Page 82 of The Wedding Deal
“I didn’t get to the rest of my promise.”
“Well, get to it already,” she teased, pinching his side.
He clucked his tongue at her. “Patience.”
“We’ve established I don’t have any of that.”
He grinned, his thumb swiping across her lip again. “I love that about you. Love everything about you. Which is why I promise that you’ll always come first. And if I’m not putting you first, you have my permission to smack some sense into me.”
“I’ve been doing that without your permission, so I think I can handle that.” She leaned closer and dragged her nose across his cheek. “I appreciate it, though.” She kissed the scruff she’d missed, enjoying the scrape against her sensitive skin.
“Now…” She skated her hands down his chest to the center of his stomach to the bulge in his pants.
A ragged groan ripped out of him as she squeezed over the fabric.
“Your groveling debt has been paid in full. Groping time is on.”
His low laugh echoed through her, and then his hands were on her ass. He hauled her against him so that her core lined up with his erection, and he ground against her as his mouth descended on hers.
He boosted her into his arms and walked them toward where she assumed his bedroom was.
Sure enough, a king-sized bed greeted them.
“Oh, before this goes any further,” she said, “I should probably get my laptop and update our love contract.” His face dropped, and she laughed. “Only kidding.”
He tossed her on the bed and crawled over her. “I’m going to make you pay for that.” He parted her lips with his tongue, sliding it inside her mouth and stroking her into a frenzy.
While they’d had a lot of great sex, this time was different. Deeper, more meaningful, their bodies so perfectly in sync. He whisperedI love yous as he painted kisses across her skin and imprinted himself into every nook and cranny of her heart.
At one point, she’d cursed the day Lance Quaid had walked into her life and made such a mess. But as they lay in bed cuddling afterward, she realized that in a lot of ways, he’d put her back together.
Epilogue
If Charlotte didn’t stop chewing on her nails, she wouldn’t have any left. She wasn’t even a nail bitter, but apparently the first game of the season—which would be starting in about seven minutes—had turned her into one. The preseason games had gone…okay. The dynamic of the new and old players with the new coaching staff took a lot of adjustments, and they were getting there, but they’d still had a few things to work on.
This was the first game that counted, and she told herself that it wasn’t the end of the world if they lost.
She didn’t voice that opinion aloud, though, because for all of Lance’s replies about being “fine,” she’d never seen him so high-strung.
She walked over to where he was sitting in the owner’s box and put her hand on his shoulder. He started, almost as if she’d yanked him out of another world, and then lifted his hand to cover hers. “I’m fine,” he said.
“I know. Just like I’m fine. In that way that I’m gonna puke and my heart is alternating between pounding too fast and forgetting how to beat.”
He slid his fingers up to circle her wrist and tugged her around so she was sitting on his lap. There was a good chance cameras would flash on them, and the old her might’ve thought it too improper, but the current her needed to be in his arms and as close to him as possible.
The door swung open, and Maribelle and Chuck stepped inside.
“Charlotte!” Maribelle rushed toward her, and she stood and opened her arms for the hug coming her way. Lance’s mom clung on like she never meant to let go, and it warmed Charlotte from the inside out. Enough to chase a bit of her nervousness away. “I’m so, so happy to see you.”
“Right back at you,” Charlotte said. They’d talked on the phone here and there over the past several months, but they hadn’t seen each other since the wedding.
Charlotte hugged Chuck, and Maribelle turned to Lance and gave him a big squeeze before patting his cheek and telling him to relax.
He told her he was fine.
“Fine. Sure. Thank goodness you have Charlotte.” Maribelle took her hand. “You’ve got a real keeper here, and you nearly gave me a heart attack when I found out you’d lost her. I thought I was going to have to fly down and knock some sense into you.”
“That was months ago, Mom.”
