Remembrance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 4) (43 page)

He sheathed himself quickly then sat on the bed with her in front of him.  She saw their two naked forms in the mirror and let out a shaky breath.

“I want us to come together.  I want you to watch us come together.” 

She looked at them in the glass, her pale skin flushed from their coupling, her nipples large and dark pink.  His olive colored skin was so dark behind her, his hands now appearing on her waist as he leaned around her to kiss her rib and look at their reflection.

“Open your legs for me.”  She did and he had her move back so she was straddling his knees.  “Move back more.”  She did and he wrapped his arm around her waist and eased her down onto his erection.

They both let out sighs of satisfaction, not only from the union of their bodies but from watching it take place in the mirror.

He kept one hand around her waist and reached the other up to her breast.  She loved seeing his darker skin against hers.  He nuzzled his face into the back of her hair then moved to kiss her temple.  She used her thigh muscles and pushed off of his legs to raise herself, then fell slowly back down onto him. 

They began finding their rhythm, their eyes glued to each other in the mirror.  She let her head drop back onto his shoulder and reached her arms up and back to secure her hands into his hair.

“Janie,” he murmured into her neck.  “
Mi tesoro, mi corazón.
”

“Translation,” she gasped as he pushed himself deeply inside her, pulling her down onto him again and again.  She knew the second word, not the first.

“My treasure,” he whispered, nuzzling her temple.  “My heart,”

“Luke,” she said, her eyes misting.  Again, she knew his love words were cutesy or odd to someone outside of the Spanish culture, but
knowing he meant each word with the sound of them so beautiful coming off of his tongue, made her feel wonderful.  She seriously wanted to cry at the reality that was becoming her life.  She was with Luke.  He wanted her.  Only her.  He didn’t want to share her.  She’d never in her life been this happy.  “Mi corazón,” she repeated back to him.  “You are.  You’re my heart, Luke,” she said, moving faster in his lap, his hand leaving her breast and now cupping her face so he could turn her face to kiss her lips.

“This is what I wanted to do to you in the dressing room,” he breathed into her mouth as his tongue stroked hers.  “I wanted you to see what you did to me.  What you
do
to me.”  He groaned.  “Hold on, Janie.  Hold on.”

She hadn’t had time to register his words before he began thrusting up into her, forcing a gasp from her lips.  He was deep and felt huge in this position, but oh, he felt so good.  The pace picked up as she worked her leg muscles to keep up with him.  His growl behind her spurred her on and she whimpered as she felt the euphoric build between her legs.  The hand around her waist moved to that spot and massaged where they were connected, causing her to buck even more on his lap, racing to that finish line.  Her vision lost focus, but not before she saw them in the mirror, and it was that image that took her to the ultimate culmination, shattering her.

She gripped his hair and let out a high pitched keening sound, climaxing.  Whatever control he’d had disappeared.  With five more hard thrusts, he yelled and reached his own peak.  Her inner muscles pulsed around him while she tried to catch her breath.  Her hands fell from his hair behind her and forward to his knees as she began to collapse in exhaustion.

He caught her and rolled them back onto the bed so they were on their sides.  There they lay, breathing heavily, his face in the back of her neck and his arms wrapped tightly around her.  She didn’t want to move from that position.  She was floating in a dreamlike state and didn’t want it to end.

Minutes passed until she finally felt his hand squeeze her waist.  “I need to get rid of the condom,” he murmured.  “Doctor’s appointment.  Definitely tomorrow.”

She smiled sleepily.  “Definitely.” 

He pulled out slowly and went to the bathroom and her eyes drifted shut.  When she felt the bed move again, she turned into him.  He arranged the blankets so they were under them then cuddled her to him.  She snuggled some more and sighed contentedly.

“What are you thinking?” he murmured into her hair, his hand lazily stroking her back.

“You love asking me that question,” she mumbled into his neck, smiling.

“That’s because I love hearing what’s on your mind.”

She squeezed him, touched by his words.  “That was really sweet.”  She looked up at him and he kissed her nose.  She settled back to where she was nuzzling his neck.  “I’m thinking that I can’t remember if I’ve ever been this happy before.”  She swallowed her emotion down.  “And I still can’t believe you wanted me all this time.  I’m a little in shock over that, I guess.”

He pulled her more tightly to him.  “Don’t be.”  His voice got serious.  “Baby,” he said, waiting for her to look at him.  She rested her chin on his shoulder and met his eyes.  “Everything is different now.”  He smiled so beautifully at her.  “Perfectly different,” he chuckled, kissing her lips.  “It’s the way it’s supposed to be.”  

She grabbed his face and kissed him back.  Then she blurted out, “I love you.” 

He gave her a look, then smiled sweetly at her, kissing her back.  He murmured into her mouth, “I love you
, too.”

He said it too nonchalantly for him to have understood the gravity of what she’d just said to him.  Like when friends hug each other goodbye after a night at the movies and say, “Love ya!”

She looked at him pointedly.  He looked at her pointedly.  Then he smiled like someone who knew a secret.  “What?” he asked.  “You change your mind?  I hear it’s a woman’s prerogative, but I’ll just have to change it back again.”

She shook her head, “No.  Did you hear me?  I said I
love
you.”

His smile turned into a grin.  “I
did
hear you,” he said in a husky voice, “but if you want to keep telling me, I’ll gladly keep listening.”

She frowned at him.  He mimicked her frown but she could tell he was teasing her.  “I don’t understand,” she stuttered.  “I don’t think you understand.”

He cupped her face, still smirking.  “I understand perfectly.  You love me.  And I love you.”

She blinked then swallowed and her breathing accelerated a bit, her ears now hearing a rush of water from somewhere.  It wasn’t possible that he understood her meaning, was it?

“Breathe, baby.”

“Luke,” she tried again, this time grabbing his face and feeling hyperventilation about to hit her.  “I’m
in
love with you,” she said emphatically, sounding angry.  She needed him to understand what she was saying.

“Mmm, I like it when you get forceful with me,
dulzura
,” he said back.  “Let’s try this again.”  Then he gave her a playfully stern look and said, “Janie, I’m in love with
you
.”  He looked like it was the most matter of fact, natural conversation two people could be having after their first night together.  Then, out of nowhere, he threw out, “I’m going to marry you.” 

A beat of silence passed before she shot up and screeched, “
What?!
”

He lay there and linked his hands behind his head while he smiled up at her innocently.  She sat there on the bed staring down at him, her mouth opening and closing like an idiot.

His eyebrow went up as if to say,
What’s the problem?

She sputtered, looked around the room, then back at him, then around the room again, then before she could stop herself, she burst into tears.

He sat up immediately and wrapped his arms around her, burying her face in his neck while he rocked her.  “Too soon?” he asked dryly but with a smile in his voice.  “This doesn’t look very promising to me, unless those are happy tears.”

She let out another wail, sobbing and holding him tightly, saying his name over and over.

“I’ve loved you forever, Janie,” he finally said, stroking her hair, her back, rocking her.  “It’s taken on different forms over the years, but I know you’re the only one for me.  I’ve known it for a while and fought against it for too long, but I’m not fighting it anymore.  I love you, pure and simple.  You’re my home.”

That started another bout of crying until it subsided and she began kissing his face, murmuring his name and telling him she loved him.  When she finally got control of herself, he smiled an amused smile, took deep breaths with her then they lay back down where they held each other quietly.

Eventually, Luke asked softly, “So.  You would say yes if I asked?”

Holy shit.
  She held her breath then let it out slowly.  Her confident, fearless Luke Daniels sounded a little nervous.  She smiled and murmured into his neck, “Luke, I would say yes to you a million times over.  Again and again.”

She couldn’t believe this was happening.

He seemed to let out a sound of relief and relaxed next to her.  He pulled her even closer.

“Are you,” she paused.  “Are you asking?”

It was his turn to smile which then turned into a laugh.  He whispered into her temple.  “So forward,” he tsked.  “Just like when you were eight.” 

She stuck a finger in his rib to tickle him.  He yelped and grabbed her hand, laughing.

“Patience,” he said.  “Didn’t you just remind me that the more patient you are, the more pleasurable it will be after you’ve waited?”

She looked up at him to give him a dry look.

He kissed her nose.  Then her mouth.  Then her neck.  “
Te adoro
, Janie Callahan.”

She melted.  She understood his words.  ‘I adore you’, he’d said.  “Te adoro, Luke Daniels.”

“I’m going to like teaching you more Spanish.”

“My vocabulary lesson earlier was by far my favorite of all of your lessons.  Although the salsa one was up near the top, too.”

“I like dancing with you,” he nibbled on her lips.  “
Me gusta sentir tus curvas en mis manos y pegarte a mi cuerpo
.”

“
Translation, please.”

“Figure it out.”  His eyes were twinkling while his hands skimmed over her curves and he pressed himself into her.

“You like feeling my curves in your hands and on your body?” she guessed.  She’d recognized a few of the words.

“Nicely done,” he praised her with a smile, then kissed her.

“Well you certainly felt them that night,” she said pointedly.  “Talk about needing a fire extinguisher.”

He chuckled.  “Were you a little hot and bothered?” he teased.

“Did you realize how much you kept touching my butt and boobs that night?”

He looked at her with a lazy smile.

“Bastard,” she said lightly. 

He laughed, “I was just making sure I stayed at the forefront of your mind.  When you said you were go
ing to dance with Mo, I almost kidnapped you.”

She smiled.  “He did have some pretty nice moves out there.”

His smile turned predatory.  “Don’t fucking tease me, Janie.  You won’t like the consequences.”

“Hm,” she said, running her hands up his back.  “I disagree.  I think I’ll love the consequences.  And for the record, if you had used some of your earlier incentives when you tutored me in high school, I may have been a better student.”

“I’m going to like exploring your dirty side, baby girl,” he licked at his lips.  “And I’m sleeping over, by the way.”

She glowed, beamed.  Then she rolled her eyes.  “If you must.”

He shut her up and kissed her slowly.  “I must.  I told you there isn’t anything I would rather do than spend the night being tortured by your sparkle.  I want to bottle it up and take it with me everywhere I go.” 

She sank into his kiss.  They settled in to hold each other, touching and whispering in the quietness of the loft.

Then she asked the next question that had been on her mind.

“So,” she paused significantly.  “How did your meeting go with Mr. Weston?”

Luke made an annoyed growling sound.   “He’ll call you again, I’m sure.”

“Did he say something about me in the meeting?” she asked surprised. 

He took a second, then said in a droll tone, “Before he left he asked me if I would be pursuing you.”

“Did you tell him I wasn’t interested in men?” She smiled, biting her lip.  “Because I hear calling into question one’s sexual orientation is a good strategy for dissuading potential suitors.”

He tickled her for a second until they were both laughing.  “I should’ve thought of that, but that probably would’ve given him an even bigger hard on for you,” he said wryly after they’d settled down.

“How did you respond to him?”

“I told him it was none of his fuckin
g business if I was pursuing you or not, and that you were unavailable regardless.”

“Did you?”  She smiled and looked coyly at him.  She waited.  “And?”

He flipped them so she was on her back.  “And I’m sure he’s going to try to call you again,” he repeated.  “So, let’s rehearse what you’re going to say to him when he does.”