Page 50 of Sweet Heat at Bayside
“I adore you,” he said passionately as his mouth covered hers in a greedy kiss, and then he spent a good, long time loving the rest of her.
They lay together afterward, Serena’s fingers trailing lightly over his skin as she nuzzled closer and whispered, “I have to pee.”
He chuckled. “You’re so romantic.” He kissed her forehead, then patted her butt and said, “Go.”
He laced his fingers behind his head, watching her full hips sway as she padded across the floor. She’d never seemed the least bit self-conscious about her body. Most women tried to cover up their bodies, but Serena was comfortable in her own skin. He loved that about her. A whisper of a voice in his head wondered if she’d been like that with all the guys she’d been with. He glanced at the card she’d given him on his nightstand, and he knew the answer didn’t matter. Her heart had always belonged to him, just like his had to her.
She came out of the bathroom with a playful expression on her face and grabbed one of his T-shirts from the stack of clean laundry on the chair in the corner. “Mine.”
He laughed as he stepped from the bed. “I sure am.”
He helped her put on his shirt, which covered far too much of her. Then he gathered her in his arms and kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m glad you’re here, Supergirl. Not just for the incredible sex, but I think now I know why I’ve never brought a woman here.”
“You never…? Not once?”
“Not once.”
She pressed her lips to his chest. “Because you knew it would break my heart to see them leave in the morning?”
“I never got that far in my thinking. You and I picked out this bed, and you know I always hoped that one day we’d finally get our timing right. It would have felt wrong to bring you into my bed after someone else had been there.”
The appreciation in her eyes made the pit of his stomach go all squirrely.
“You just earned major bonus points.”
“Good, because I definitely want to collect on them later. I’ll be right back.” He went to use the bathroom and was pleased to discover the scent of her perfume lingering in the air. He loved that.
After washing up, he returned to an empty bedroom and spotted Serena standing out on the balcony. She was leaning on the railing, arms folded in front of her as she gazed out at the bay. The breeze lifted her hair from her shoulder, pressing the soft cotton of his shirt to her curves. Her left knee was bent, her toes perched just behind her right foot. She looked sexy and innocent, and she was finallyhis. Drake couldn’t resist snagging his phone from his shorts pocket and snapping a picture.My girl.
He grabbed a pair of boxer briefs from the pile on the chair and stepped into them. Then he went to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind.
“What’s going on in your beautiful mind?” He kissed her neck, and she closed her eyes, relaxing against his chest.
“You. Me. The Cape. Our friends. My new job.”
“And here I thought I’d worn you out too much to think.”
She turned in his arms. Her hands slid down his back, and she smiled up at him. “You did, but now that it’s over, all that happiness helps me see things more clearly.”
“And what do you see?”
“How lucky I am to have grown up where I did, with a mother who wasn’t always around.”
Every time he thought about her childhood, his blood came to a slow boil. She didn’t see much of her mother, just a quick visit a few times a year. He knew perfectly well it was because her mother was still chasing men instead of taking care of herself, which upset Serena. “Why do you consider that lucky?”
“Because if I hadn’t grown up where I did, or if I’d had it easy, I might not have ever gotten where I am today, with friends who have stuck by me and showed me that life could be anything I wanted it to be. And I might not have ever found you.”
“It’s hard to argue with that sort of thinking, but I still would have liked for your life to have been easier.”
“Easy is for wimps.” She wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him. “I’m Supergirl, remember?”
She was the bravest, strongest woman he knew. “That’s not something I’ll ever forget.”
“Can we bring blankets out here and sleep on the lounger beneath the stars? I miss being outside like this.”
“How about we bring the mattress out?”
She bounced on her toes. “Really? You don’t mind?”
