Page 71 of Merrick

“I have no problem with that.”

*****

“I should let you get some sleep.”

“Why?”

“Because…,” his mouth trailed the length of her neck, his teeth nipping into the hollow of her throat. “I cannot get enough of you.”

“I love hearing that.” Her hands skimmed over the bunched muscles of his shoulders with obvious delight.

“I don’t want you to tire of me.” He really should stop. They had been at it since they arrived at his place and that was two hours ago.

“I will let you know when and if that happens. I love the feel of you. So lean and muscular. Like a wolf.”

“Wolf?” He lifted his head and gave her a quizzical stare.

“Hmm.” Her fingers skimmed the stubble on his firm jaw and trailed down to the dent in his chin. “I need to ask you something.”

“Ask away.” Placing his hand over hers, he brought it to his mouth to kiss the palm.

“Can you talk about her? Your fiancée.”

He felt the quick tug of grief and realized that he was over it – over the past and looking forward to the future. A future with the woman in his arms.

“Yes.” Settling back on the pillows, he cradled her and stared up at the ceiling. “We were young when we met.” His hands skimmed over her back. “She was sweet and always had a smile on her face.

My parents had a very good marriage, and I wanted that for myself. When I met Laura, I felt the attraction, but it took me some time to approach her. When I did, she was open to a relationship. But I wanted to wait to get married. I did not want to tie myself down so soon and I wanted to be certain.

When she told me she was pregnant, I knew it was time to do the right thing, and we got engaged. She was so excited about the baby, the upcoming wedding, that she insisted on flying to Paris to purchase her trousseau.

I was supposed to go with her, but I was just starting out at the company and there was a new drug being put out on the market and I was in charge of the legalities of it. I could not get away andI asked her to wait, but she wouldn’t,” he paused for a bit, and she turned her head to look at him.

“I was in a meeting when I got the news.”

“You blamed yourself.”

“Yes, I did.” He smiled at her intuitiveness. “I kept saying that if only I had gone with her or be firmer when I asked her not to go, she would still be alive. More than that, I grieved for my unborn son and was resentful that she had taken that away from me. Unreasonable, I know, but grief has a way of doing that to a person.”

“How do you feel now?”

“Free.” His hands cupped her face. “Wonderfully happy and head over heels in love.” His expression became sober. “I started feeling guilty right after I met you.”

“Why?”

He traced the outline of her full bottom lip and felt an answering tug in his belly when it quivered. “What I felt when I first met you was nothing compared to what I felt for her. It was like a quick one – two punch that took my breath. When I first made love to you, I felt as if I was being thrown into the eye of a very violent storm.” He smiled wistfully.

“I had crushes in high school and was even in a semi-serious relationship in college. With Laura, I contemplated marriage for the first time. But with you, I knew without a doubt that I could not live without you.” His hand cupped her cheek. “You blew me away and it frightened me.”

Her heart took a slow dive. “Can you imagine what it was like for me?” She whispered. “I grew up without anyone to love me.

Until I was eighteen, I thought I was alone in the world and then Aunt Sybil came into my life, and it took me years to warm up to her. I am still uncomfortable with her show of affection. Then I met you. It was an assignment, but from the very start, I felt something.

I had to sleep with you. I was jeopardizing my job, but for the first time in my life there was this explosion inside my chest. I tried to deny it at first, told myself that I should stop…,” her fingers curled into his chest. “But I couldn’t. I am fifty-two and for the first time in my life, I am in love. God! Talk about scary.”

His hands trembled as he used them to frame her face. “Let’s be scared together.” He drew her up and captured her mouth in a smoldering kiss.

*****

---