“Give me a second.” He left the bed and disappeared into their closet. “When you’re ready to tell me that you love me and want me to stay, wear this,” he said, emerging with her ring sparkling in his hands. Opening the jewelry box on her dresser, he placed it inside. “The ball’s in your court, sweetheart.”
She held out her arms to him. “Thank you.”
He gently covered her mouth with his own, pulling her to him. She heard the iPad crash to the floor as she rolled under him. His hands fisted in her hair. She clutched at his broad shoulders. Helping him take off shirt, she couldn’t stop kissing him. His chest. His throat. His ears. Which she had to nibble on, because it made him groan and grow harder between her thighs.
“You are an enchantress,” he whispered.
“And you are my fantasy,” she sighed.
He stripped away her pajamas and threw them across the room. Skin on skin met and slid together. His muscled, lean body meeting hers as they took turns being on top, under and finally, Christian laying on his side behind her, his arms around her body and holding her close as he filled her with deep-seated thrusts. “Widen your thighs, love.”
She draped a leg over his and he pressed deeper. She tried bearing back against him but it was of no use, he refused to go any faster.
“Give me more,” she cried out.
He pressed open-mouth kisses along her neck and cupped her br**sts. “I want to take my time loving you.”
“You have me forever.” The words were straight from her heart.
“It’s not long enough,” he said, his hips tilting up and making her moan.
She loved the feel of his thighs against her, the way the muscles of his arms bunched under her cheek when he moved. His scent stole over her, arousing her further, but no matter how much she wiggled against him he wouldn’t increase the steady rhythm he’d set.
One of his hands trailed down to the juncture between her thighs, his fingers parting and finding where she throbbed the most with ease. “Give me your hand,” he murmured. She did and he laced her fingers with his. “This is what you should do when I can’t be with you.” He took her fingers and used them to brush at her damp folds.
“Oh my God…that feels so…” Her words escaped in a rush of air.
“You’re blushing, aren’t you?”
“Maybe a little.” It wasn’t as though she’d never done this before, but him watching and stroking along with her, made her entire body come alive. “Is that something you like for a woman to do?”
“No, it’s what you do, so I like it.” He pressed their fingers firmly against her, and she trembled. “I like, no, love that, too. I love your sweet moans, the way your eyes darken when you find your release and the decadent curves of your body.”
“Maybe you should be the writer,” she laughed, then moaned again when he began to thrust faster.
“I’m content being your lover,” he said, his voice sinfully wicked. He quit flexing his hips, holding himself completely still inside of her.
“Why’d you stop?” Frustrated once more, she tried to take matters into her own hands and switch their positions, but his arms tightened around her like bands of steel.
“Because I want your complete attention. With you trapped, you can’t run away from me.” His lips brush the base of her neck and the back of her head. “Why me, love? Why did you choose to be with me?”
“It was your kiss. The one at New Year’s. I’d never been kissed like that in my life. And it was like the Fourth of July. Like seeing the ocean for the first time. Like the first submersion in hot bath water. All of that rolled into one kiss.” Despite being firmly impaled by his arousal, she felt a certain bitter-sweetness steal over her. “The second time, when we danced, it was like we fit together so perfectly. I couldn’t deny my feelings. Which at the time I thought were borderline crazy. Who falls in love at first sight, anyway?”
He brushed the side of her face with his fingers, turning her to face him. “Me.” His smile was tender, the look in his eyes adoring before he closed them and pressed his lips, feathery light, over hers. “You were my dream come true. An angel sent to me. Completely mine and mine alone. I remember every touch, every sigh, the feel of your soft hands as they clutched at my arms. The way your back arched when I first thrust into you. Your perfect br**sts and delectable ni**les. Jesus, Zoe, you brought me to my knees that night. I worshiped you. You were my personal goddess. Every woman has been weighed and measured against you. They all fell short. Again and Again.” He searched her face, his expression intense. “And now…”
“Now what?” she asked in a whisper. She didn’t trust herself to speak any louder.
“I love you. In whatever disguise you come to me, I love you. Whatever name you choose, I love you,” he repeated and his erotic assault began anew.
He flexed his hips faster and she buried her face in his arm. His movements were almost to the point of pounding inside of her. Her body tightened and strained for the climax just out of her reach.
“Now come for me, Zoe,” he said. “Show me with your body how much you love me, even if you can’t say the words.”
She did. Again and again.
***
After showing the contractor around the second floor of her house, Zoe headed out to the small balcony at the back. Feeling rather like Juliet, she leaned over the side and stared at her husband. His golden hair gleamed in the sun and his smile lit up the cloudless day.
“Romeo, Romeo,” she whispered.
Her Romeo worked alongside a landscaping crew as they expanded flowerbeds and added her favorite ornamental trees. He stopped long enough to have a few words with the contractor before the man left for the day.
Christian turned and shielded his eyes from the sun. He grinned at her, broke off a large snowball of a blossom and bounded toward her. “My Juliet. I would deny my father and be your sworn love,” he shouted and tossed the purple flower up in the air.
Catching it, she lifted the soft petals to her nose and breathed deeply. “Then I’m no longer a Capulet. I am,” she paused and stared down into his blue eyes. “Yours.”
He disappeared and she heard the screen door slam, his feet upon her stairs and she laughed with joy. She ran to meet him, colliding in the hall and they fell to the floor in a tangle of arms and clothes. And laughter.
“Happy to see your husband?”