“Yes,” I whimpered, riding his hand. “I want you there.” I ran my palm over the bulge in his pants, wishing I could rip that gorgeous suit to shreds with my teeth like a wolf. God, I’d missed this feeling, this side of myself. Letting it take over was a relief and a pleasure and a high better than any I could imagine.
Jack dropped down and buried his face between my thighs, his tongue swirling over my clit. My legs trembled, and he slung one then the other over his broad shoulders. Then he stood up, my back sliding up the door, my hands flattening on the ceiling. Holy fuck, he was strong! Holding me there on his shoulders, his hands gripping my waist, he sucked my clit, flicking it with his tongue until I was writhing and gasping and making so much noise, I was positive the people in the elevator could hear us, no matter what floor they were on. Probably the people in the lobby too, and maybe even the people still at the DIA.
And yes—I screamed his name and begged for more.
He set me on the floor and I went at him like a cyclone, yanking off his tie and shirt and shoving down his pants. After wriggling out of my shoes and dress, I pushed him backward into the room and onto the bed, where I dragged off the rest of his clothes. Climbing onto his body, I straddled his hips, took his dick in my hand, and rubbed the tip between my legs. “You don’t know how much I missed this.”
“You’re fucking crazy if you think that,” he said, groaning as I slid onto him. His hands moved to my breasts, his thumbs flicking my nipples.
I bit my lip as I took him in deep and rocked my hips over his. He sat up, his mouth closing over one tight, hard peak, his fingers pinching the other. He sucked and bit and teased, lifting his hips to match my rhythm, both of us moving faster and faster. When he said my name, I knew he was close.
“Jack,” I whispered. “I want you on top.”
In two seconds, he’d flipped me onto my back and covered my body with his. Yes, yes, yes, I thought as his weight pinned my hips to the bed, as his cock drove deep and hard, as the muscles of his arms and chest and back and ass worked beneath my roving hands. I loved the gravity of him, the power he wielded, the punishing thrust of his hips. I loved the growl in his voice, the sweat on his skin, the roughness of his hands in my hair. I loved that he’d come here for me, that he wanted me in his life, that he was willing to make such drastic changes to have me.
And as all the coiled-up tension in our bodies released in powerful, rippling contractions that stopped our breath and stole our sight and splintered every last wall between us, somehow I knew in my heart and soul that I would love this man forever.
I would heal him, cherish him, adore him. I would believe in him, support him, work with him. He would be a lover, a husband, a father. And I would stay with him for the rest of my life.
But for now, I’d enjoy the fall.
Thirty-Six
Epilogue
Jack
I woke up even earlier than usual, but I wasn’t surprised.
Today was a big day.
After checking to make sure that Margot was still asleep, I slipped out of our bed without even kissing her cheek like I wanted to. I couldn’t risk waking her up.
Quickly and quietly, I hurried down the hall. When I passed the room that used to be Cooper’s, I smiled. It was empty right now, and Cooper was asleep in his new “big boy” room across the street, but I hoped it would contain a crib and rocker again soon. Maybe even within a year.
My heart tripped with excitement as I took the stairs down a few at a time, careful not to hit any of the ones that creaked. I knew this house so well—its familiarity was a comfort to me. When I’d first moved out of the cabin, I’d been worried it would feel too big for me. I’d thought living there alone might make me sad, remind me I had no family of my own to fill it with.
But I hadn’t been alone for long.
For a few months, Margot and I had dated long distance, but by Thanksgiving, I’d asked her to move in with me. She already spent several days a week up here, had clothes in the closet, a toothbrush in the bathroom, a table she used as a desk in a spare bedroom.
Hell, she had a horse in my barn.
I loved when she was here and hated when she left. My days were always better when I kissed her good morning, and my nights were always better when I held her close. I still battled anxiety and nightmares sometimes, but Margot took it all in stride. She was my calm, my rock, my haven. She pushed back when I needed it and let me breathe when I didn’t. She understood me. She loved me.
And I loved her.
Silently closing the kitchen door behind me, I remembered when we first said the words, not too long after we began dating seriously. She’d come up to help me move into the house, and after a long day of cleaning and hauling and unpacking and organizing, she said she had a surprise for me.
It was a bubble bath.
I had to laugh as she undressed me and told me to get in the tub. But the scent of those bubbles and the feel of her wet skin beneath my palms took me back to a night months before, when I’d felt close enough to her to tell her everything.