I walk quickly through the house and kick my bedroom door open with my foot, then set her gently on my bed. “Will you scoot back for me, sweetheart?”
She moves herself to the center of the bed and watches me with naked vulnerability . . . and that look alone splinters my heart in two. I kick off my shoes and then slip her sandals off of her tiny feet. Leaning back on her hands, her eyes follow every move I make. When I reach for the button on her shorts, she sucks in a sharp breath but lifts her hips without question. I drag her shorts down her legs then make quick work of taking off my clothes, leaving only my boxers. I crawl onto the bed and she starts to move back, but I shake my head and she stops. Her eyes are searing through me, taking me in the same way I’m taking her in. When I grip the bottom of her shirt, her body stills and I can practically see the breath hitching in her throat. Maybe she isn’t ready for this.
I pause, giving her the chance to stop me, but she inhales deeply before raising her arms so I can slip the shirt over her head. My mouth waters and my eyes greedily roam every inch of her nearly naked body in an attempt to sate my eight-year craving. She’s wearing a white lace bra and matching white cotton panties, and it doesn’t matter that it’s not blood red or black or barely there, it’s sexy as hell because it’s wrapped around her delectable body.
She’s an angel.
My eyes land on the right side of her chest, where I can’t help but notice that the cup of her bra is full and round. She glances down to see what I’m looking at. “It’s a mastectomy bra.” Blinking rapidly, she bites down on her lower lip before adjusting the underwire. “It isn’t comfortable, but it looks almost normal when I wear a shirt . . .” Her words trail off and I watch a subtle flush creep up her neck, infusing her cheeks.
“You look sexy as hell, Lane.” I crawl up her body and toy with the front clasp of her bra. “May I?”
She peeks up at me and nods. With a quick flick, the bra falls open. Laney’s body is trembling under my hands and I hate that she’s this nervous about me seeing her. Cradling her face, I rub my thumbs along her jaw. With my eyes locked on hers, I bring her face to mine and when our lips meet, she lets out a soft sigh. “I want to make love to you, Laney.”
Her eyes are glistening and there’s a slight quiver in her bottom lip. Releasing her face, I trail my fingers down the length of her neck then sneak them under the straps of her loosened bra, tugging it down her shoulders. After I toss it aside, I bring my hands back to her neck, my thumbs tracing her jaw. “Are you okay?”
She offers me a tremulous smile and nods jerkily. “I’m just scared.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of. We’ve done this a thousand times before. You haven’t forgotten about all those times, have you?” I ask playfully, trying to get her to loosen up a tad.
She chuckles and shakes her head. I scatter kisses across her beautiful face and tuck a strand of her silky hair behind her ear. Laney takes a deep breath, a look of resolve flashing across her face. Pulling back from me, she lies against the pillows at the head of my bed.
Laney is showing me her scars. With graceful beauty, she’s presenting me with her body.
Her left breast is perky and plump, but where her right breast should be, there’s a serrated scar. That side of her chest looks like it’s sunken in, and the skin looks stretched and mildly uncomfortable.
“Please touch me,” she pleads. I look up at her to find her eyes frantically searching my face. I’m not sure what she’s looking for, but if she’s wondering if her scars are turning me off, she sure as hell won’t find that. Reaching up, I tenderly stroke a hand down the center of her chest. When my fingers draw a line across the puckered skin where her breast used to be, she squeezes her eyes shut.
“Open your eyes, sweetheart.” She follows my gentle command. Her heart is pounding so hard that I can feel it through her chest. “Your scars don’t bother me, Laney. They’re a part of you. They’re your battle scars. If anything, they make me insanely proud of you.”
My lips trace a slow path along her scar and then progress to the puckered skin around it. Her fingers tangle in my hair and her body relaxes. My mouth moves to the other side of her chest, where I find her nipple tightened and hard. My lips wrap around the swollen bud, and her body jerks beneath me.
“Levi,” she moans, her head tilting back on the pillow, and I work my tongue faster, sucking harder. My free hand skims down her body and dips into her underwear. She’s wet and throbbing, and I can’t wait any longer to claim her and make her mine.
“Are you on birth control?” She probably is. I’m sure there’s some rule about not getting pregnant while you’re undergoing chemotherapy.
“No,” she whispers. My eyes flash to hers and I smile at the look of horror on her face.
“It’s okay,” I chuckle, grabbing a condom from the top drawer of my nightstand. I peel off my boxers then tear open the wrapper, but Laney stops me before I can slide the latex on.
“Let me.” She grabs the condom and with incredible ease, she rolls it down my hardened length. My cock jerks under her touch, and she looks up at me and smiles. “I think you’re forgetting something.”
“Oh baby, I’m not forgetting anything. I’m just saving the best for last.” Her face lights up, her eyes flashing hot with passion, as I slip my fingers into the top of her panties and slide them off.
“I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR this.” Levi’s breath is warm on my skin as he settles himself between my legs. The weight of his body pushes me into the mattress, and he props his elbows up on either side of my head and cradles my face in his hands.
“Me, too,” I whisper, breathless with anticipation. His eyes burn with desire and I push my hips into his, urging him to take me, despite the fact that I’m terrified how he’s going to fit. Levi is well endowed, and although I’m not a virgin, I haven’t been this intimate with a man since I was last with this man.
Levi uses his legs to nudge mine open further and I let them drop to the side, opening myself up to him. He positions his cock at my entrance and my body arches, seeking his touch, then he pushes into me slowly, inch by delicious inch. My eyes drift shut, and I roll my head back on the pillow at the feel of him inside me.
“Look at me, Laney,” he growls, and my eyes snap open. With a devilish grin on his face, he rocks his hips, pulling out a fraction before pushing back in. “Christ, you’re tight.” And I am. I can feel every inch of him as he works his way in further.
My body is humming with energy and I need him to move faster. I need to feel all of him. My legs wrap around his back, my heels digging into his ass as I pull him to me. He buries himself to the hilt and drops his head to my shoulder at the same time a string of incoherent words fall from his mouth.
Emotion builds thick in my throat, my eyes clogging with tears. This was the one thing I wanted more than anything else—to be with Levi and have his love again. I know he hasn’t said the words, but I can feel it deep inside. It’s in the way his fingers skim across my body, the way he smiles after he kisses me, and the way his eyes shine after I tell him how much he means to me. It’s in everything he does and everything he says, and when I’m wrapped in his arms, I feel safe and loved.
Right here, in this moment, I’m not consumed by thoughts of cancer or dying or losing my hair. I’m consumed by him . . . this wonderful man that I will love every day for the rest of my life, no matter how long that may be.
A couple of tears slip from my eyes, disappearing into my hair, and I take a deep cleansing breath. I want him to make love to me so I tilt my hips upward, silently begging him to move. Levi gets the hint and starts to move slowly, effectively driving me out of my mind. Our mouths meet in a frenzy, our tongues pushing and sliding, taking and t