This time, she was the one ripping open the condom wrapper, and when she slowly slid it over him, it was nearly more than he could handle. The very second it was on, he curved his hands around her hips, lifted her over him, and thrust into her. Taking, teasing, loving Lola over and over and over while they gave each other fierce kisses.
Duncan matched Lola’s cries of pleasure with his own hoarse groans, their hearts pounding in unison as they leaped together into their shared hopes and dreams of a long future together full of laughter, family, and boundless, unconditional love.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Waking up with Lola in his arms was the greatest feeling in the world. And as she yawned and stretched against Duncan, it didn’t matter that he would be facing the equivalent of a Colosseum full of man-eating lions today at the FBI. He was happy.
The happiest man in the entire world.
Lola was the kind of woman painters immortalized and men fought wars over. A woman so beautiful—and brilliant—that jaws dropped whenever she walked into a room. And she loved him.
It was a miracle.
“Good morning,” he whispered against her hair.
She snuggled in closer. “Good morning.” Her words were a little husky as she came slowly awake.
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you.”
She tilted her face to his so that he could see her sleepy smile. “I love you too.”
Despite the evidence they’d compiled against his brother, Duncan knew there was still a chance the FBI would file charges against him instead. Nonetheless, just being with Lola right here, right now, made him feel so damned good.
The alarm buzzed, loud and insistent, and though they both knew there was no chance of lingering in each other’s arms today, it wasn’t a slow seduction that either of them needed this morning. They simply needed to be as close as possible to one another as they hit the snooze button and reached for one another.
When they kissed, the air between them felt as though it would go up in flames. Their mouths were hot and desperate as their passion spiraled even higher and sweeter than it ever had before. Every cell in Duncan’s body fought to get closer to Lola as she wrapped her limbs around him, then cried out his name as she held nothing back. “I love you,” he whispered against her mouth and as she whispered it right back, he gave himself over to the greatest pleasure he’d ever known.
It took everything inside Duncan to finally tear himself away.
“The sooner we get to Boston,” Lola said in a deliberately cheerful voice, “the sooner your name will be cleared and your brother will finally be taken out of commission.”
Appreciating her positive attitude, no matter the hurdles ahead of them, he kissed her again, one more heady brush of his lips against hers before they went to shower and dress.
A short while later, they dropped into the Sullivan Café to grab croissants and coffee on the way to the airport. Beth gave them both huge hugs. “If you need anything, call us, and we’ll be on the next flight to Boston.”
“I have half a mind to go with you,” Ethan said. “But you’re going to be fine. I feel it in my gut.”
Two and a half hours later, Duncan and Lola boarded their flight to Boston. As soon as they took their seats, Lola pulled a pencil box out of her bag, along with a notebook, just the way her mother had all those years ago in the park. “When I’m stressed out, nothing makes me feel better than drawing.” She handed him a pencil and a blank piece of paper. “I don’t know if it will do the same for you, but—”
He kissed her before she could finish her sentence. “It will. Thank you.”
She put her hand on his cheek. “I know how hard it’s been hearing all over again that your brother isn’t the man you hoped he was. But I hope it helps, at least a little bit, knowing you have all of us now.”
“It does help.” Thanks to Lola’s cousins, father, and Moira, they now had reams of evidence to take Alastair down. “The question is whether he’ll find a way to circumvent the system like he has before.”
“This time, we’ve made damned sure he can’t!” she proclaimed.
During the flight, Lola sketched textile design ideas, while Duncan worked on a map of Bar Harbor that highlighted the places where his life had changed. Lola’s studio. The Sullivan Café. The Maritime Museum. Lola’s cottage. Her parents’ house. The stone wall where they’d kissed in the rain. The bench in the park where he’d had a heart-to-heart with her father.
It wasn’t until the flight attendant asked them to put up their tray tables in preparation for landing that Lola looked over at his paper.
“I love the way you’ve drawn your own unique map of Bar Harbor where it’s not just about the nuts and bolts of the town, but what each location means to you. It’s such a perfect way to bring a personal touch to traditional cartography.”
He was just as impressed by her designs. “You are so gifted at expressing beauty. You’re a remarkable woman, Lola Sullivan. In every single way.”
“I’m just glad I finally met someone who sees it too,” she said, making them both laugh.
She deliberately kept him laughing with stories from her childhood during the taxi ride to Lyman Ventures’ corporate headquarters. Where Duncan had made the decision five years ago to work in a small building with a pared-down staff so that he could give each client his individual attention, Alastair liked nothing more than sitting at the top of a skyscraper with his name on it while hundreds of employees below him scurried to do his bidding.
Once they were standing on the sidewalk, Lola looked up at the tall building and raised her eyebrows. “Looks like your brother is compensating for something.”
Duncan was surprised to find himself laughing again as they headed inside. He wasn’t tense. He wasn’t even angry anymore.
He was simply ready to finally move Alastair into the rear view.
Lola didn’t look the slightest bit ill at ease either. On the contrary, she was absolute perfection in a dress made from one of her own prints, which had gold and silver threaded in a subtle floral design through a black base. Her heels were high, her hair was glossy, her makeup was flawless. She was utterly magnificent, and Duncan was beyond proud to be with her, and to love her.
“This is it.”
Her lips curved up into a small smile. “Oh yes,” she said, clearly relishing the opportunity to give his brother hell. “This is most definitely the end of the road. He’d better hope he doesn’t provoke me, because my brother Hudson can attest to the fact that I give one hell of a noogie twist. It’s been twenty-five years since the last one, and he’s still a little afraid of me.”
Weeks ago, if someone had told him that he would break into laughter just seconds before confronting his brother with the long list of his crimes, Duncan would never have believed it. But Lola had changed everything. Her sass, her confidence, and her belief that people should always be kind and fair, had transformed his entire outlook on life.
The office at the top of the building looked out over the Boston skyline. It was a magnificent view by any measure, but one Alastair had never appreciated for anything more than as a symbol of power. Wealth. Prestige. Duncan’s brother liked knowing that he sat a head above every other person in the city.