And when Luke calls, I’m even more done if that’s such a thing.
“You made Michelle pass out?” he asks.
“Is that what she told you?” I feel like he’s immediately putting me on the defensive. He didn’t ask about me or my day. He asked about her.
“Basically.”
“And you believed her?” I ask.
“Well? What happened?”
“She had to get her blood drawn. The doctor called in an extra vial of blood for the paternity test, and she passed out on vial one. We didn’t get it.”
“Babe, you can’t push her into stuff she doesn’t want to do,” he says gently.
“I didn’t,” I say thickly. “She agreed to it.”
“Yeah, under duress. She’s pregnant. You have to be more careful with her.”
“I’m fully aware that she’s pregnant,” I spit. “I’m the one currently living with her.”
“By your own choice. I told you it was a terrible idea,” he says.
“Nice time to throw that in my face. And way to let her come between us. A-freaking-gain.” I hang up. It’s childish, but I’m pissed.
I hate leaving things that way with Luke, but it is what it is. The distance is clearly getting to us. So is Michelle.
But even though I’m mad at him, I know this is worth hanging onto—at the very least, hanging onto it to make it bearable for the next year. But also for so much more than that...I hope.
Three more days.
Michelle has some friends over. They cackle loudly about how she gets to live here even though Luke is married to someone else now.
I roll my eyes at Debbie, who chuckles, but later she reminds me how she’s never seen Luke as happy as he is with me.
Two more days.
Michelle leaves a mess on the stove after making eggs and burns toast so badly she actually set off the smoke detector.
Tomorrow Luke will be home.
Oddly, Michelle spends most of her day at the office. I guess as the Aces get closer to coming back home, work for her starts to get a little busier. Lest anyone’s overly concerned, though, Michelle’s father cut her hours in half so she has time to rest. Her paycheck is apparently the same, though, not that it’s any of my business. Lucky her for being born into a rich family.
And then, after two long weeks apart, the laundry room door opens. “Honey, I’m home,” a charming, deep, and very familiar voice calls out.
I scramble from my place on the couch to get to him first, but I’m not fast enough. Pepper runs toward him, and then there’s our new roommate.
“Thank God you’re here,” Michelle says, rushing past me. “Ellie has just been so mean to me!”
Oh. My. God.
I clench my fists so tightly my nails dig into my palms as I watch her toss her arms around his neck, practically kicking Pepper on her way by. Pepper whimpers a little.
“Excuse me,” Luke says, untangling himself from her. He gently moves her aside, reaches down to scratch Pepper on the head, then walks past Michelle and over to me. He pulls me into his arms and a certain heat passes between us for a beat. His eyes crinkle as a smile lights his whole face.
And then his mouth crashes down to mine as my arms link around him, and he kisses me—really kisses me good and hard—for a full minute before he pulls away and we come up for air.
“God, I missed you,” he says, punctuating his words with smaller kisses to my mouth.
“I missed you, too,” I say, my chest tight as I kiss him back. I feel it with every fiber of my being.
This isn’t for show. This isn’t part of an act. This is two people who spent nearly every waking minute together and then were forced apart for two of the longest weeks of either of their lives. This is two people who desperately missed each other as one held a piece of the other’s heart across the miles.
We’re both whole again now that we’re back together, and neither of us cares that someone is watching. This isn’t about her. It’s about a husband and his wife and the love that has blossomed between us.
“Get your sweet little ass upstairs,” he says softly.
I know she heard, but I don’t care. I don’t care what her reaction is. Instead, I don’t even look at her as I follow his directions.
“I’ll be right up,” he says after my retreating figure.
Every part of me wants to stay and listen to what he has to say to Michelle, but I give them their moment together. He pushed past her for me, and a feeling of joy rushes through my chest.
He isn’t going to let her come between us.
CHAPTER 19
I sit waiting as patiently as humanly possible on the bed. Should I get naked? Or do I let him do it? Is he even coming up here for sex? God, I hope so.
I’m desperate to be with him again. It’s only been two weeks, but those two weeks were filled with emotional ups and downs. I don’t think I realized how attached I’d become to him until he was gone. And it’s not just that physical attachment. I feel it deep in my chest, down into my soul.
I need this time with him. I need to feel him as he pushes into me, to strengthen our bodily connection again as we continue to nurture our emotional one.
I’m giddy as I wait. I bounce up and down a little, and I shake my hands out to try to burn some of my nervous energy. The door opens. My heart races.
He kicks it shut behind him, and he locks it for good measure. He’s clutching his duffel bag, which he drops to the floor as his eyes meet mine. And then he stalks slowly across the room toward me, his eyes hot on mine the entire time.
He kicks off his shoes as he walks, and he doesn’t waste a single second. He pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor as my eyes fall to his abs. Those sweet, sweet abs I missed so damn much.
He moves between my legs, gently pushes me back, and climbs on the bed until he hovers over me. Our eyes lock for one hot beat before he lowers his mouth to mine.
His mouth opens to mine and our tongues brush as all the aching need I’ve felt since the moment he walked out the door intensifies to unbearable levels. I push my hips toward his as I seek some sort of relief, but it’ll take more than a little humping to alleviate my burning need.
My nails glide up his back, and he grunts into me as our tongues continue to batter each other’s. He deepens the kiss, somehow making it more intense and more intimate as he lowers himself down, his heat warming me all over. And then, out of nowhere, he flips us so I’m on top of him, straddling his hips. He doesn’t break our kiss when he moves us, but I do. I sit up on his lap and grind my hips over his. I feel how hard he is for me. I feel how ready he is for me, and I’m just as ready.
He groans as I continue shifting my hips over him, and then I reach for the hem of my shirt and rip it over my head. I toss it to the floor and then I unhook my bra, throwing it across the room. He runs his palms along my torso, stopping to cup my breasts. His hands are rougher than they were the last time he touched me, but just the feel of his touch on my bare skin sends me into another stratosphere.
I close my eyes and moan as I lean my head back, jutting my breasts forward automatically to give him a better angle to work with. His thumb brushes my nipples, and I whimper as the feeling sends an arrow of need through my entire core.