I know if he plays a song around me it’s because he wants me to listen to the words and hear what he’s saying to me. I know he takes care of everyone around him anytime he can and he’d do anything possible to take care of me. And I know the feeling seeping up from my toes, tugging at me, doesn’t happen every day or to everyone.
He pulls me against him, leaning to whisper in my ear, “close your eyes.” He rests his forehead on mine, his hands sneaking lower down my waist. “Do you see us now, Laney? When I close my eyes, all I see is us, perfect. What do you see, Laney?”
The words are right there, fighting to escape, caught in my throat. I picture it behind my eyelids, me and Dane, every day, no one else. Contentment washes over me first, the acceptance of choosing what I really want. Then the wave of excitement, anticipation...want. I want Dane. I want him in a way I’ve never wanted anyone else, not even Evan.
Like a cloud moves out from in front of the sun, the heat and light finding its way through, with clarity, I too realize—Lil Laney will always love Evan and appreciate what we have, but it’s unlike what I have with Dane. The woman I am today wants this man.
I’d known it before I walked in tonight, known it for a while, but it ends tonight. My Christmas present to myself: I’m going to put my feelings first. No more guilt, I’ve hurt no one on purpose; in fact, I’ve kept myself in constant turmoil in an attempt to avoid that very thing, but I can’t fight it any longer.
“I see us,” I whisper back. “I choose us.” Opening my eyes, I stare at him for long seconds. A smile creeps across my face along with my realization.
He sees it, my surrender. His low growl echoes around us and he lifts me, hands gripping my ass. I wrap my legs around his waist and ram my hands in to his hair, attacking his mouth with mine. Our tongues collide in harmony, perfectly stroking each other. God, I love his mouth; hungry, seeking, rough, and sinful. There’s no way anyone has ever walked away from a kiss like this. His hands knead my ass while mine pull his hair. I slide my tongue along the roof of his mouth, teasing, before I pull back and nip his bottom lip, sucking on it.
Tucking my head down, I lick a torturously slow, straight line from the hollow of his throat to his chin. Looking into his eyes, now filled with a hunger so deep I tremble, I purr, “your choice; bedroom or right here.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
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MINE
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Dane
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You don’t kiss like that if you’re still on the fence, right? She chooses us, me. That’s what she said. She could already be driving home, but she came here. She made me those thoughtful gifts, the most wonderful I’ve ever received, so she must mean it. I have to be sure; I can’t take the unsure footing anymore. I almost lost Tate, all I knew for sure I had...I have to know Laney is hanging on to me as tight as I am to her.
I thought things were great with us and then Evan walked in behind her. I don’t want to know why he was there that night at the hospital. I don’t want to know where they’d been before all hell broke loose and they got there. I will never ask and I’m hoping she never tells me. Forward—that’s the only direction we’re going now.
Any red-blooded male would pick bedroom and run in there like he’s on fire, but I have to keep myself in check. She only gets one first time, and I only get one chance to make it perfect for her, for us, so I need to slow my roll. Here’s what’s gonna happen—I’m gonna put on the CD she made me, mostly because I’m dying to hear what she put on there and I can’t imagine making love to Laney without music. Then I’m going to walk her into my room, a threshold no female has ever crossed, and make sure she’s mine. When I’m convinced, I’m gonna make love to her all night. Then tomorrow, I’m gonna do it again.
“Are you sure?” my voice comes out huskier than I’d intended, but damn if this girl doesn’t fuck with my head.
She nods, blonde curls bouncing on her shoulders, full lips swollen and wet from me—ME. Her brown eyes are always big, and beautiful, but right now they’re almost green and they’re half-closed, brimming with desire. Laney Jo Walker tiptoed in that dorm room a doe caught in headlights, walls of stone around her...and now she’s wrapped around me, handing herself over.
Setting her down, I entwine our hands, leading her to the backyard. I need to buy some time. “Baby, let’s get in the hot tub, relax. Sound good?” Looking back at her, I suppress a chuckle at the disappointment I see in her eyes. My baby is hungry for this, which fills me with a pride I can’t explain. “You change and get in. I’ll be right back.” With a long, slow kiss, barely able to pull myself away, I move to leave her.
This is one of those neon signs flashing “love.” I’m planning the romantic set-up rather than the excuse to leave afterwards. I’m thinking about where I put the candles instead of the KY.
“Umm...” she pouts, sexy and adorable.
“Go on,” I say with a swat on her ass, “I won’t be gone long, I promise.”