Upstairs, Carter lay her on the bed and stripped her bare, kissing her until her head spun and her pulse raced. He teased her nipples with his tongue, licking and sucking, sending shivers of delight along her nerve-endings. He awakened the bliss in every secret place—from the hollow behind her ear to the sensitive skin above her hip that always made her moan. He made love to her like a man who had never forgotten the magic they made together, stoking the passion inside of her until she was trembling.
“Please,” she begged, squirming beneath him, the feel of his erection hot against her thigh as his tongue teased her already sensitized nipples, driving her crazy. “Please, now.”
“Are you sure? There’s no rush,” he said, trapping her nipple gently between his teeth as his fingers slid in and out of her.
But it wasn’t his fingers she wanted. “I’m sure,” she said, unable to resist the urge to buck into his hand, even as she reached down, stretching until she was able to wrap her fingers around his shaft. Her eyelids fluttered as she stroked him up and down. He felt amazing, so thick and hard, and so hot that his skin felt feverish.
They were both on fire, and there was only one thing that would put out the flames.
“Make love to me, Carter,” she whispered as she continued to stroke him, summoning a ragged sound from low in his throat. “Make love to me until I forget we ever spent a day apart.”
Without another word, he spread her thighs wide, positioned himself at her entrance, and drove inside with one long, liquid thrust, holding her gaze as he filled her completely, leaving no place left for Lula to hide.
“I love you.” Tears stung her eyes as she wrapped her legs around his waist and urged him deeper still. There was no point in trying to conceal the truth; he was going to see everything in her eyes. He was going to see every year she’d spent wishing things had been different, lamenting the fact that they hadn’t lived the life they were meant to live.
But maybe now they could, maybe it wasn’t too late.
“There was never anyone else in my heart, Lu.” Carter withdrew until only the tip of him was inside her, before driving slowly back in, love and desire flickering across his handsome features as he filled her. “Never has been, never will be. It’s always been you. Always.”
“Always,” she echoed, moaning as he circled his hips, nudging at the bundle of nerves at the top of her, increasing the urgency building low in her body. She arched into him as his tempo quickened, matching him thrust for thrust, breath coming faster and her features twisting as she neared the edge.
But she didn’t duck her head or try to hide as her orgasm overtook her, shooting through her body like lightning, so fierce and sweet it was almost too much to take. She held Carter’s gaze, and as they tumbled over together, she swore she could see straight into his soul.
This was more than sex, more than even making love. This was communion, intimacy so intense that there was no space between them, no boundaries, no room for lies or half-truths or anything but naked feeling. And at that moment, there was no doubt in Lula’s mind that Carter meant every word he’d said since he came back into her life. He loved her, treasured her, and all he wanted was to spend the rest of their lives making up for lost time.
“Yes,” she whispered as he stilled inside of her, his breath warm on her neck as she smoothed her hands up and down his back. “Yes.”
“Yes,” Carter sighed, not seeming to need clarification about what they were both agreeing to. But he must have seen to the heart of her, too. He must know that she was done fighting this thing.
She was done with fear and doubt. From here on out, all she wanted was love and Carter—as much of both as she could get.
9
Carter
For the next thirty-six hours, Carter and Lula were inseparable. Lula hung a “closed to prepare for the sidewalk sale” sign on the door, and they locked themselves away in her apartment.
They made love on the kitchen counter, in the shower, on the sofa, and on the rug in front of the Christmas tree—with Lula on top, riding Carter with slow, sensual strokes as the lights flickered across her pale skin, making her look like something not of this world. She was more than simply beautiful, she was enchanting, and in the moment before he came apart, Carter prayed that this would last forever. He never wanted to make love to another woman. He never wanted to share his life with anyone but this perfectly complicated, funny, creative, kind, and sexy person who made him feel like he’d come home after all his years of wandering.