Page 25 of Craving You

Marry me.

She was exhausted from the day, but there was no way she could relax until they got at least some things settled.

“I want to move here,” she said. “It’s something I wanted to do even before all of this. This is just the push I need to actually do it.”

“Then we’ll start with that.”

They were quiet for a moment. “If only everything was that easy, huh?” And unable to help herself, she laughed. It wasn’t all that funny—and maybe she was just overtired from it all—but she almost couldn’t stop laughing.

Fortunately, Max was holding her close and laughing with her. Hailey could feel the tension leaving her body, and when she finally calmed down, she looked up at him and sighed happily.

“Thanks. I needed that.” That’s when she realized how close they still were. She could see the different shades of brown in his eyes, could feel his breath on her face. Now so wasn’t the time for this, but the magnetic pull she had for this man was too strong to deny. Whispering his name, she was surprised that he was already closing the small distance between them. His lips touched hers and it was like everything in her life had just righted itself.

Her arms went around him even as he gently hauled her into his lap. There was nothing rushed about the kiss; it was a slow and sweet exploration.

Thank God I brushed my teeth…

Hailey’s hands immediately went to his hair—she remembered how much he liked that. Meanwhile, his hands went to her bottom as she shifted to straddle him and flexed his fingers. Obviously, he also remembered what she liked.

They took their time, their movements languid and tender. It was better than she remembered, better than her dreams. The attraction she felt for Max wasn’t just because of the wedding. It was real.

And it was going to complicate the hell out of everything.

But right now, she didn’t care. Her life was spinning completely out of control, so she was extending herself some grace to just enjoy this time with Max before she had to face the world again. Humming softly, she pressed even closer to his hard muscles, reveling in the feel of him as he took the kiss deeper. Languid and tender ramped up to a little wild and needy. She was rubbing against him with more urgency and almost cried out in frustration when he broke the kiss.

Breathless and disheveled, he looked sexy as sin. “Damn, Hailey. That was…” He paused to collect his thoughts. “You have no idea how badly I want to lift you up and carry you over to my bed, but…” Another pause. “I don’t want to confuse things.”

Confuse things? What the…?

Reaching up, he cupped her face. “There are so many things we need to work out, and I don’t want sex to mess things up.”

“Oh.” She went to move off his lap, but he stopped her.

“Make no mistake. I want you. I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you, and I’ve been wanting you every day since you left. In any other circumstance, I would be buried deep inside of you right now.”

Swallowing hard, she nodded. “But…”

“But…I want us to get to know each other. We’re having a baby together and that’s going to put us together for the rest of our lives. It’s important for us to know more than what turns us on in bed.”

Dammit, she hated how much sense that made.

“You already know I love when you rake your hands through my hair, just like I know how much you love it when I grab your ass.” His voice was low and gruff and a damn turn-on all by itself. “But I want to know more. I want to know everything. What do you like for breakfast? What did you want to be when you grew up? What were your favorite subjects in school? Do you prefer Disney or Universal?”

Again, he knew when to lighten the conversation to keep them from getting overly serious.

“I get what you’re saying. I do. I also can’t help but be a little disappointed.”

Placing a kiss on the tip of her nose, he nodded. “Believe me, I am too. We’ll get there eventually, but for now, we need to take care of you and this baby and figure out like a million other things. Is that okay?”

Right now, she missed the reckless man she shared a sexy weekend with. This logical one was a bit of a buzzkill.

“No,” she whined, but then nodded. “It is. I just…”

He silenced her with a quick yet thorough kiss. “I know. Me too. But it’s just day one here. There’s no rush. I’m not going anywhere.”

Another nod. “Me either.”

“Okay, then.” He helped her off his lap. “How about I walk you back over to the house so you can get some sleep?”

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