“But there was always something inside me, a voice or an ache, that wouldn’t shut up. That wouldn’t give up. You kept telling me no, but I knew that I’d have you with me again someday. I didn’t know when or how, but I knew in the deepest part of me that you’d make your way back to me.”
I swallow hard and reach out to touch just the very edge of her earlobe.
She shivers.
“Everything about you is a miracle.” I step closer. “And I want you to not only hear that but also believe it. Because it’s true. You’re my miracle, Annika.”
“Rafe?”
I just look her in the eyes.
“I’m going to need you to touch me now.”
Chapter 11
~Annika~
Is someone hammering the wall next to me? Or is that just my heart, thundering in my chest?
The way Rafe’s looking at me would make any woman melt into a puddle. His eyes, so brilliantly blue, are on fire. Intently watching me as he slowly walks closer as if he’s a big cat, stalking his prey.
And let me just say, I’m more than happy to be the prey. I’ll gladly sign up for that mission.
I volunteer as tribute.
“My knees are shaky,” I say, surprised to hear the shake in my voice.
“Let’s help you out with that.”
He scoops me into his strong arms and carries me to the bed, where he lays me on the sheets covered in rose petals.
I didn’t expect Rafe to go all out like this. He didn’t even do this when I lost my virginity to him. But it’s so incredibly sweet, and so thoughtful.
So Rafe.
“I don’t know where you bought this thing,” he says as he pushes a finger under the black strap on my shoulder and runs it up and down. “But we’re only shopping there from now on.”
I grin and reach up to brush my fingers through his damp hair. “Like that, do you?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I like it. It’s going to look fucking awesome on my floor.”
I snort, all awkwardness gone between us. And when that finger glides down my chest and brushes over the tip of my breast, I sigh.
“You were hot at nineteen,” he murmurs and gets to work unfastening the little black number I wear. “I couldn’t keep my hands off of you. I could wait for you to be ready for a moment like this.”
“I made you wait for a long time.”
“It was worth it.” He swallows hard when he uncovers my breasts, then licks his lips. “A man should have to earn this, A. And I just have to say, if you were hot then, and you were, you’re beyond my wildest dreams now.”
“Rafe—”
“It’s true.” His eyes fly to mine and glow in the light from the bathroom. “Jesus. Your body matured into a gorgeous work of art.”
“Yeah, I’m not as skinny anymore. I have hips and boobs, and—”
“Curves,” he interrupts. “They’re called curves, baby. And if you say anything bad about them, I might have to take you over my knee.”
“Well, that would be horrible.” My dry, sarcastic comment makes him chuckle as he kisses his way down my torso. “You’re just so good with your mouth.”
“I’m glad you think so. Because it’s going to be all over you.”
“That sounds like a threat.”
“Promise.” He kisses the tender flesh just above my navel, hooks his fingers into the thin straps on the poor excuse for panties I’m wearing, and guides them down my legs before tossing them on the floor. “It’s a promise. I hope you don’t have plans tonight because this will take a while.”
“And here I was hoping to run out and catch a late show.” I grin, but then sigh when Rafe parts my legs and places a kiss on my inner thigh, about six inches below the promised land.
How often did I dream of exactly this? Long for it? Even after I moved to Denver and met the jerk that became my husband, I thought of Rafe. No matter how hard I tried to block him from my mind, it was no use.
Because being with him feels right. I belong here in his arms. In his bed.
I gasp when he blows gently on my core, and when he dips his head to brush his tongue over my hard clit, I have to grab onto the sheets to anchor myself.
“Hold onto me,” he instructs. I follow his orders and plunge my fingers into his hair. When his mouth returns to me, my hands clench, hard.
My God.
My toes curl. My stomach and butt clench, making me rise off the mattress, and Rafe uses the opportunity to slip his hands under me. He cups my ass and holds me so he can feast at his leisure.
He changes rhythms, moving from quick, pulsing motions to long, leisurely licks. My body is on a roller coaster of sensation, and it just might kill me.
But what a way to go.
When he slips two fingers inside me, I come apart at the seams. I can’t see or hear. I can’t do anything except ride wave after wave of sensation.
And when my brain starts to clear, I feel Rafe move, shift his body to between my legs, and settle in over me, his elbows planted on either side of my head.
“Amazing,” he whispers.
“Yeah, it was.”
My eyes flutter open to find him smiling softly down at me. With those blue eyes tied to mine, he slips gently inside of me and stops to let me adjust—the way he always did before.
Rafe is blessed in the penis department. But it doesn’t take long for my body to loosen. When it does, he moves in long, fluid thrusts. His pubis rubs against my clit with each stroke, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I’m about to fall over the cliff into bliss again at any moment.
“Rafe.”
“Yes, baby?” He kisses the side of my mouth, then takes one hand and pins it above my head. “I’m right here.”
“Oh, God.”
With three more thrusts, I succumb to the orgasm, shivering and clenching around him. With a muttered curse, Rafe follows me over.
We’re panting and clinging to each other. It’s been so long, and yet it feels like no time has passed at all.
“That was a good start.”
His head comes up, and he stares down at me before letting out a loud laugh.
“A good start?”
“Hmm.” I stretch lazily when he rolls away. I’m about to get off the bed to go clean up when Rafe walks into the bathroom. I hear the water running. When he returns, he wipes me with a warm washcloth. “Oh, that’s nice.”
He grins, tosses the rag into the laundry basket, and then curls up next to me.
“Rafe?”
“Yes, babe.” He kisses my temple.
“I want something sweet.”
He boosts up on his elbow and brushes a strand of hair off my cheek. “What kind of something sweet?”
“Cheesecake.”
He cocks a brow. “We don’t have any cheesecake.”
“I think I saw a diner down the street. They probably have cheesecake.”
“So, we’re going out then?”
“Yes.” I jump up from the bed, feeling newly energized. Some muscles will be sore in the morning, but deliciously so. “I’m just going to slip into some clothes.”
“The more you put on, the more I have to take off later.”