Chapter 19 #2
“But your company,” I break in, finally finding my voice through the shock.
I turn to face him fully, pulling my hand from his as I point a stern finger at his chest. “Companies, plural. You can’t just run off into the woods.
You’re the commander-in-chief of one of the biggest conglomerates in the entire world. ”
“Exactly,” he says. “I’m in charge. So, I decide where I want to work, how much I want to work, and what I want to turn over to the highly-trained executives I’ve been micro-managing for far too long.
I have excellent people who are fully capable of handling most aspects of our everyday operations.
I’ll only need to fly back to New York for quarterly board meetings and the occasional high-level acquisition.
But for the most part, I can make this my home. ”
I watch his gorgeous lips form the word “home,” but still can’t quite believe what I’m hearing.
“Seriously? You actually want to move here? To a place where the stores have Christmas ornaments on display, all year round? Where they start playing carols in September and bedeck anything that stands still long enough with a giant bow? That won’t make you Grinch out and want to steal a peg leg all over again? ”
He laughs, a low, easy chuckle that makes my skin tingle. “I can’t promise I won’t Grinch out, now and then, especially about that fucking peg leg, but…” He nudges my knee. “As long as you’re around to keep me in line, I think I’ll be okay.”
“You’re serious,” I whisper.
“Completely serious.” He cups my cheek, his thumb skimming across my cheekbone. “I want to be where you are, Holly Jo Hadley, surrounded by everything and everyone who made you the person I fell in love with.”
“That’s so beautiful, Luke.” My voice breaks on his name.
He pulls me into his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him tight, heart overflowing as I realize just how serious he is about choosing me.
Choosing us.
“I love you.” I pull back to catch his gaze so he can hopefully see how much I mean it. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” He kisses me softly, perfectly.
I taste salt from the popcorn mixed with the sweetness of chocolate and this man. My man. The kiss deepens naturally, inevitably. My hands slide into his hair, and his grip tightens on my waist.
I’m about to straddle him right there on the fireplace when he murmurs, “Bed. Now. I’ll check to make sure you-know-who is asleep.”
Thankfully, Cheeks is, in fact, asleep, and Luke is soon beside me on our bed of playmats and quilts.
We make quick work of our clothes, urgent but not frantic, and not the slightest bit shy.
Strangely, I wasn’t shy the first time, either.
The first time with someone new is usually at least a little awkward, but with Luke…
Well, he doesn’t feel like a new lover.
He feels like someone who’s been making me feel beautiful and special for a long time. When I’m naked again, with the firelight flickering around us, I make sure to tell him so.
“I feel the same way,” he says, thumbs teasing over my still-sensitive nipples, making me moan.
“You are so yummy.” I run my hands over his chest, feeling his heart racing under my palms. “I can’t wait to make your ‘girl on top’ dreams come true.”
“Yes, please, beautiful,” he agrees, his hands sliding up my thighs to grip my hips as I straddle him. “Fuck, look at you. Look at how sexy you are.”
I position myself, hovering for a moment over where he’s so deliciously hard for me. Our eyes lock as I sink down, taking him inch by inch. His jaw clenches, his fingers digging deeper into my skin as I take him completely.
“Perfect,” he breathes.
“Perfect,” I agree, relishing how thick he feels inside me.
“Tell me what you want, baby.” His hands return to my breasts, rubbing, teasing, pinching. “Tell me how to make you wild.”
“That. More of that. And your mouth,” I say, breath already coming faster as I begin to move.
I set the pace, the angle, experimenting until I find what feels just right. His soft moans as he sucks my nipples let me know he loves every second of it. Finally, I push his mouth away and rise to brace my hands on his chest, too wild to go slow anymore.
His head drops back against the quilts, exposing the strong line of his throat as he watches me move. “You feel so good,” he groans, lifting into me as I drop down again. “So, fucking good.”
I groan my agreement as I ride him faster, chasing the bliss building inside as he reaches down, his thumb finding my clit and rubbing with the perfect pressure.
I gasp, my rhythm faltering as bliss bears down on me, coming in fast. “Oh God, Luke. Oh God!”
“Sexy as hell,” he encourages, his voice strained. “So sexy when you come, Holly. Love you. God, I love you so much.”
His words, the feel of him filling me so completely, the friction and heat and overwhelming rightness of it all reach critical mass at once. I cry out, my inner walls pulsing around him as pleasure bleeds into my every cell.
Then his hands are on my hips, guiding me through the aftershocks as he drives up into me, his thrusts wild now, erratic. “Yes. Fuck, yes, Holly—”
He cries out, arching off the quilt as he goes rigid beneath me. I collapse forward onto his chest, hips wiggling as I relish the feel of him filling me. I’ve only had sex without a condom with one other man, and it was never this hot.
Thank God for birth control, or I have a feeling Luke and I would be knocked up well before Valentine’s Day.
Afterward, we lie sticky and tangled together in the firelight, catching our breath with happy hums and goofy smiles. His hand strokes up and down my spine, as I track the slowing of his heartbeat beneath my cheek.
“Best sex of my life,” I finally whisper. “Like, by a lot.”
His chest rumbles with quiet laughter. “Good to hear. Mine too.”
“Really?” I lift my head to look down at him. “Better than all the fancy New York women you’ve taken to your bed?”
He cups my face, a fond smile on his lips that makes me feel as beautiful as the way he looks at me when I sink down on top of him. “There hasn’t been anyone in my bed in a long time. And there’s no comparing you to anyone else, woman. You’re in a league of your own. One in a million.”
Tears prick at my eyes. “Dude. You’re really good with the sweet talk, too. Sweet talk and dirty talk? How will I ever resist you?”
He grins. “You won’t.”
And then he proves it, and we manage to get scandalous in two more positions before Cheeks wakes up, poking his head out of the trophy to check on us just as Luke’s adding a few final logs to the fire before bed.
“Good night, Cheeks,” I whisper.
He chitters a tired “good night” of his own before curling back into my scarf.
I snuggle into Luke’s arms, happier than I would have imagined possible when this day started. Just goes to show a girl has to keep one eye trained on the bright side. You never know when hope—and grouchy men with hearts of gold—are going to surprise you, and you wouldn’t want to miss it.
“You really wouldn’t,” I murmur as I’m tucked into little spoon position by the man of my dreams.
“What’s that?” he rumbles into my hair.
“I want pancakes for breakfast,” I say, yawning as I add, “If the power’s back on and Kit’s Diner is open, I’m treating you to a full stack.”
“And I’ll treat you to sausage rolls,” he says. “Kit’s makes my favorite.”
“I already got your sausage roll, baby,” I say, making him laugh, even though, as far as jokes go, it wasn’t my best effort.
But when you’re this happy and hopped up on orgasms, the laughs come easy.
So does the love.
I drift off fast, not a worry or fear left in my mind. In my heart, I know this is only the beginning, and that whatever comes next will be something special.
Just like this incredible man.