Page 84 of No Ordinary Love

The board members nodded, rising from their seats and gathering their things as they left the room. Grandma put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed, which was the most emotional thing she'd done during the entire meeting.

Gene Lombardi, had been quiet, as he had told me he would be unless Hugh went down a legally untenable path. He gave me a brief nod of approval before he followed the others out, leaving only Kath and me in the room.

She looked up at me and licked her lips, uncomfortable as fuck.

"Kath, let's meet in my office in thirty minutes."

"Lucas—," she began, but I shook my head.

"I'll talk to you in a half hour."

When I walked into my office, my heart felt heavy, and I wished Amara were here with me. Just as that thought crossed my mind, her familiar scent drifted through the air. I was convinced my mind was playing tricks on me when…

"Hey."

Amara stood by the tall windows, facing the door.

"You're here," I said dazed. Thank God she was. If I'd started smelling her when she wasn't even around, that was a sure sign I was losing my mind—and I'd need a therapist to deal with that.

We both walked quickly toward each other and met in the middle of the room. I held her close. "What are you doing here,Tesoro?"

"I wanted to be here."

I dropped my head to rest my face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent. The comfort, the affection, the love—it waseverythingthat kept me stable and had been since I met Amara. I had lost sight of that, but I would never make that mistake again.

"You still employed?" she teased, stroking my back.

I chuckled and raised my head. I kissed her then, my lips against hers, feeling like my heart would leap out of my chest.

"Yeah,Tesoro, I am."

She kept holding me, and it was the best thing in the world.

"Don't ever leave me," I whispered, looking into her eyes, desperate to make her understand how much she meant to me.

"Hey," she breathed.

I rested my forehead against hers, and I couldn't stop the tears from falling. I almost lost her; let her go, this love of my life. I knew now what I didn't know then that without Amara, I'd never be happy again.

"Yeah, love."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you." I felt grateful that she'd given me a second chance, that the universe had given me a first, and it almost brought me to my knees. "I love you."

She kissed me; this time, it was more than comfort, more than love and affection; it was sexual, potent.

I groaned softly, breathing hard. All I wanted to do was spread her over my desk and be inside her, my favorite place in the world.

"I love you too." She smiled and wiped my tears. "No more of that. I'm here. You're here."

"Yeah?"

"We're a team, Covington."

I kissed her nose, feeling like the luckiest motherfucker in the world. "The best team I could ever be on." My heart was ready to burst out of me. It was so full.

"I have to go, and you have a meeting." She cupped my cheek. "Diedra let me know that you have to see Kath and Gene in a little bit."

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