After a while, he tightened his hold on her chin, his jaw flexing, and cleared his throat. “Are you going to say something? I think I’ll take anything at this point. Even a comment on the weather would be acceptable. Or last night’s game…”
A small laugh escaped her, and she covered her mouth to hold it back. “Ask me again,” she said softly, trying her best to keep her voice steady.
“Ask you what aga—?” His expression lit up with knowledge, and something else she couldn’t name. Hope, maybe. “Oh. Oh. Do you still love me like that?”
“With all my heart, body, and soul.” She fisted his shirt and pulled him closer. “Forever and always.”
He lowered his face to hers, stopping just short of kissing her. “Is that a promise, cupcake?”
“Oh, yeah. It’s totally a promise.”
He gave her the most beautiful, pure, bright smile ever to grace the face of this earth, and he kissed her again. This time, his lips lingered on hers, and it went from a way to seal their promise to something a lot more out of control.
It quickly became about getting closer to one another.
Gripping the hem of her dress, he ended the kiss long enough to yank it off, then reclaimed her mouth with a predatory growl. “Mine.”
She nodded, undoing his shirt with trembling fingers as he undid her bra with a flick of his wrist. Before she even had his shirt off, she was completely, utterly naked.
“I win,” he breathed, grinning.
Then he swung her into his arms, tossing her over his shoulder, and strode into her room. As soon as he got to her bed, he lobbed her down on it. She hadn’t even stopped bouncing before he was on her, kissing a path up her inner thigh.
He didn’t waste time. Didn’t hesitate. Just closed his mouth over her clit and rolled his tongue over her wet, aching flesh. And, God, it felt good.
It hadn’t been all that long, in all reality, since they’d been together. But for a while there, she had been sure she would never have this again. Never have him.
So it had felt like a lifetime.
He slid his hands under her butt, lifting her higher and holding her tightly. She rolled her hips against his mouth, seeing stars already and she hadn’t even come yet. That’s how good he was, and that’s how hers he was. He stroked and strummed her till she was primed and ready to go, and he always delivered.
“Steven,” she cried, burying her hands in his hair and holding on for dear life.
He growled and thrust two fingers inside of her, deepening his intimate kiss. That’s all it took to throw her over the abyss, and she came so hard her body literally vibrated from it. After he gently lowered her to the mattress, he undid his zipper with less than steady hands, kicked his pants off, and was on her.
“Hold on tight, cupcake.” He skimmed his hand up her leg and hauled it against him. He pressed his cock against her clit, slapping it once. “I’m gonna make up for lost time.”
That short amount of pressure sent her over the edge all over again. “Oh my—Steven.”
“Damn right,” he growled. He thrust inside of her with one hard, long stroke. “All.” A thrust that made her toes curl. “Fucking.” Another that made her cry out. “Yours.” This time, he reached that spot that most people only ever dreamed about.
And she came again.
He kept moving inside of her, his expression open and vulnerable and so damn sexy it brought tears to her eyes. He held nothing back from her, not anymore. And it was easily the most moving moment she’d ever experienced, watching him as he found his own pleasure. But he wasn’t content to leave her there, even though he already made her come too many times to keep track of.
Licking his finger, he reached between them and massaged her clit, grinning when she tensed beneath him and dragged her nails down his chest. His fingers kept moving, and he kept thrusting inside of her, and impossibly, the pressure inside of her built up again. She couldn’t keep track of the words that exploded from her mouth.
Pleas. Curses. Threats. They all came.
There was no controlling herself.
The pressure inside of her built higher, until finally it all just exploded, and euphoria spread through all her limbs. And this time, he was right there with her. He stiffened and came, pressing inside of her one last time before falling on top of her.
Rolling to the side, he dragged her with him, so she lay half across him, and half on the bed. He caught her hand, curling his fingers around it and holding tightly.
“Thank you for giving me a second chance.” Lifting it to his mouth, he kissed the back of it, his chest rising and falling in time with hers. “I love you, Lauren. I will always love you. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life loving you more and more every day. I’ve never been surer of anything.”
She smiled and buried her face in his sho