“I love watching you, listening to the sounds you make.” He took his hand out of her shorts, and without removing her from his lap, he stood.
She was never more aware of his size and strength than when he picked her up like that, as if she weighed nothing. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked toward the bedroom, his hands gripping her backside. After laying her down, he stripped off his clothes and dragged the boy shorts down her legs. Lying between them, he braced one of his elbows against her thigh, holding her open as his tongue traced a pattern and his fingers stroked her. She writhed underneath him, holding him in place, taking what she wanted, what she needed.
Kate was glad they’d taken the time to get tested and no longer needed condoms because as soon as she came, he entered her as if he couldn’t possibly wait another second. His thrusts were urgent, relentless, and there was something about the way he covered her body with his, pinning her underneath him without worrying he’d break her, that she loved.
His groans and his ragged breathing told her it wouldn’t be long for him. Another minute or two and she’d be able to get there again herself.
“Harder,” she gasped, and it was like throwing gasoline on an already raging fire as he complied.
“Kate,” he said, and she knew he was barely hanging on.
She answered him with her cries, and seconds later he joined her. It was the closest they’d ever come to finding their release at the same time, and she felt every pulse of his as the aftershocks of her own washed over her.
“I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you,” Ian said.
“Neither have I,” Kate said, trying to catch her breath.
He clung to her tightly. “Don’t ever lose faith in me.”
“I won’t,” she promised.
Why was he mentioning that now? He’d won her over, and she believed in him wholeheartedly. He was nothing like the man he’d seemed when she’d met him, and she understood it now. Knew why he’d come on so strong. It would take a certain kind of woman to be with him. Strong, fearless. Tolerant. Just like he’d told her in the beginning.
She was that woman.
And he was the man she hadn’t known she’d needed until the day she’d crashed into him on the sidewalk.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Kate received a text from Ian shortly before she left work on Monday.
Ian: I’m going to take the Shelby for a spin. I hope she starts and that those boneheads at the storage facility haven’t been joyriding in her all winter.
Kate: Better do it soon. It’s supposed to snow. Again.
Ian: I love you, sweetness. So much.
That made her smile.
Kate: I love you too.
By four thirty, when Kate walked home from the Pilates class she’d taken after work, the sky had turned dark and rain was falling. She’d forgotten to bring an umbrella and the icy drops pelted her cheeks. Ducking her head, she quickened her step, but by the time she walked in the door of her apartment her hair was soaked. In the bathroom, she stripped off her wet clothes and turned on the water, waiting until it turned hot and steamy. After her shower, she wrapped herself in her robe and sat down on the couch, throwing a blanket over her lap. She clicked on the TV and listened to the Channel 5 meteorologist issue a winter storm warning for the overnight hours. Kate groaned. March snowstorms were the worst: icy, slushy, heavy, and wet. The rain would soon be changing to snow and the National Weather Service predicted totals of six to eight inches for the area, along with high winds.
Kate: Looks like you got that drive in right under the wire. I hope the Shelby has now been returned to its spot at the storage facility. Come home and keep me warm! Let’s order in.