“I almost bought some sexy lingerie for tonight.”
“This works just fine for me,” he said of the matching dark purple silk bra and panties. She loved the way they felt on her skin.
“I figured it would be. And we looked so good with your black and purple tie. As if we planned it when we didn’t,” she said.
“Like it was meant?” he asked as she reached for the tie in question and loosened, then removed it. Her hands made quick work of his suit jacket, shirt and pants until they were both standing there in their underwear.
“I’m starting to think that maybe it is. Is it a problem I think that way?”
“Not at all,” he said, picking her up and bringing her to the bed, laying her down and making her feel like they were in their own honeymoon fantasy.
He slowly removed her bra and panties, lowered his own underwear and then grabbed a condom. He set it next to the pillow and got under the covers with her.
“I think we need to take it slow tonight,” she said, her arms opening to bring him in. He covered her body with his, heat against heat, grinding and pushing, mouths seeking.
“I’m all for that,” he said. His hand threaded through her hair, holding her head in place while he assaulted her mouth.
“I love the way you kiss. It’s like your mouth touches on all my erogenous zones.”
“Is that possible?” he asked.
“Possible or not, it’s happening.” Her body was heating up, her legs spreading. She didn’t want to wait for the condom and didn’t know why they were at this point.
The chances of a pregnancy were slim to none.
They loved each other.
And if something happened, she didn’t care anymore. She saw a future with Seth anyway.
His body started to move, as if he got the silent invitation. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” she said. “If you are, I am. I’m one hundred percent committed.”
And she realized that maybe that was the one thing holding her back. Fear of him not wanting to be tangled in her mess. Fear that he’d struggle to balance his daughter and her.
All that fear was gone suddenly as if someone snapped their fingers. Only she wasn’t sure when it happened.
He slid inside of her, telling her that he felt the same. They were all in. Through thick and thin. Drama and messes.
None of that mattered when the two of them were together.
His hips started to move in and out, the width of him stretching her and feeling so lovely. So right.
It’d never be enough. She knew that now.
She bent her knees, opening up more for him, her hips moving with his in a beat to a song it seemed that only the two of them had in their heads.
Her body felt like a deadline looming with a task to be accomplished fast. That task was feeling an explosion of love and sharing it with the man in the bed with her.
He often wanted her to watch him while she came, but this time it was she who wanted it.
She brought her hands up, lifted his head to look at her and smiled.
He got what she wanted without saying the words.
Their eyes were locked, their hips moving, their bodies building.
The urge to shut her eyes when she started to pulse and squeeze him was massive, but she fought back and held on. She was glad she did when she felt Seth coming in her, saw his eyes go dark, the smile drop from his face, but not the tenderness in his expression.
“I didn’t know how possible it was to love someone so much again,” he said.
And that was enough for her. The future would come when it came and they’d find a way to work anything out because there couldn’t have been a better night than this.
36
Why Her
The lovely night they shared two weeks ago at The Retreat was a thing of the past when Ava’s phone rang while she was with a client. She looked down quickly. She wasn’t on call, but no one ever called her during the day either.
She saw it was Griffin but couldn’t answer right yet. He never called unless he had something important.
She pushed it from her mind though and finished with her patient. A first-time mother and Ava was doing her best to alleviate any concerns or worries. Excitement was always there, but fear and worry could build when women realized the reality of the life growing inside of them.
The minute she was done, she went to her office and listened to Griffin’s message to call him when she had a minute. She really didn’t but was making it.
“Did you find out who it was?” she asked when he answered right away.
“I’m not sure. Maybe,” he said. “When can you come in to talk?”
“It’s that bad you can’t say it over the phone?” she said.
“We don’t have a name, but we’ve got a face on camera.”
“What?” she said. “How?”
“Part of why it’s easier to explain in person, not while you are working.”
“Right,” she said. “Damn it.” She looked at her watch. “I’ll be out of here at five. I’m sure Seth will want to be with me and will have to make arrangements for Adele.”
Griffin laughed. “Bring her here and Eli can babysit again. He was bummed he didn’t get to show her everything. He hasn’t shut up about it.”
“I can’t do that to Eli,” she said. “What if he’s busy?”
“He’s not. He’s standing right here laughing.” She heard Eli shout to bring Adele in the background.
“Let me reach out to Seth and I’ll text you to verify. I’m not sure if I can focus on my job now knowing that you got the person.”
“We don’t know yet. I’ll explain it all when you get here.”
The next several hours seemed to drag like the last day of school before Christmas break as a kid. She
