Page 199 of Between Hate and Desire

Gently, I brush my fingers across the soft skin of her neck, reaching behind her and unzipping the dress that fits her like a glove. It falls to the ground, and my eyes light up when I notice the lacy lingerie she wore for me. It’s a nice surprise, and I’m ready to rip every thread from her body, but instead, I appreciate and study her as she stands confidently waiting for me.

“I love it when you look at me like that,” she whispers, her breasts rising and falling.

“Like what?”

“Like I’m the only thing in the world worth looking at.”

“Because you are.”

Hooking my fingers in her panties, I move them to the side, and discover she’s already wet and ready for me.

“I can’t wait any longer…” She releases a small moan when I sink a finger inside. “I need you now.”

When she looks at me with so much want in her eyes as she is right now, it makes my knees weak. I lead her to the bedroom where she undresses me, taking her time undoing each button, then lightly brushes her fingertips across my stomach. Her touch drives me absolutely in-fucking-sane.

Once I’m naked, I tease her as I remove her bra and panties, touching the softness of her breasts and skin. After she lies down, I kiss up her stomach, sucking and flicking my tongue against the taut peak of her nipple, then not allowing the other to go untouched.

Lennon runs her fingers through my hair, tugging and writhing underneath me, waiting for me to enter as I tease her opening.

“Please,” she begs, and I can’t hold out any longer. Parting her legs and pressing her heels against my ass, she forces me inside her, and the emotions that swarm through me are so intense, I nearly see stars. We take it slow, making love, enjoying each other, completely encapsulated in the moment, in the breathlessness, in the kisses.

We’re one, moving together in rhythm, and I never want this to end as she moans out my name and scratches her nails down my back. Pain mixed with pleasure, the exact definition of our relationship, the foundation of what our love was built on. But somehow, we made it together, not the same people we were when we met, different and now stronger. We’re two beautifully broken people who use the other as glue to hold it all together. There is no me without her and vice versa. What we have will last a lifetime.

I remind her how much I love her and thank her for agreeing to be my wife as we lose ourselves in the moment to never be found. The orgasms shake through us, and as we come down from our high, all we can do is smile.

After we clean up, I hold her in my arms and promise never to let her go. I kiss her forehead, then gently brush my fingers against her arm as she lies across my chest, listening to my heartbeat. It’s only ever felt like this with Lennon, as if my body and soul were created for this woman. From the moment I laid eyes on her, she unlocked something deep inside me, and I knew she was the one. I always knew as much as I tried to fight it.

All is quiet, and eventually, she speaks. “That night at the bar, when we first met, what were you really thinking?”

“That I didn’t believe in love at first sight until I met you.”

“That’s sickly sweet.” She smiles in a sleepy haze. “I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.” I hold her tighter. “You have no idea how happy you make me and that you’re mine.”

She lifts her head and kisses me. “All yours.”

EPILOGUE

LENNON

“Lennon, quick! Hurry!”Hunter shouts from the living room. I stumble in my high heel, one on my foot and the other in my hand. “Lennon!”

His urgent screaming has me scrambling, which makes me stub my toe on the dresser and mutter a slew of curse words.

Oh my God. This man. His face better be on fire.

“Are you coming?”

“Hold on!” I kick off my shoe, drop the other one, then run down the hallway to where he and Alison are waiting for me.

“Look! She rolled over!” Hunter’s on the floor next to her lying on a blanket. “She did back to belly, then belly to back! All by herself!” The way he’s gushing about her makes me beam.

“You nearly made me pee myself!” I scold, but I’m smiling because I can’t be mad at him for being so excited about Alison’s milestone. At only six months old, she’s changing so fast.

“Sorry, babe! I didn’t want you to miss it.” Hunter watches her with so much love it’s hard to even be mad about my throbbing toe. “Allie Kat, you’re a genius!”

I snort at the nickname Maddie gave her, the one I tell her to stop saying, but it caught on anyway. Hunter loves her as his own, and as soon as we’re married, we’re going to make it official so he’ll legally be her father. She’ll keep Brandon’s last name and hyphenate it with Hunter’s.Alison Kay Locke-Manning.We talk about him any chance we can, making sure she grows up knowing that she has a daddy in heaven who watches over her every day and that Hunter is her daddy here on Earth who loves her more than anything.

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