Page 86 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
She linked her arms about his waist. Before she could speak, he brushed his mouth over hers.
“When I tell you I love you, I want you to know why,” he murmured close to her ear. His rough chuckle stirred her hair. “I know it’s soon, and I don’t want you to think it’s all about the sex, although that’s pretty amazing too.”
She laughed, despite the ache in her throat and the fluttery desire his words engendered.
“I love how smart you are.” He trailed kisses along the side of her neck, while he slid his hands beneath the hem of her shirt. He pulled back long enough to strip the thin T-shirt over her head. Lowering his head, he hooked a finger under her bra strap and slid it aside. He pressed his lips to the slight groove left behind. “And that you make me laugh.”
“Emmett…” She ran her hands up his spine, shaping muscles beneath oft-washed cotton. He seduced her with soft touches and even softer words.
“I love how dedicated you are to your work, to helping people, and that you get my being a cop.” His nimble fingers made quick work of her bra clasp, and he slid the garment down her arms to fall to the floor. He curved his palms around the sides of her breasts and brushed feathery circles over her nipples with his thumbs. She gasped, and he graced her with a lazy smile. “I love how strong you are and how soft you can be.”
“You don’t have to say these things,” she breathed. Wanting pulsed under her skin, aching desire clenching her lower belly and between her thighs.
“I need to say these things.” He tangled his hands in her hair again, holding her gaze under his, dark with emotion. “Savannah, I want to take you to bed and make love to you.”
He was already making love to her, with all those sweet words of devotion. The guilt tried to take hold, but she tamped it down.
Enjoy being with him.
Amy’s words, and maybe it was foolhardy, but she was going to simply live in this moment. She touched her fingers to his lips. “I want that too.”
* * * * *
The west- and north-facing windows meant waking to darkness, but even so, hints of light touched the trees beyond the windows. Savannah closed her eyes again, relishing the warmth of Emmett’s body at her back, his thighs beneath hers, his arm curled across her chest, and a hand cupping her shoulder.
He pressed a sleepy kiss to her jaw, nose brushing her cheek. “Is it everything you thought it’d be?”
She hugged his arm to her. Was it wrong to want to wake up like this every day? To want a life with him? “What?”
“The view over the river.” The sun had been setting as he made love to her, casting golden light over their entwined bodies on new white sheets. Afterward, she’d rested her head on his shoulder, watching the last of the day disappear behind the trees in a wild glow of pink, gold, and orange.
“It’s incredible.” She rubbed her hand along his forearm. “The company’s not bad either.”
She relaxed into him, soaking in the sweet sense of rightness at being here, in his arms, in his bed, in his home.
Theirhome, if he had his way.
That idea felt right as well.
“I think I love you.” The words slipped from her lips before she was even aware of forming them.
He stilled, not even seeming to breathe.
“What?” A shaky laugh puffed over her cheek. “Youthinkyou love me?”
She fought off a sudden wave of panic. Heart pounding, she rolled and pushed him to his back. She leaned over him, her palm resting above his heart. “Em, please don’t make it weird.”
“Don’t make it weird?” He laughed for real, the sound rumbling up from his chest and vibrating under her hand. His eyes glimmered with emotion, though. “I guess it’s better than you kinda want to be my friend and fuck me.”
“You’re impossible.” She planted her other hand on the mattress by him and leveraged away.
In a swift move, he wrapped an arm around her waist, tangled a hand in her hair, and dragged her down to him. His mouth devoured hers, tongue delving between her lips, until he winced and lightened the kiss. She lifted her head, his heart a hard pulse beneath her hand. He caressed the back of her head with gentle fingers, and he stared at her, his gaze intense.
“If you think you love me, Savannah, I’ll take it.”
* * * * *
“Beck, quit vibrating.” Walker braked to make the turn onto 112. “I told you, it makes me crazy.”
