She blinked, clearly confused. “What about Holly?”
“I just got back from Elyria.”
“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Why?”
Why? My stomach dropped. Had I read this wrong? Did she not feel the same? No. No goddamn way. “Because she wasn’t you.”
Her chin began to quiver. “You love me?”
“I—”
“I love you too.” The moment she spoke, she dropped her face into her hands. Her shoulders began to shake and I crossed the distance between us, urging her into the room before easing the door closed.
Why was she crying?
“Clara, I—”
Before I could finish my sentence, she surged, throwing her arms around my shoulders. Then there was no more talking. Her lips found mine and a bolt of lightning shot through my body, fusing me to her. We were a mess of fumbling hands and wet lips.
The urgency of her mouth. The desperation of mine. She opened for me and I dove in, my tongue tangling with hers as my arms engulfed her.
Never in my life had a kiss meant so much. I gave in, surrendering to this woman’s soft lips and the slick of her tongue against mine. She clung to me as I clung to her, the softness of her body pressed into my hard lines.
This was her. This was my Clara.
And I’d kiss her every day for the rest of my life.
I scooped her up so her toes were dangling above the carpet, then I walked us to her bedroom, laying her on the bed. Covering her with my body.
Her hands came to my face, holding me to her lips, as my hands roamed down the silk of her top and shorts to the bare skin of her legs. I kneaded the flesh of her toned thighs. I drew my fingers along the back of her knee in a featherlight touch.
When she began to tremble, I forced myself to break away, going to the door and closing it quietly before flipping the lock. The sight that greeted me on the bed when I turned sent all my blood rushing to my groin.
Clara was seated on the edge of the bed. The lust in her eyes darkened them to chocolate pools. The faint light from the street outside seeped through the sheer curtains, acting like moonlight on her flawless skin.
She reached for the hem of her shirt, slowly gathering it in her hands. Then she dragged it over her head, tossing it to the floor.
My mouth went dry. Her rosy nipples were peaked and the desperation to feel them under my palms sent me flying across the room, dropping to my knees before her.
“You are beautiful. So fucking beautiful.” I slid my hands up her ribs, savoring the moan that escaped her lips. Then I found her breasts in my palms, letting them fill my hands as I raked my thumbs over her nipples.
Clara’s back arched, pressing herself further into my touch. The silk of her skin was intoxicating, and tonight, I’d touch every inch. I’d lick and worship because she was mine.
“Say it again,” I said, urging her down to the mattress. When that hair was splayed beneath her, I ran my hands down the swell of her hips, hooking my fingers into the shorts and the panties beneath. Then I pulled them from her legs, inch by torturous inch.
Her breath hitched when they landed on the floor. She lay bare and perfect, her gaze locked on mine.
I swallowed a groan. “Say it again.”
“I love you.”
“One more time.”
The corner of her mouth turned up as she pushed up on her elbows, moving backward until she reached the pillows. Then she crooked a finger, beckoning me to the bed. Did she have any idea the power she had over me?
I reached behind me to yank my T-shirt over my head. My flip-flops crashed to the carpet as Clara’s gaze dropped down my stomach to the hem of my jeans. I flipped open the button, then dragged down the zipper. I shoved the pants and my black boxer briefs over my thighs, my erection bobbing free. Then I wrapped a fist around my shaft.
Clara watched as I gave it a long stroke, her eyes glued to my cock. Her cheeks were pink, her breaths heavy. “Karson.”
I stayed at the foot of the bed.
“I don’t have a condom.” It was a fucking shame because what I wanted most was to sink inside her. To forget where I started and she began. But I’d make her come tonight, with my fingers and my tongue. “I’ve always used one. Always.”
“I, um . . . not since Devan.”
Fuck me. I didn’t like that son of a bitch’s name anywhere near a naked Clara, but knowing that she’d been without a man since was a damn rush because I’d be the last lover in her life.
“You sure?”
“I don’t want to wait.” She gave me a sheepish smile. “But I’m not on birth control.”
Fuck, but she was shredding me here. “Your call, baby.”
“I don’t want to wait.”
I crawled to her, hovering above her body. The intensity of her gaze was nearly my undoing as her hips cradled mine and my cock rested against her center.
“I want you to have my kids.” Apparently, I had no filter tonight. Confession after confession streamed out.
Her eyes flared.
“I’m not going to hold back. I’m not going to take this slow. I’ve missed too many years with you, and I am not going to waste another second. You’re mine. August is mine.”
Her hand came to my cheek as another wash of tears flooded her eyes. There was so much emotion there. Regret for the missed years. Hope for the future.
What she felt, I felt too.
“Karson . . .”
“I know.” I dropped a soft kiss to her mouth, running my tongue over the bottom swell of her parted lips. I deepened the kiss, treasuring her sweet taste and the feel of her bare chest against my own as I nudged against her center.
Clara locked her eyes with mine, her hands trailing down my spine toward my ass. Then I inched forward, catching her mewl with another kiss.
I rocked us together, deliberately, until I was rooted deep. “You feel so fucking good.”
“Move.” She hummed and locked her legs around my hips, shifting me deeper.
Ruined. I was ruined. And I relished every damn second of it.
I eased out and slid back inside her tight, wet heat. Over and over, I brought us together as her hips moved to match my rhythm. We were hushed whispers and swallowed moans. We were lost lovers making up for missed days and nights.
By the time her eyes drifted shut and her inner walls fluttered around me, the build in my lower spine was punishing. The pressure to pour myself into her was almost impossible to keep at bay.
Clara’s back arched, her entire body shuddering as she held back a cry and pulsed around me. She came so hard, so strong, that I went over with her, letting the stars break across my vision and succumbing to my release.
We panted, holding tight to each other’s sweaty bodies, until finally I eased away and rolled her atop my chest.
Our breaths mingled. Her ear was pressed against my heart.
“Wow.”
“Holy fucking shit.”
She giggled and propped her chin on my pec. “How long?”
“How long for what?”
She gave me a wicked grin. “How long until we can go again?”
I flipped her in a flash, so she was on her stomach. Then I dropped a trail of kisses over her shoulders, reaching between her legs and finding her swollen clit.
She gasped. “Already?”
“For you?” I moved up, using my free hand to pull her hair away from her face. Then I whispered in her ear. “Always.”