She rolled the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip and then shook her head again. “No, I’m not. But, if you don’t regret it, then why did you leave?”
I speared a hand through my hair. “Because you’re not someone I can just fuck once and be okay with it. You’re…everything. And the longer I kissed you, the harder it was going to be to control myself. I don’t want to rush you. You just had a breakup. This…the feelings between us? It’s all new for you.”
“That’s okay, though. We can work through it together. It’s new for both of us,” she corrected, the sadness beginning to lift from her eyes.
I threw back my head and let out a harsh laugh. “Not.”
“What are you saying?” she asked, her brow knitting in confusion.
It was my leaping-out-of-that-plane moment, and I wasn’t going to blow it this time. “I’m saying that I have loved you every second of every day since you first passed me your drawings in Spanish class.”
She laughed at first but then when she saw my solemn expression, the laughter died and the truth dawned in her eyes. “Sam… That was eight years ago.”
“I know exactly how long it’s been.” I took another step toward her and tugged her to her feet, sweeping her into my arms until her breasts were pressed tight against my chest. “I know exactly how many nights I spent with you in separate beds. I know exactly how many mornings I woke up without you by my side. And, what I’m saying, Mags, is that I’m done waiting.”
Burying one hand in her hair, I leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips, loving the feel of her tongue as it swept out and begged me for more.
I shook my head. “I can’t make love to you tonight until I know where you stand.”
She searched my gaze. “I’m in shock, to be honest.” She chewed her bottom lip and I could feel her body trembling against mine. “Knowing that you’re…that you… All this time? And I never knew. Plus, things just ended with Trevor. How could I have been so blind? What if I fuck this up?”
This was the Mags I knew. Cautious Maggie. Careful Maggie. But if ever I needed her to trust me, it was now.
“He wasn’t right for you.” I gestured between us and ran my thumb over her bottom lip. “This is right.”
“I think I know that,” she murmured. “At least, I know it feels so natural. So obvious. I guess I’m just scared.”
“Of what?”
“Me. And you. These feelings.” She shook her head. “There are so many things that I admire...that I love about you. Your talent and your sense of adventure and the way you look after me. You’re a better man than I deserve.”
“Nobody on earth is good enough for you.” I kissed her again, this time allowing her to swirl her tongue with mine so I could taste the sweet champagne on her breath. And as soon as we fell into each other’s arms?
There was no way we were stopping this time. Slowly, she guided me back toward the bed and, as her knees buckled against the mattress, I asked her again. Once more for good measure.
“What do you want, Maggie?”
“You, Sam. Always you.”
Chapter Eleven
Maggie
I kept waiting for it to be awkward. For one of us to laugh uncomfortably or for my fingers to shake as I moved to untie the knot that held my robe together. Instead, though, everything felt...perfect.
Like this was a moment we’d been building to for years now, a rhythm we’d already learned.
With Sam’s dark blue eyes on me, I felt safe and admired and sexy in a way no man had ever made me feel. And, as he dropped to his knees in front of me, my breath caught and I knew that this was what I wanted, what I craved more than anything else in the world. To be with him. Totally and completely with him.
He pushed my fumbling fingers aside, taking the belt of my robe in his sure grip and loosening the knot with focused precision. Before he slid the white terry cloth from my shoulders, he pulled his own shirt from over his head, treating me once again to the view of his perfectly sculpted chest.
“You’re incredible.” The words slipped from my lips and he glanced up at me again, a soft smile on his full mouth.
“Not half as incredible as you. Come here.”
Heart pounding in my throat, I nodded and his calloused fingers brushed the space between my breasts, pushing my robe aside until it was a puddle on the bed and I was laid bare to him. The chill of the hotel room did nothing to cool the fire in my cheeks, but as Sam stared at me, I took another deep breath and readied myself for him.
“God, you’re even more gorgeous than I imagined.” His fingertips brushed my collarbone, the curve of my breasts, my stiffened nipples, and the plane of my stomach like he was studying a fine work of art. I shivered with need, the warmth of his skin searing against my body and making me beg for more.
But I knew, like so much of the rest of our relationship, this would take time. That this was only the beginning.
Sam stood again. “Don’t move. I just want to look at you,” he whispered.
I swallowed hard, the heat of his gaze giving me courage. “All of me?” I asked, lying naked before him.
Sam’s heavy gaze wandered even lower, and his pupils dilated at the sight. He offered me another pained smile. “Damn if you aren’t the sexiest woman alive. But I feel like I’m behind. I need to catch up.”
At first, I didn’t understand what he meant, but then he stood and reached for the button of his jeans. He unfastened it quickly before pulling down his fly. With one steady motion, he pulled down his boxers and pants and allowed his massive length to spring free.
Holy shit, Sam is hung.
My breath caught again. He wanted me, that much was clear, but I’d never been with a man so...big before in my life.
My mouth watered and I licked my bottom lip before leaning into him, ready to take him in my mouth and tease his swollen head with my tongue.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he muttered through gritted teeth. “I told you to stay put.”
“But I want to...” My voice broke and I looked again at his throbbing shaft.
He shook his head. “Not tonight, beautiful. Tonight, I want to do all the things I’ve wanted to do for the past so many years, and I refuse to let you take that from me. Now get on the bed and spread those thighs apart for me again.”
Blood thrumming in my ears, I did as I was told, practically quaking with anticipation.
“Scoot down to the bottom of the bed and open your legs. Like this.” He closed a hand over my thighs and guided me down the cool mattress and then pushed my legs apart with his rough palms. I gasped at his sure grip…his knowing touch.
This was going to be good. So good.
He sank to his knees again and I could feel the heat of his breath on my skin.