A sheepish grin tugged at his lips. “I may have bought a few different sizes, just to be safe.”
I shook my head, blinking back happy tears. Only Ethan would think to buy several engagement rings.
“You’re crazy,” I told him fondly.
“Crazy for you,” he said, and kissed me again. His hands roamed my body, giving my ass a firm squeeze. I squealed and playfully pushed him away. “Stop! Jess will be back any moment!”
Ethan grinned mischievously. “No one’s coming back, Chloe. We’re alone.”
Chapter Eighteen
Chloe
“Wait, so all of them were in cahoots with you from the start?” I exclaimed.
Before I could get another word out, Ethan’s lips crushed against mine in a searing kiss, as his strong hands grabbed my ass and effortlessly lifted me off the ground.
As if driven by an insatiable hunger, he carried me through the air, our lips locked together and tongues dancing, and placed me on a nearby table without breaking the connection for even a second. My fingers buried themselves in his thick, dark hair, tugging at the roots while memories of our last encounter flooded my mind. It felt like forever since we’d been this close. A whole month without him—how did I survive it?
“A whole month, Chloe,” he growled into my ear as if reading my thoughts, his voice raspy and filled with desire. “A whole fucking month without you.” His lips moved down to my neck, tracing a path along my clavicle while his hands roamed my body frantically, as if they couldn’t get enough of my flesh.
Ethan’s hot breath burned my skin, igniting a fire within me that had been dormant for far too long. My hands slid under his jacket and I clutched at his shoulders and biceps, relishing the feel of solid muscle under my hands. Leaning into him, our bodies pressed against each other, our heat melding together in a desperate attempt to become one so I couldn’t tell where he ended and I began.
His strong hands gripped the collar of my blouse, ready to tear it apart. “I didn’t expect to see you today, so I didn’t pack a bunch of spare blouses,” I protested, placing my hand on his.
“Chloe,” he replied, a wicked grin spreading across his face, “I’ll buy you a new one. Hell, I’ll buy you a whole damn store.”
“Here in Pinegrove?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “In the middle of the night?”
His lips quirked up in a smile, his green eyes sparkling with amusement. “It looks like you’ll be the sensible one in our family.”
Family.
This word reverberated through me. This was it. This was real. We were a family now, in every way that mattered.
A tidal wave of passion surged within me, drowning out any remaining doubts or fears. I pulled Ethan’s face to mine, our lips crashing together with raw, desperate need.
As we kissed, my fingers found the bottom edge of my blouse and hastily tugged it off, momentarily breaking our connection to free myself from the fabric. The moment it hit the floor, Ethan’s hands were on me, exploring my newly exposed skin as if he were a blind man seeing for the first time, his touch igniting a firestorm of sensations within me.
His hands slid up to cup my breasts, kneading the flesh through my bra. A jolt of pleasure pierced me, and I arched into his touch with a gasp.
“Sorry this sports bra isn’t exactly lingerie,” I said breathlessly.
“This is you,” Ethan growled. “Exactly as you are and exactly the way I want you. I love you.”
Looking into his eyes, the depths of my love for him welled up inside me. “I love you too,” I whispered before pulling him in for another searing kiss.
My hands slid under his jacket, pushing it off his shoulders. It fell to the floor with a soft thud. Now with full and unrestricted access to his body, I explored every ridge and curve of his muscles beneath the thin silk of his shirt. I began unbuttoning it as I trailed kisses down his neck and chest, reveling in each new inch of skin. He unclasped my bra and tossed it aside, his fingers kneading and teasing my breasts. I leaned into his touch with a moan.
“So beautiful,” he murmured, his voice rough with desire. “So perfect.”
Then his hands were on me again, stroking and squeezing my flesh until I thought I might go mad with wanting him. His thumbs teased my nipples, sending sparks of ecstasy through my body.
My fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, shoving the silk fabric off his shoulders. I broke the kiss to trail my lips down his neck, reveling in the feel of hard muscle under warm skin.
When I reached the scar on his shoulder, a reminder of the bullet that had almost taken him from me, I pressed a soft kiss to the raised skin. Ethan tensed, his fingers tightening on my waist. I kissed the scar again, filled with a surge of tenderness and desire and bone-deep love for this complicated, flawed, utterly irresistible man.
He was mine, and I was his, and nothing would ever change that.