“Ahhh!” he cried, the sound a mix of a growl and a groan as he reached for her hips, his hands landing on them gently but firmly as he thrust upward.
It was her turn to moan, her head falling back as her shoulders clenched and her eyes rolled back in her head. He was so big, so thick, filling her completely, stretching parts of her that hadn’t been touched since their daughter was born years before.
“Am I . . . oh, baby,” he asked, groaning as his hands guided the movements of their bodies, moving hers up and down on his. “Am I hurtin’ you?”
“Noooo,” she sighed, leaning her head up and opening her eyes. “It feels so . . . good.”
“It does,” he said, taking one hand from her hip to plump her breast and suck the nipple into his mouth. He laved it with his hot, wet tongue, making her whimper in pleasure-pain, his cock still driving up into her body with increased speed.
She reached for his jaw, lifting his head and kissing him, their tongues seeking each other with urgency as he continued sliding into her. A swirling had started in her belly when he’d first touched her tonight, and now it had color and sound. It was brighter and brighter whenever she closed her eyes, and her heartbeat was louder and louder in her ears as heat radiated out from the place where they were joined, inviting her entire body to experience the climax that was coming.
Her fingers curled into his cheeks as she kissed him, and he leaned back against the pillows, flat on his back. Laire tipped her body forward, still impaled on his thickness, her palms flattening over his erect nipples as she rode him, meeting each of his upward thrusts. His hands slid from her waist to the backs of her thighs, pushing her forward with faster, tighter movements inside her.
Her breathing was as ragged and shallow as his when she felt the contractions start deep within, changing quickly into lightning-fast muscle shudders, her body fisting around his cock as her head fell back and her body convulsed with a cry that came from the depth of her soul.
He jackknifed into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around her.
“I love you. I love you. IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou . . .,” she murmured blindly, looping her arms around his neck and letting her sweaty forehead fall to his shoulder as her body shattered and shook, coming apart and fitting back together in his arms.
He thrust upward with a guttural groan of pleasure.
“Laire!” he cried, his arms tightening as his cock strained, pulsing wildly within her. “Laire. Laire. Laire. My darlin’ . . . you’re mine . . .”
His forehead fell limply against her shoulder, and that’s how they remained. Entwined in each other’s arms, finally sated, finally whole, their hearts beating madly against each other, love found, love made, love requited.
***
It was torture to leave her.
Torture.
As he pulled out of the Pamlico House driveway at the crack of dawn, he looked up to see Laire, wrapped in a sheet, waving from the second-floor window. Her eyes were soft, and her lips tilted upward in a sad smile. She pressed her fingers to her lips then flattened her palm and blew. I love you.
I love you too, he mouthed, rolling down his window and blowing a kiss back before pulling away.
Turning onto Route 12, he sighed, letting himself relive a little of last night’s splendor. They’d made love four or five more times, reaching for each other ceaselessly, showering in the early hours of morning, only to crawl into bed and make love again. Finally giving up on sleep, they opted instead to cuddle together in Erik’s bed with Laire telling him stories about Ava Grace until the first strains of sunlight forced him from her arms.
He resented the sunlight. He hated it.
“I don’t want to leave you,” he muttered. “But I have to go now to come back for good.”
“What’s the plan?”
He shrugged. “Tie up loose ends.”
“Your parents?” she asked, her eyes conflicted.
He nodded. “Yes. I need to confront them. I need to make it clear that you and Ava Grace are off-limits. Forever.”
He was lying on his back, naked, with Laire’s head on his chest. Holding her close with one arm, he stroked her hair with his free hand.
“What about . . . the future?”
“You mean us?” he asked.
“Mm-hm.”
“Well, I want you and Ava Grace in my life, but I don’t like the idea of you havin’ to see my parents on a regular basis. I don’t trust them. So that makes Raleigh a bad idea for us. I think I’ll relocate here for now.”
“To the Banks?” she asked, propping herself up to look into his face. “Are you sure?”
He pressed a swift kiss to her lips. “We need to be together. You’re here. I don’t want you there. So . . . yeah. The Banks. For now.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Baby,” he said, “I’d do anything for you. Don’t you know that by now?”
She leaned up and kissed him passionately, though their lips were bruised and swollen from so much loving, and she’d winced as she pulled away.