“That’s wonderful, Sean,” she said. And though she truly looked happy for me, she still wasn’t happy with me.
I sighed and reached for her. She moved hesitantly into my arms. “I’m sorry, Emily. I’m sorry for being such a miserable prick lately. I pull you close, then push you away, and it’s all because of my own insecurities. You don’t deserve that, and I’m sorry. I know you take such good care of us because you care, not because it’s your job. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to us. To me,” I told her honestly.
When we pulled apart, I tucked her hair behind her ear and pulled her face to mine. I kissed her softly, sighing and leaning into her.
“I love you,” I said when our kiss broke. “Emily, I love you.”
“What?” she asked, stepping backward. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were wide. She looked like she didn’t believe me.
“I love you,” I said again.
“No.” She shook her head. “You don’t mean that. You’re just excited about your book.”
“Emily,” I said, stepping forward to take her hands. “I love you.”
She blinked and stared at me in disbelief. While we looked at each other, understanding dawned on her face. Slowly, she smiled.
“I love you too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - EMILY
My heart was pounding in my chest as the words rolled off my tongue. I’d been struggling to understand my feelings for Sean for weeks now. When Janie accused me of being in love, I felt for sure she was wrong. After all, I’d only known Sean for a short time. I couldn’t possibly love him yet. Still, there was a truth to Janie’s words that stuck with me in the days to come.
While Sean’s feelings continued to be unpredictable, I always felt a natural affection for him. Even on his worst days, I longed to be near to him, to help him, and to take care of him. He was like gravity, pulling me to him time and time again. I couldn’t deny my own heart anymore, and now, I no longer wanted to. I’d been waiting to hear Sean tell me how he felt about me. When those three words finally fell from his lips, I thought I would lose myself completely. My heart melted, and my stomach filled with butterflies.
“I love you, Sean,” I said, loving the feel of those words on my tongue. “I love you.”
“I love you so much,” he said with a laugh.
Sean stepped forward to press him lips to mine. Our kiss was slow at first, full of untapped love and passion. Now that our emotions were finally in the open, we had nothing left to hold back. We kissed each other with abandon, pouring every ounce of emotion we had into each other. Sean’s arms were tight around my waist, and I stood on my tiptoes to press myself against his hard chest, my fingers tangling in his dark hair.
It wasn’t long before I couldn’t breathe. I pulled away with a gasp and a giggle, but Sean didn’t release me. He moved his lips down to my neck, kissing me softly. His stubble had grown out over the past couple days, and it tickled my sensitive skin. I laughed and pushed him away, but he held onto me, rubbing his face back and forth against my neck. I was giggling uncontrollably, and when he growled against my neck, I laughed loudly and slapped my hand over my mouth.
“Stop it,” I said, still laughing. “You’ll make me wake up the kids.”
“They’ll be fine,” Sean said. “They can sleep through anything.”
“I doubt that,” I said.
“It’s true,” Sean said. “They once slept through an earthquake.”
“They did not.” I laughed.
“They did,” Sean said with a nod. His face was serious, but I knew he was kidding. His eyes were flashing playfully.
“I’ve never seen you this happy,” I said softly. “It’s nice.”
“It’s because of you,” he said, his voice just as soft. “You make me happy Emily, happier than anyone ever has.”
“I’m so proud of you for finishing your book,” I said, cupping his cheek in my hand. “I knew you’d do it.”
“I’m sorry for how I acted,” Sean said, his eyes looking down at the floor. “I know I wasn’t easy to be around for a while. It’s been hard not to be moody and cranky. The stress really got to me, but that’s not an excuse. I shouldn’t have taken out my frustrations on you, Emily. That was wrong.”
“Thank you for apologizing. Fortunately for you, I can’t stay mad at you for long when you’re standing there looking all sexy as hell,” I said.
“You think I look sexy?” Sean asked, smiling.
“Come here,” I said, taking his hand.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“To your bed,” I said simply.
Sean growled and grabbed my ass. I giggled and hurried forward, pulling him along behind me. When we reached his room, we slipped inside, and I watched while Sean closed and locked the door behind us. With a grin, he turned to face me, and I smiled back. He looked so handsome in the evening light. The moon was shining brightly outside his window, and it lit up his room in a romantic glow. Sean’s dark hair fell evenly over his face, and his scruff was more obvious than ever.
In that moment, I knew I would never feel stronger for another person. I loved Sean so much, and I never wanted to be without him. He, unlike the other men I’d dated, knew how to truly be a man. No matter how many mistakes he made or how many times he upset me, he always apologized. He was willing to admit when he was wrong, and that was such a turn on to me. As he walked over to me, I moaned and wrapped my arms around his neck.
He kissed me quickly, but I slowed him down. I wanted to remember this night. I wanted to commit everything about him to memory. We’d just said I love you for the first time, and I wanted nothing more than to immerse myself completely in his body and soul. As we kissed, I tasted his tongue slowly, eliciting a low groan from his chest. His bulge was pressing into me as we held each other. The only thing separating us was our clothes.
I pulled back, my eyes locking on Sean’s. I removed my clothes slowly, giving him a show. I wanted him to see all of me. I was confident. I was in love.
Sean’s eyes followed my every move as I stripped down. When I was completely naked, I turned around and walked over to his bed. I crawled up to the pillows and laid on my back, and looked at him from under my lashes.
“You’re a dream,” he said.
I smiled and watched as he removed his own clothes and crawled onto the bed.
Without a word, Sean slid himself up my body. He kissed my legs, licking my thighs and breathing against my clit. I sighed as he moved farther up, laying light kisses over my stomach and my breasts. My nipples were hard with desire, but he didn’t take them into his mouth. Instead, he ran his fingers over them gently, making me shiver with anticipation.
When our faces were finally even, he kissed me slowly. I moaned and tangled my body around his, wrapping both my arms and my legs around him. I rolled us over so he was pinned to the bed. While we kissed, our tongues danced with frantic passion. I loved the way he tasted, the way he felt, and the way he smelled. Everything about Sean was beyond intoxicating.
Slowly, I broke our kiss to slide down his body. I trailed my tongue over his glorious abs before I lightly flicked it across the tip of his dick. He groaned and brushed my hair back, holding the curls in his hands.
I lowered my mouth over his cock, taking it fully into my mouth. Everything I did was slow, and deliberate, and I could feel Sean trembling beneath me. I swirled my tongue around him and moved my head up and down over him. When he started to tense, I released him and crawled back to kiss his lips.
“You feel amazing,” he said right before I kissed him.
I could feel my own desire pooling between my legs. I straddled him and rubbed myself along his length, letting him feel me.
“I want you,” I moaned, grinding my hips harder. “I want you now.”
Sean growled and rolled me onto my back. He laid down on top of me so our faces were inches apart. Supporting himself with one arm, he reached down to spread my legs. I opened for him easily, and he thrust his hips forward. In one motion, he was inside me.