Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Carson had not told Mila that he loved her, but she felt his love for her in every glance.
Every touch. With each small gesture that set him apart from every man she had ever known.
She knew it would be hard for him to form those words, especially since he had spoken them to another woman in a different place and time.
She had only told Mark that she loved him, and she now saw how immature her love for him had been.
Thankfully, she had grown up a lot since that relationship ended.
She knew herself better and was more confident in who she was as a person and professional.
While she hoped Carson would one day be able to say those words to her, she wasn’t expecting them from him tonight.
She also felt strongly that he would need to be the one who spoke of love between them and not her because if she said something first, she didn’t want him to feel pressured to repeat it back to her before he was ready to do so.
They went inside the house, and he took her hand, leading her into the kitchen.
On the counter stood a beautiful arrangement of snapdragons and morning glories.
Tears stun her eyes. She had once mentioned those were her favorite flowers, just another sign of how well he listened to what she had to say—and remembering it.
He took her hands in his. “These flowers are for you. I’ve never been much of a flower giver, but I wanted you to have a visible sign of my feelings for you.”
“They’re beautiful, Carson. My favorites.”
He swallowed, squeezing her fingers. “You know me well enough after all this time, Mila. I wouldn’t take a step like this lightly.
I have always seen a future for us. Together.
With Lily. And other children.” He paused, his gaze searching hers.
“I thought it would be hard to say this to you. Now that we’re in the moment, though, it’s easy because I’m speaking from my heart.
I love you, Mila. I have felt a strong connection with you from the moment we met. ”
He leaned in and kissed her softly, a reassuring kiss.
“I love you, too, Carson. I never want to compete with your memories of Angie. She was your wife. The mother of your child. The most important person in your life. Even though I never knew her, I feel her essence is captured in Lily. Because of that, I know she would want you to be happy. Move on with your life. To hold those memories you have of her dear, but to also let go enough to find happiness and fulfillment again.”
Mila smiled at him. “You make me so very happy, Carson. You make my heart sing. I’ve loved you for what seems like a long time, and I feel that love growing deeper every day.”
“Thank you for understanding about Angie. I know it can’t be easy for you.
She’ll always be a part of me. Lily is her legacy to the world.
I never thought about remarrying. I never considered my future in the long run before I came to Driftwood Bay.
I was more of a put one foot in front of the other and take things one step at a time and try to survive kind of guy.
That changed when I met you. You’ve brought laughter and sunshine into my life. ”
Carson smiled at her. “Into both mine and Lily’s lives.
I can’t imagine living a single day without you in it, Mila.
I just want you to know before I made love to you that the ghosts of the past are gone.
When I kiss you—touch you—it’s you I’m with.
When I make love to you, you will be the person I see and love. This is a new beginning.”
“For both of us,” she added softly.
He brushed his lips against hers slowly, and her body responded. Her heart began to pound rapidly, and her insides began to glow.
The kiss went from tame to torrid, their passion for one another rising. Her body and blood heated with desire. Soon, they were frantically tearing clothes from one another, needing flesh to touch flesh.
They didn’t even make it to the bedroom.
Carson pushed her against the wall in the hallway, his large body pinning hers to it, his kisses hot and passionate.
His fingers found her wrists and raised them above her head as he devoured her mouth with his.
Her breasts swelled, the nipples coming alive as they brushed against his chest.
He tore his mouth from hers. “I can’t wait. I need you so much.”
“Take me. Now. I’m forever yours.”
She had told him before that she had been on the pill since college, wanting to regulate her irregular periods because of sports, so there was no need for a condom.
His hand moved between her legs, pushing a finger inside her.
She moaned at the intimate touch, and he stroked her deeply.
Moments later, her orgasm came, shattering her.
She cried out, riding his hand as he murmured encouragingly, his lips buried against her throat.
When she climaxed, her body shuddered violently, and she felt as if she might be someone else. She grew limp and would have slid to the floor if he hadn’t kept her on her feet.
With a wicked grin on his face, he said, “My turn.”
Before she could even catch her breath, he had pushed into her, filling her. Not only her body.
But her soul…
He kissed her ravenously as he thrust into her again and again. She had never had an orgasm during sex, but the familiar sensation began building within her, and her cries joined his shouts of triumph as he pumped into her.
She cradled his face in her hands and pulled him to her, kissing him with every bit of love welling inside her. Their bodies remained as one, physical love blending with emotional love.
He broke the kiss, and they both panted, their bodies slick with sweat.
“I’m sorry,” he got out.
“What for?” she asked. “That was incredible. You’re incredible.”
“You were perfect yourself,” he praised, kissing her again. He chuckled. “I imagined our first time together a lot. I mean, a lot. But I never thought it would be like this. I’m sorry we didn’t make it to the bed.”
“I’m not. Beds are highly overrated.”
They both laughed and kissed again for a long time. Need already burned brightly inside her again. She had liked having sex with Mark and Sam, but what had just happened between her and Carson was mind-blowing.
She knew it was because they shared a rich, abiding love.
He eased from her. “I wish I could go for round two now, but I need a little time to recover. I could use something cold to drink. How about you?”
“Absolutely.”
Lacing their fingers together, Carson led Mila back to the kitchen. She had always been a little self-conscious being naked in front of her partners, but she padded alongside him feeling sexy and confident. Even beautiful. All because of this incredible man.
He retrieved two bottles of water from the fridge, and they both downed the contents rapidly.
She saw the heat return in his eyes.
“I’d like to take you to bed now. I want to explore your every curve.”
Smiling mischievously, Mila said, “Only if you let me return the favor.”
Carson led her to his bedroom, pulling back the covers.
Then he swept her off her feet and kissed her once before placing her gently on the bed.
He climbed next to her. Good to his word, his lips and hands explored her body in painstaking detail.
Already, she was ravenous for his touch and wanted him inside her again.
She pushed him from her so that he was on his back, and Mila did her own, very thorough research of his athletic, muscular frame. Just as she had envisioned that first day at the beach, she ran her tongue along his perfectly-shaped calf. Everything about him was absolute perfection.
Her tongue slid up his leg, then all the way up the hard wall of his chest. She let the tip of her tongue encircle his nipple then teased it, flicking it back and forth against it. He growled, capturing her in his arms and holding her close. A deep sense of contentment poured through her.
“Think you’ve recovered enough?” she asked, her hand slipping to his cock and squeezing it.
“Keep doing that, and I’ll be inside you in ten seconds.”
His hands captured her waist, and he lifted her so that she straddled him.
She stroked his cock now, and it sprang to life, hard and thick.
Her fingers massaged it sensually until it grew large.
Then Mila slipped it inside her and rode him with abandon.
Neither of them was quiet during this bout of lovemaking, and when they both climaxed at the same time, he roared in triumph.
Exhausted, she collapsed against his chest, her cheek nestled against his beating heart.
Carson stroked her back up and down. “If I would have known how good it would be between us, I don’t think I would’ve held out for so long.”
She lifted her head, their gazes meeting. “I’m glad we waited as long as we did. That we took our time. Tonight was special because we’ve built a strong friendship. We also trust one another.”
He smoothed her hair. “You’re right. We waited for a reason. We waited for our love to grow. And I know it will continue to grow stronger every day.”
Mila lowered her head back to his chest, reveling in the feel of his hard, naked body against hers. She had never experienced such peace after lovemaking. Such contentment.
Eventually, he leaned down and drew the sheet over them, turning on his side. They now faced one another, and she shook her head.
“No can do. I can’t fall asleep unless I’m on my left side.”
“Then turn around,” he encouraged.
She did so, and his arms went fast about her, drawing her back into his chest. Mila had never felt more cherished than in this moment.
As she drifted off to sleep, one thing was emblazoned in her mind.
Carson Andrews was her forever person.