She seemed to think it over as I held my breath and waited. “I don’t want to. I don’t want to start over. I don’t want to divorce you. I want to keep going.”
“Okay. Then we won’t.”
“But you have to promise me, Jack. You have to promise me that you’ll never keep anything from me. I need to trust you. It doesn’t matter how much I love you, I can’t do this if I don’t trust you. You have to give me all the information and let me make the decision when it’s something that concerns me.”
“I promise you. I promise you I’ll do everything to earn your trust again.”
“Then we won’t get a divorce.” She cracked a small smile. “You think I’m beautiful.”
I smiled back. “The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“You’re a lucky man, then.”
“I’m the luckiest bastard.”
She nodded enthusiastically. “That you definitely are. There is nothing else I need to know, right? I want us to be okay, but there are no more surprises, right?”
“Have you read the divorce papers?”
Her stubborn little chin went up again. “No. I tore them up.”
My smile in place, I shook my head. “I gave the coffee shop to you. You were going to get it in the divorce. I never wanted it anyway.”
Her body stilled, her hands dropping from my face.
“Is it too late to change my mind about divorcing you?”
“I’m afraid so.”
She sighed. “Oh well. I’ll keep you, you keep the coffee shop—I think it’s a pretty good deal.”
“I’d have to agree.”
We stared into each other’s eyes. “What now?” she whispered.
“It’s Monday, so I need to cook you pasta. We have traditions.”
I got a small smile. “I do love couple traditions. That was the deal.”
“Your heart always has a home with me, Rose. No matter what, never forget that.”
“And yours will always have a home with me. Certain people are meant for each other and you were meant for me, Jack. And I was meant for you.”
“Yes, I’m yours. Only yours.”
Something changed in her eyes. “How do you feel about sex?”
My lips quirked. “In general, I approve of it.”
“But how about right now, specifically?”
Under her heavy gaze, I thought about it for a moment—for a very short moment—then leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I definitely approve of sex if and only if I’m the one who is burying himself deep inside you, Rose Hawthorne.”
When I leaned back to look into her eyes, I realized she was already flushed.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jack
“You want me to fuck you?”
“I mean it’s not a necessity, but maybe to seal every—”
My gaze shifted back to her lips and I couldn’t help myself anymore.
We crashed into each other, and the moment our lips touched, she let out a long groan and slid her arms around my neck. I grabbed her hips and pulled her forward until my painfully hard erection was squeezed between our bodies.
In response, she arched her back and smiled against my lips.
“Happy?”
Her eyes closed and, still smiling, she nodded. “This is a good marriage.”
“Anything you want, it’s yours,” I whispered then chased her mouth and tongue again. She tangled her fingers in my hair and let me taste her however I wanted. Letting go of her hips, I reached to the hem of her sweater and had to force myself to stop kissing her. Breathless, she let me, so, keeping my eyes on hers, I slowly peeled off her sweater and dropped it on the floor.
“It’s you I want,” she whispered. “Only you.”
Her gaze was intent on me as I looked down and let my eyes roam over her perfect breasts and flawless skin. She had a small birthmark right beneath her left shoulder toward her breast. I had missed it the first time I touched her like this. Not again. I’d learn every inch of her body until I could picture it perfectly when I closed my eyes. I touched her neck with my fingertips and let them slide down toward her heavy breasts. When I reached her lilac bra, I gripped the thin lace cups and pulled them down.
“Look at you,” I whispered.
Rose was breathing heavily, her nipples rising and falling, causing me to lose my mind. I glanced at her face and saw her eyes burning with anticipation. I let out a deep breath, feeling sheer relief now that she was truly mine. There were no lies, nothing standing between us.
I rested my forehead against hers so I could breathe for a moment. She cupped my cheek with her palm, letting me have that moment.
“I missed you,” I said hoarsely.
“I missed you,” she echoed.
I kissed her cheek then moved lower and brushed a hot kiss against the side of her throat. “You’re mine.”
She didn’t respond, but her body shivered at my words and her throat moved as she swallowed. I kept moving lower, tasting her skin with my lips until I reached her nipple. I closed my mouth over it and sucked, hard.
Her body stiffened and she gripped my shoulders at the same time she let out a groan. My hands gripping her waist, I moved to the other one, sucking and pulling.
Then her fingers touched my stubbled jaw and she eased my face away. “You love me. You really love me,” she gasped out, breathless. It was a quiet question.
“I love you, Rose,” I repeated in a firm voice, my fingers tweaking and pulling her nipples.
She bit her lip. “I love you too, Jack. I just wanted to hear it again.”
“Any time.” Still looking into her eyes, I reached behind her and undid her bra. Gently, I slid the straps off of her shoulders, holding her gaze the entire time. Then it was her turn and she was undoing my tie and letting it drop on the floor. Her fingers worked on the buttons of my shirt, every action painfully slow. It felt like it took her ages to finish when I just wanted to ravish her, but we’d have all the time in the world to do that.
“You’re mine, too,” she said. “You’re only mine.”
“We belong to each other, no one else, till we take our last breath.”
“Yes.”
The declaration ringing in my ears, I had to force myself to stay still as she put her palms on my chest and brushed the shirt off, the feel of her fingertips burning my skin anywhere she touched.
My self-control vanished when she gently pulled me in for another kiss and let her hand roam down my chest, straight toward my cock. My hands started working on her jeans, unbuttoning, pushing, and pulling as my lips took over our kiss and deepened it.
Her hand reached the bulbous head of my cock in the confines of my pants and she stilled. I gripped her chin, kissed her harder. She palmed my length and let her hand slowly slide down then back up again. She was my undoing.
I only managed to withstand it for a few torturous drags then I pulled her off the counter in one move, swallowing her shriek and laughter with my mouth. I quickly got rid of her jeans and underwear then, grabbing her waist, I planted her naked ass back up there. Her eyes were still laughing when I glanced up from her body, which was all mine now.