if you want it…it’s yours.”
She blinked rapidly, holding the paper to her chest.
“I know it was presumptuous of me to start this without asking, but he hasn’t done anything official yet. He just mocked up a report of what your past would look like.” He laughed, running a hand through his hair. “He said it was best if we didn’t know too much, but you can apparently do wonders by just breaching a few firewalls.”