Page 54 of Sweet Passions at Bayside
She went up on her toes, and he tore his mouth away long enough to tug her skirt down over her boots. His mouth crashed against hers as she wrestled with the button on his shorts and made quick work of pushing them down. They got stuck on his boots, and he hopped and cursed as he tugged his boots and pants off. He tried to pull off her boots, but they were stuck, filled with water, and every tug brought more laughter. He finally gave up, standing naked before her. Adonis, personified. Only better, because he was hers. Her heart tumbled at the deeper emotions he’d unearthed. She felt out of breath and like she could breathe forever at the same time.
His gaze swept down her body as his arms circled her again. “Good heavens, Emery. You are perfect.”
She wound her arms around his neck and said, “We both know I’m nowhere near perfect, but I’myours.” The words came so easily, so honestly, she had no doubts.
He stilled for only a few seconds before lifting her into his arms, but in that brief moment, she knew everything had changed.
“You are mine, and I am yours,” he said. “I haven’t even been intimate with a woman since I met you.”
Her heart took another unexpected hit, and the truth tumbled out. “I haven’t been with anyone either. Dean, I realized that I didn’t just want to stop dating friends. I stopped dating because I wanted to spend the evenings with you, even if long-distance.” She could practically see the gears in his mind churning, and she knew she’d thrown him for a loop with her confession.
“And your old boss? He wanted more than you could give?”
She nodded. “I guess I wasn’t ready to admit it, but I only wanted you.” As she lowered her mouth to his, she whispered, “Now make love to me like you mean it before I go out of my mind.”
“You,” he said sweetly, “aremyperfect.”
Chapter Sixteen
THE LINE BETWEEN real life and fantasy blurred in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, when, after Dean and Emery’s frantic and fantastic shower lovefest, they’d landed in his bed, where he’d loved her properly.And then not so properly, he thought with a grin. Emery was a sweet tigress between the sheets. She liked control as much as he did, which led to the hottest sex of Dean’s life. He lay beside her now, only a couple hours after they’d fallen asleep, with his heart full, overwhelmed by the desperate need to make love to her again, slowly and sensually. Hot sex was amazing, but he wanted her to feel his love for her more deeply, to understand that what they had went deeper than anything he’d experienced before—and deeper than anything she had, either.
She lay on her stomach, the sheets strewn across one leg. He scooted lower, trailing his fingers lightly along the back of her legs, and followed them with kisses. His heart ached as reality slowly filtered in. Today was Wednesday. Emery was moving out. He’d waited so long to be with her, and he didn’t know how he would survive waking up without her in his arms.
Struggling to push past that ache, he pressed his lips to the soft skin behind her knee, vowing not to let reality ruin the last few hours they had together under one roof. He kissed his way up the back of her thigh. She made a sweet sound and turned over onto her back.
“Good morning, beautiful.” He sealed his mouth over hers.
She went up on her elbows. “Wow,” came out breathy and sexy. “Your mouth is the best alarm clock ever.”
He gave her all he had, loving her with his whole heart.
Afterwards, he embraced her sated body, and lowered his mouth to hers. She kissed him eagerly, igniting even more heat. Gone was his ability to slow down and love her carefully. Would he ever be able to? She was the soil to his seed, the sun to his bud. She was the other half he’d never known he was looking for.
He drew back quickly, catching her glassy eyes. A spear of pain ravaged his heart.
“I’m sorry, doll. Are you okay?”
She nodded and closed her eyes for a second, and when they fluttered open, so full of emotions, the ache in his heart dissipated. “You’remyperfect, too.”
AFTER THEIR BREATHING calmed and they came back down from the clouds, Dean stepped from the bed, bringing a groggy, sated Emery up beside him. She groaned, going boneless against him. He’d made love to her with the love of a thousand Cupids and the grace of a prisoner just freed from jail. It wasn’t slow or careful, but it was wonderfully, perfectlythem.
“A quick shower, and then we’ll watch the sunrise. Example outing number three.” That got her attention.
She peered around him, squinting in the direction of the nightstand. “Is that…?” She leaned forward and peered into the half-open drawer. “My necklace?”
He reached into the drawer and withdrew her leather necklace with the two little charms. “I found it on the couch right after you moved in.”
“And you kept it,” she said with a playful smile.
“I should have asked, but yes. It makes me feel closer to you.”
“Hm. I wonder if that’s what serial killers say when they keep a lock of their victim’s hair.”
He clenched his jaw even though she said it teasingly. “You make me sound creepy. Here.” He set the necklace in her hand, and she closed her fingers around it.
“Do you know what the charms mean?”
He shook his head.
