easing. I’m meeting him thrust for thrust, but it’s not enough—I need more. I groan, writhing underneath him, trying to get him to pick up the pace, and he actually has the nerve to chuckle.
“You can push all you want, baby, but I’m the one in control.” His words cause a shiver to run through my body. Levi runs his hand down my bare thigh and grips it tightly in his hand. His primal touch ignites a small-show fireworks low in my belly. “Does this feel good, Laney? Did you miss having me inside of you?”
“Yes.” My head thrashes from side to side as he slowly works my body into a frenzy.
“I’ve thought about this—about you—nearly every day.” He pulls out of me slowly and then slams back in. His hips continue this torturous rhythm as his words seduce me. “Do you feel it, our connection? Your body was made for me, Laney. It was made for me and no one else.”
“No one else,” I confirm, bringing my hand to my breast. My fingers pinch and twist, and when Levi’s lust-filled eyes see what I’m doing, he pushes my hand out of the way.
“That’s my job, sweetheart, so you just wrap those sexy arms around my neck and let me do the work.” I do as I’m told, but now my body is teetering on the edge. With each stroke, he’s hitting that sweet spot deep inside of me, and every time he pushes in, his pelvis grinds against my clit. The steady rhythm is driving me mad, and I can’t keep my arms around his neck. My hands drop to the bed, fisting the sheet, and I moan.
Levi’s head drops and his swollen lips encircle my aching breast. His teeth nip and tug on my nipple, shooting sparks straight down my spine, causing me to squirm beneath him. My hands move to his shoulders and skate down his back, and when they reach the globes of his ass, I squeeze, pulling him close to me.
His mouth leaves my nipple with a wet pop and he makes a soft tsk tsk sound. “You just don’t listen, do you?” If me not listening puts that look on his face, then heck no I don’t listen. He looks like he wants to devour me and spank me and fuck me, and really, any of that sounds good. In fact, if he could just combine all three, I think I’d be perfect.
Levi sits up, still lodged deep inside of me, and my eyes rake hungrily over his sculpted chest. The warmth from his body is gone, and when a warm breeze passes over my chest, I stiffen beneath him. It doesn’t matter that he’s already seen it; just the fact that I’m open and bare makes me want to wrap my arms around my chest to cover myself up. Levi must sense my discomfort because he catches my hands in his and brings them to his lips. “No, baby. We aren’t going backward, only forward. From now on, you and me, we only go forward. Got it?” I blow out a long, slow breath and nod my head.
“Good.” Levi wraps both of my wrists in his left hand and leaning back over me, he pins my arms above my head. His right hand brushes down the side of my cheek as he begins to pick up his pace once again. “I still have your body memorized, Laney.” He places an open-mouth kiss along my jaw. “Every last inch of it. And we’re not stopping tonight until I’ve explored”—his hand skims slowly down my chest—“and reunited myself with all of the amazing beauty that is your bo—”
I feel his fingers rub gently over my mastectomy scar and then his words cut off. His face goes slack and a look of wonderment flashes in his eyes, which quickly dart to my face and then back down to my body. “Laney?”
“Yes,” I moan, slightly perturbed that he has stopped . . . yet again. Doesn’t he understand what we’re trying to accomplish he—?
“Your tattoo.” Oh yeah. That. His lips are parted and he blinks several times before leaning toward the right side of my body to get a closer look. “Laney?”
“Yeah?” I’m watching him for a reaction. This could either be really good or really bad, and I’m still trying to figure out which way it’s going to go.
“What’s it say, Laney?”
“You can’t read it?” I ask with a hesitant smile, but he doesn’t look up at me. His eyes are still trained on the script that’s indelibly inked along my ribs.
“I want you to tell me what it says.” His voice is hoarse and finally his eyes shift to mine.
“Levi,” I answer softly. His entire face transforms—lust and passion are quickly replaced by astonishment and admiration. “It says Levi.”
“That’s my name, tattooed on your body.” His eyes are glassy, his voice thick and raw. My fingers itch to touch him, but my arms are still pinned above my head and I’m not sure now is the right time to move them. “Why? Why is my name there . . . on your body . . . in permanent ink?” His words are slow and concise as though he’s trying to make sure I understand what he’s asking.
“Because I want to take you with me,” I whisper.
“Where?”
I swallow hard past my heart that is now sitting firmly in the middle of my throat. “To heaven.” Levi’s breath rushes from his lungs as the weight of my words sink in. My stomach tenses as I wait to see what he’s going to say or do, and when he just continues to stare at me, I keep going. “You’re a part of me, Levi . . . you’ve always been a part of me. I know we haven’t been together for the past eight years, but that never changed. I never stopped loving you. You don’t just have my heart, but my soul belongs to you too. I just . . .” I avert my gaze, trying to find my words before bringing my eyes back to his. “I just wanted to know that no matter what, whether I’m here on earth or soaring through heaven, I’ll always have a piece of you with me. Because my life isn’t complete without you, and it’s not much of a life anyway if you’re not in it.”
Levi releases my hands, a look of determination written on his face, and without dislodging himself from my body, he somehow manages to flip us over so I’m sitting astride his hips. His fingers rake through my hair as he grips the back of my head and pulls me to him. “I am with you. There isn’t anywhere else in this world I’d rather be. I’m not going anywhere—and neither are you, for that matter, because I won’t let you. I’ll fight enough for the both of us. Just let go, Laney . . . let me be your rock. Let me help you get through this.” The tears that have been building for the past several minutes leak from my eyes and spill over my lashes, but Levi catches them with his thumb. And as they keep coming, he keeps catching them, the entire time assuring me that we’re in this together.
“Please make love to me. Please,” I beg, hating the way my voice cracks. Levi doesn’t say a word but cradles my face in his big warm hands, then makes love to my mouth as his body follows suit. My hips are rolling in rhythm with his in a dance so perfect and so passionate that I feel he’s somehow touched my soul. I moan, digging my fingers into his chest.
My body and soul are overwhelmed with sensations, and all it takes is one perfectly timed thrust to send me toppling over the proverbial edge. My entire body goes up in flames before it explodes into a million colorful little pieces. Levi grunts, his body continuing to pound into mine as I convulse around him.
“Laney.” My name leaves his mouth on a deep growl as he buries his face in the side of my neck and lets go. His body rocks into mine several more times before coming to a leisurely stop.
I feel like I’m bursting at the seams with emotions—love, peace, contentment, happiness, anticipation, and gratitude, to name a few. And I’m feeling them all in enormous doses. I want nothing more than to shout it out to all the world, but for now I’ll have to settle with these words: “I love you so much, Levi.”
He shifts his head from the crook of my neck and kisses me softly several times, infusing his own amount of emotion into each gentle peck. “You’re amazing, Laney. I’m so glad you came back to me.”
I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek, desperate to stay on the cloud that I’ve just started floating on. I know I can’t expect him to say those three little words quite yet, but hey, a girl can hope, can’t she? One of these days . . . one of these days when he’s ready, he’ll say the words.
LEVI RETURNS FROM THE bathroom and crawls under the covers. He lays himself across my chest and peppers kisses along his name that is for