Page 126 of Promised Love

Fear. Worry. Happiness.

We finally pull apart for some air, and Lukas releases a shaky breath. “You’re it for me, Autumn. As much as I’m scared of falling in love and failing like my mother, I’d rather get my heart crushed at your hand than spend a day living without you. Throughout my ride from St. Peppers to Cherrywood, I was telling myself and the universe that I’d give up everything to have more days with you at this inn. Days when I wake up with your smiling face next to me. Days when I kiss you goodnight and then sleep with you wrapped around me.”

“Lukas!” I say his name in a broken voice as my bottom lip wobbles. He wipes my tears with the pad of his thumb.

“If you’re willing to accept me knowing my past, if you’d go to such lengths and fight for me, I’ll spend every minute of my life showing you I’m nothing like the man whose blood runs through my body.”

I rest my hand on his pounding heart. “You’re the one for me, Lukas. The one who’s bigger than any promise. The one who not only loves me but also believes in me more than anyone else. I don’t care about the blood, but you’ve inherited this heart from the woman who knew how to love unconditionally.”

His eyes widen as if he had never thought about it, and then in a flash, he pulls me closer to his chest. “How do you do that?” he whispers, hiding his face in my neck. “You make me feel proud of my life, which has never happened. All my life, I’ve been trying to prove to everyone that I’m good, that I’m more than what made me, and then you come along. You give me so much love and unbridled affection, as if I’m the most precious thing you own. And I feel…enough.”

“You’re not just the most precious thing, Lukas. You are my everything. You’re as important to me as the next ray of sunlight, as the next breath, as food, as water. I don’t just want you. I need you.”

He takes me in his arms and strides toward the inn’s main building.

When I see he’s heading toward our suite instead of the dining hall, where everyone’s waiting for us, I whisper, “Lukas, everyone’s waiting.”

“I’ve waited longer. They’ll live without us for another minute, but I can’t live without you for another second.”

My legs wrap tighter around him, and a giggle shoots through me. “Are you saying we’ll be done in a minute? I think you’re undermining your talent.” I love being this carefree with him.

“Fuck. I forgot what a brat you can be.” He smacks my ass before throwing me onto the bed.

Lukas is like a man on a mission when he rips off my clothes. His hands are determined as he unhooks my bra, leaving me naked against the blue comforter. His lips touch every part of my body, from my forehead to my toes, and I feel so cherished that my throat constricts.

This is different than anything else. We’re not trying to have fun for a limited time. Today, his touch has the promise of a lifetime.

His fingers skate over my belly button, so lightly that I quiver, and then his lips press against my skin.

“I want to have a family with you,” he says. “Kids.”

“W-what?” I stammer, sure I didn’t hear right.

Kids. Holy crap. A few hours back, we weren’t sure if we would stay married, and now we’re talking about kids.

“I mean…not necessarily now. You’re young.” Lukas swallows hard, and there’s an outburst of emotion in my chest. “But someday, I want to have kids and love them so much that they’re never unsure of anything in life. I want to have something that’s us. You and me.”

My eyes turn misty as I imagine a little baby in a bassinet with Lukas’ blue eyes and my button nose. And I don’t know why I can’t wait to hold him or her in my arms.

“I’d love that, Lukas. I’d love that so much.”

He cups my cheek and kisses my lips. “Then we should practice. A lot.”

I snort-giggle when he pulls me to the edge of the bed. “I don’t think you need any practice, Lukas. You could get me pregnant just by giving me those hot, smoldering looks.”

He glances at me for a second with a straight face before exploding into a fit of laughter. He laughs so hard that his whole body vibrates, and his forehead drops to my hip bone.

“I…I don’t know what to say,” he wheezes. “Did you hear that in one of those porn movies?”

I bite my lip. “Tease as much as you like, but I know you love that I watched those movies. It made it easier for me to understand your alpha, macho, dominant tricks in bed.”

“Alpha. Macho. Dominant tricks. Those are some big words, wife.” And just like that, the nervous, hesitant Lukas Spencer vanishes. His place is taken by the daredevil Lukas, the one who makes my heart gallop like a horse on the race course.

“Big suits my husband.”

He grins before he’s on me in a flash. “I’m so happy you said that,” he says in a playful voice. “Because today, I don’t want to just make love to you or fuck you. I want to claim you. I want to hear your cute noises and heavy moans as I take you over and over.” Goosebumps litter my skin as he tweaks my nipple. My sex throbs in anticipation of all that he’s said.

As if he can read my mind, where I’m silently begging him to do that, he crawls down. He drops to his knees next to the bed, and his mouth latches onto my sex. His tongue is merciless, and I buck off the mattress, but his firm hand on my stomach stops me from going anywhere.

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