I didn’t know how the trial would play out. I just knew I wasn’t looking forward to it and couldn’t wait for it all to be over.
Maybe then Lachlan would find his trust again.
While he trusted me and made that clear by confiding every part of his life to me, he’d grown more aloof with club members. In a weird way, I think many of that crowd kind of got off on it. The mysterious owner of Ardnoch Estate. Moreover, after all his years as a playboy, he’d chosen to settle down with an “outsider.” That always garnered interest. We’d been hounded by the press for a while, but it thankfully died down. I knew it would all flare again when the case went to trial. It was strange seeing my face plastered across tabloids and the internet. And at Lachlan’s wise advice, I avoided reading any commentary about our relationship.
I’d come to realize, however, I could put up with a lot of bullshit as long as I ended up right where I was. Hauling my ass out of bed, I sauntered into the bathroom, my body tightening delightfully at the sight of my boyfriend naked and glistening in the shower.
Lachlan gave me a heated look, his lips quirking at the corners.
I winked and then walked right past him to brush my teeth.
If I had time to brush my teeth before sex, I was absolutely doing that.
I could feel him watching me.
Looking into the mirror above the sink, I discovered I was right.
He’d stopped washing. Just stared at me like a starving man.
Hard to pass up that invitation.
Wiping my mouth on a hand towel, I replaced it with deliberate slowness. And then, eyes locked to his, I curled my fingers beneath the hem of my tank top and lazily drew it up off my body.
My naked breasts bounced with the movement, and Lachlan’s hot gaze dropped to stare at them.
Feeling smug at the yearning on his face, I removed my shorts and underwear with equal slowness.
“Get your arse in here,” he demanded, eyes on said ass.
“Ask nicely.” I turned to lean against the sink, letting him look his fill.
Lachlan narrowed his eyes. “My darling Robyn, will you please get that fantastic arse of yours into the shower so I can say good morning properly?”
Smiling, I pushed off the sink and sashayed over to the large shower that was open to the room, making it more of a wet room. Before I’d closed the distance between us, Lachlan reached out, grabbed me by the waist, and hauled me into his arms. I was instantly wet from the rainfall head, his body, and well … him.
“I missed you last night.” I ran my hands up his chest as he sought to touch every inch of me.
“I know.” He breathed harshly against my lips. “As soon as we can, we’re traveling somewhere far, far away where no one will bother us and we can fuck like monkeys all day, every day.”
I laughed, the sound caught in his kiss. He pressed me against the wet tiles, and his strong hand wrapped around my left thigh, opening me to him. With those deft fingers of his, he stroked me to readiness, until I was on the cusp of shattering with the tension.
My cries of approaching orgasm echoed off the walls, stuttering when his hand fell away. “No, don’t stop.” My fingernails bit into his back.
Lachlan grunted and then he was there, pushing inside me.
“Oh yes!” My head fell back against the tile at the delicious fullness of him.
“Eyes open,” he murmured.
I did as asked and kept his gaze as I held on tighter while he moved inside me with a steady, controlled rhythm that was driving me crazy.
Feeling my nails dig into his muscle again, he picked up the pace, his hips driving with more power. I needed more. I hopped into his arms, wrapping mine around his neck, and he caught me. Our lips met, and I kissed him hungrily.
His groan of need was followed by the sensation of moving, the water from the shower no longer falling over us. I broke the kiss, realizing he was walking us out of there.
“Where are you going?” I asked breathlessly.
“Bed,” he grunted.
“We’re wet,” I protested.
“Then I’ll change the sheets.”
Before I could argue further, my back was on our bed and Lachlan was braced on his knees, hands on my hips, and he was pumping into me at an angle that blew my mind.
Sometimes, Lachlan’s self-control was frustrating because he was so good at hiding his emotions from people, but in bed … oh boy, was it amazing. I came twice before he followed me into bliss.
One of my favorite things in the world was the feel of him shuddering against me. I loved caressing his back, soothing him as he lost himself to me, the sound of his climax echoing in my ears. Just remembering the noises he made as he came turned me on, sometimes at the most inappropriate times.
Bemused at the sound of his chuckling as he fell to his side on the bed, I smiled uncertainly. “What?”
“I need to shower again.”
“Worth it though, right?”
His smile died, a solemnity falling over his features. Pulling me into his arms on the now-damp bed, Lachlan brushed his mouth over mine and whispered, “You’re worth everything.”
Romantic bastard. I grinned, pleased, snuggling into him. “Don’t go to work today. Let’s just stay in bed.”
“Okay.”
I lifted my head, surprised. “Really?”
“Do you want me to?”
“I don’t want to keep you from work.”
“Do you want me to stay with you?” he pushed.
In truth, yes. We hadn’t had a full day together in weeks. “I want you to stay with me.”
“I want to stay with you too. I will always want to be where you are over anywhere else in the world. All you have to do is ask.”
“You’re very romantic this morning,” I teased.
Lachlan smiled. “Have you read the news? I’m madly in love with an American photographer.”
I shimmied with giddiness, unable to hide it whenever he said it to me. The man had the ability to turn me to jelly. It wasn’t fair. “I did read that somewhere. I also read that she’s madly in love right back.”
“Good,” he said gruffly, trailing kisses down my neck.
“So you’re taking the day off?”
He raised his head and answered, “Well, let’s see. Deal with a myriad of queries from staff and members or spend the day making love to my w—” He cut off, looking surprised.
“What is it?”
“I … I almost called you my wife.”
I grinned, unable to contain the explosive feeling that moved through me. “Really?”
Lachlan’s blue eyes turned a lighter shade of azure as he studied my reaction. “It sounds right, doesn’t it? It never sounds right calling you my girlfriend. That sounds impermanent.” He scowled. “Wife is better.”
The caveman quality to the way he grunted it made me snort. “Is that a proposal?”
Lachlan’s eyebrows rose. “Is that a yes?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been proposed to.”
“I thought you’d think it was too soon.”
Deflating quickly and miserably, I shrugged, easing away from him. “Of course.”
Refusing to accept my retreat, Lachlan rolled on top of me, straddling me as he gently held my arms down above my head. I felt a renewed flush of heat between my legs. He stared at me, amazed. “You would marry me?”