“I’m not making love to you with her in the same room. It’s not right. And there is no way I am not making love to you tonight.”

I gulped at the sincerity and ferocity of his words. I nodded. I wanted him to make love to me too. I wanted his touch to reassure me that everything was going to be okay. I pulled at my clothes in a most functional fashion. I wanted them off. I didn’t care about putting on a show. The sooner I could have Sterling’s skin against mine, the better.

We pulled the blankets back and slid in against the clean sheets at the same time. I wiggled up against him. His cock pressed against my belly, hard and ready. I was ready too, but I still wanted all the touching and the teasing. Foreplay wasn’t just for my body. It made everything feel so much better and gave me more time touching him.

His mouth searched out, placing kisses along my skin until he found my nipple. I mewled and tried to keep the noise down. But it was hard when he made me want to cheer and be loud.

His hands roamed and grabbed at me like he had missed touching me as much as I had missed him. I tugged his hair until he lifted his mouth back to mine. His arms enfolded me, and his lips claimed mine. I was surrounded by him, his body, his warmth, his smell.

This felt like home. It didn’t matter where we were as long as we were together. Okay, and maybe not back at that horrible apartment. But I probably would have been happy to have been with him there as long as I was with him.

“Are you good if I don’t have a condom?” he murmured against my ear.

“Ah, yeah, I’m good.” There was something I desperately needed to tell him, but right now was not the moment. He wasn’t going to get me pregnant tonight.

I let out a long sigh when he slid into me. This was the most perfect moment. Each and every time felt like perfection. I belonged to him, and he belonged to me. When we moved together, the world fell away, and we were all that was left.

How could I have doubted this? Brains and emotions got in the way of something so perfect. But that didn’t matter now. Sterling slid inside me, and he was where he belonged. I moaned as my body responded. His touch was everything, yet it somehow wasn’t enough. I needed more of him, more of his body.

“More,” I moaned.

He growled low in his throat. “Demanding.”

“More,” I whined. I grabbed at his skin, clutching him to me. I bucked my hips up to meet his. “More!”

His mouth over mine stopped my demands. But my body pushed back, and I moved against him. His thrusts grew more forceful, and I took everything he gave me. Everything tightened up. My breathing grew shallower. I was fighting as everything rolled and crashed and sent me over the edge. The orgasm didn’t slam into me, it grew and built and became more intense with each touch, each stroke. It made its presence known and then became more and more intense.

I cried out because there was no way I could contain what was in my body. And then I broke apart. I was stardust, I was glitter. I was magic. And then I was me, in Sterling’s arms. And I was happy.

He pressed hard against me, grabbing my leg to hold it over his hip. He thrust a few more times before falling to his side. He wrapped his arms around me and kept me tight in his embrace.

“Never doubt that I need you.” His voice was gravelly and low as he panted out the words.

I wanted to tell him I loved him, but I think our bodies had conveyed that pretty well.

37

STERLING

Cecelia’s skin was soft and warm. I loved touching her, but I couldn't get enough of her. I don’t know if I slept or if I just stroked her skin all night as she slept in my arms.

Georgie started to wake up. I didn’t need a baby monitor to hear her. She was all of six feet from the end of the bed. I slipped out from between the warm sheets and pulled on my lounge pants. I leaned back over and gently woke Cecelia up.

“Georgie is about to wake up and join us. Get dressed.”

“Hmm?” She rolled over and a spray of hair covered her face. She brushed it away and barely opened her eyes to look at me. She was smiling. I was smiling too. It was good to have her back. “Oh, right, baby. She’s still asleep.”

“I know, but she won’t be soon. Throw something on, and you can go back to bed.”

She rolled out of bed and grabbed her bag before disappearing into the bathroom. She was a delight to watch. All those curves, and they were mine.

While Cecelia was changing in the bathroom, I prepped Georgie’s bottle, and while she was still asleep, I carefully changed her. Over the past couple of weeks, I discovered if I woke up before she did and I could get her comfortable before she fully woke up, she’d stay asleep. I still lost some sleep, but not nearly as much as if Georgie fully woke.

I had her back in the crib and was softly patting her back. She hadn’t even needed the bottle. I lifted my finger to my lips when Cecelia emerged in a T-shirt and pair of shorts. She nodded and crawled back into bed. When I was convinced that Georgie was truly back to sleep, I put the bottle in the mini-fridge and climbed in to snuggle with Cecelia.

“What, no baby?” she asked.

“She’s getting bigger, sleeping longer.”