“Fuck,” he gasped, and she couldn’t help an almost drunken little giggle.
“Swear jar,” she said, and together they dissolved into laughter.
When they could both breathe again, he kissed her brow and stroked her hair back. “Are you all right?”
“Of course.” She snuggled against him. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
He kissed her nose and rolled to the side, dragging her with him; their bodies slipped apart, leaving her empty yet sated. “I got a little out of control.”
“You? I was a wild woman.”
“My wild woman.”
“Only for you,” she breathed, her finger tracing his lower lip. He caught her fingertip between his lips and nibbled.
“I’m ready for round two if you are.”
“Thomas!” She laughed and swatted him. “First…I have a surprise for you.”
His eyebrows rose. “Better than the one you just gave me?”
“It’s a wedding gift from the kids. They made me promise we wouldn’t open it until we were on our honeymoon.” She pushed herself up on her arms and kissed his nose. “Give me a second.”
She rolled out of bed. The night air from the open windows caressed her naked body, making her shiver. Not so long ago, she would have grabbed a robe, covered herself properly as a lady should. Now, she felt no need, and it left her feeling giddy, the way Thomas’s gaze followed her greedily as she walked naked across the room to their luggage.
A small wrapped package was tucked underneath her clothing in the bottom of one of the suitcases. It had been hastily gift-wrapped by clumsy, childish hands, and as she climbed back onto the bed she offered it to Thomas.
“What is this?” He sat up and turned the gift over in his hands, then started picking at the tape.
“I have no idea. They were very secretive. Zach even blushed. Open it, silly.”
Thomas ripped the paper away. Inside was a small plastic bag, red with marker and decorative designs scribbled over it in three different hands. All of their names were on it. Cody. Katelyn. Zach. Katelyn had written her K backward. Thomas smiled and traced the letters, then reached inside and pulled out a small, square object wrapped in tissue paper.
He unwrapped the paper. His breath caught. Inside was a picture frame with Family etched in elegant silver. Slotted into it was the picture of Brianna and Thomas at the tea party in Katelyn’s room. So she hadn’t gotten their laps after all. Instead she’d captured a perfect snapshot of Thomas and Brianna smiling, their eyes lit up with laughter. But even more, the kids had cut out pictures of themselves from other photographs and tucked them in around the edges, so they were all together.
A family. Her family. Their family.
Thomas blinked hard, his eyes suspiciously damp. “I can’t believe they did this.”
“I can,” she said. “They love you. We love you. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” His throat worked in a hard swallow. “All of you.”
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his forehead, his nose, his cheek, his throat, and finally his lips. He kissed her with a passion that enveloped her in warmth. In hope. In love. He rolled her beneath him and kissed a path down to her breasts.
“I love you,” he said between kisses. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
She gasped and clasped her thighs against his hips, drawing him close until their bodies met and mated intimately. “And don’t ever stop.”
Enjoy this sneak peek of
Play Me
the third novella in Diane Alberts’ Take A Chance series, coming soon!
Chapter One
Garrett Kelly might be a laid-back middle school math teacher by day, but at night he was a basketball coach who yelled and cussed and fought for his team. And right now? He was yelling. And in his head? He was cussing up a storm. His star player, Chris Worth, stood frozen mid-court of the middle school gymnasium.