Chapter Fourteen

With a trembling hand, Kyle touched Aimee’s cheek. Her loyalty amazed him. The absolute conviction she gave to vows he had ripped in two left him speechless. He had told her everything, and when she should be turning away in repulsion, she offered love. “Aimee,” he whispered.

“Tell me what to do. Tell me what you need.”

There was only one answer. It bubbled up from the depths of his soul and escaped before he could squash it down. “You.”

The instant it rolled off his tongue, he closed his eyes, regretting the confession. She was willing now. But what about later? What would happen when she woke up one morning and realized she didn’t want to carry his burdens? When she couldn’t shoulder his and her own? He’d never forgive himself if he dragged her back into depression.

“You have me.” Aimee pressed his palm flat over her heart, and with her free hand traced the long-ago scar above his bicep. The light press of her short nail lifted his lowered lashes. A soft smile brightened her tawny eyes. “You’ve had me since the day you walked into my field tent.”

Kyle couldn’t help himself. Mesmerized by her tender words, he allowed his gaze to drop to where he touched her. Against her light blue sweater, the darker bronze of his skin created a compellingly sharp contrast, and he slipped his palm lower to cover her breast. Her breath caught as he willed his fingers to cooperate with a gentle squeeze.

Yeah, he needed her. Like flowers required sun, or fish water, some unnamable part of him needed Aimee to survive. He had always understood this, but had never been more aware of that vulnerable truth than he was now.

Lifting his gaze back to hers, he leaned in closer. Her breath dusted his cheek, mingled with his. Then, as he stroked the curve of her breast with his thumb, her lips brushed his. Like he had touched a live wire, current rippled from his shoulders to the base of his spine. His chest cinched tight, squashing his lungs together. He sucked in a shuddering breath.

When the tip of Aimee’s tongue slid along the seam of his mouth, Kyle let out a hoarse groan. His other arm slid around her waist to draw her upper body flush with his despite the awkward angle of their side-by-side positions. In an effort to temper the feral rush of desire that surged through his veins, he took his time with the kiss. The rich flavor of coffee lingered on her tongue, fringed with a hint of mint, and he drank deeply.

Her teeth nipped at his lower lip, a sign he had come to know like the back of his hand. Desire caught her as well. But more than just arousal registered behind the reverent way her fingertips explored his bare chest. As they dipped lower, sliding over his body as if she sought to etch him into memory, the muscles in his abdomen bunched beneath her hand. The lightweight cotton of his pants pulled tight across his groin, and his cock stirred against his thigh.

He tangled his good hand in her hair, tipped her head back, and gave in to the hunger raging through his body. Aimee. His wife. The woman he would die for. The woman he wanted to bear his children.

Brief regret threatened to tailspin Kyle out of bliss. He pushed it hastily aside. That was then. This was now. He would find a way to reconcile the both later.

As if Aimee sensed his fleeting retreat, she pulled away from the kiss and edged out of his embrace. Wanting to kick himself, Kyle reached for her hand to draw her back into his arms. But she evaded his seeking fingers and rose to her feet. His eyes plead with hers. “Wait. Don’t—”

Aimee grabbed the hem of her sweater and pulled it over her head. “Don’t what?”

As she reached behind her back to unfasten the wine-colored scrap of lace that covered her full breasts, his throat closed, and he shook his head. One shrug of her shoulders sent the delicate fabric tumbling to the floor. In the same fluid motion, she popped the button on her jeans. Her breasts swayed as she bent over, tucked her fingertips into the waistband, and shimmied the denim over her hips.

A greedy rumble broke from Kyle’s throat. Two nights ago, he’d been too out of his mind to appreciate the slender curves and satin skin that held the power to make him dizzy. But as she stood before him, wearing only a thong that identically matched the discarded bit of lace on the floor, he imbibed fully. His gaze touched every gentle slope, every well-toned muscle, and his already rapid heartbeat became erratic.

He caught her by the hips and pulled her forward to press a lingering kiss to her belly. Her fingers slipped through his hair. She tipped her head back, and the ends of her rich brown tresses brushed his knuckles. Taunted by the sweet perfume that gathered on her skin, he trailed the tip of his tongue up the centerline of her body to the deep valley between her breasts where the fragrance lingered heavily. At the heady aroma, Kyle’s fingertips bit into her hipbones. He drew back with a ragged gasp.

Like golden nuggets of amber, Aimee’s eyes glinted down at him. She smiled, and he felt himself falling, tumbling deeper into the magic that their shared emotion created. He swallowed to wet his dry throat and deliberately loosened his fingers. His voice scraped his own ears as he instructed, “Lie down.”

She let out a light laugh. “The bed’s just around the corner.”

Sliding his hands around her narrow hips, he squeezed the tight curves of her bottom. “If I wait for the bed, we won’t get very far.”

Still chuckling, Aimee sank to her knees, then curling her legs beside her, sat down. As she stretched out on her side, Kyle stood and shucked his pants. He said a silent prayer his leg wouldn’t embarrass him, and with one hand braced on the couch, lowered himself to the floor. To his surprise, he didn’t stumble. But to his consternation, facing her meant trapping his good arm against the carpet. Annoyed by the uselessness of his right hand, Kyle crouched over her. He scattered kisses across her shoulder blade, traced the indentation of her spine with the tip of his tongue. His slow, sensual exploration of her body gradually coaxed her onto her belly, then over to the opposite side, so he could lay on his unfeeling side.

“Better?” she asked quietly.

A touch of heat crept into his cheeks. She knew him too well. He should have known better than to think he could disguise what he was after. Gliding his hand over her hip, he chuckled. “I want to feel you, Aimee.” His fingertips slipped across her belly, lower to the thin patch of curls at the juncture of her thighs. His voice thickened. “All over.”

Her breath caught, and her long eyelashes fluttered. She flattened a foot on the floor, parting her legs. Moist heat met Kyle’s fingertip. His body shuddered at her fiercely feminine response, and his cock pulsed, warning him that toying with Aimee would only see him to a speedy finish.

He ignored the slow burn of need that invaded his blood and stroked the sensitive nub hidden between her slickened folds until her hips followed the motion of his hand. When she clutched at his bicep, and a plaintive mewl bubbled in her throat, he slowly pushed two fingers inside her warm wet depths. Aimee’s nails bit into his skin. Her teeth pierced her lower lip.

Recognizing the signs of her pleasure and seeking to draw it out, Kyle eased his hand from between her legs and drew his moistened fingertip up the length of her body. Those thick lashes of kohl lifted. Arousal glowed in her unblinking gaze. “That’s cruel,” she murmured.

He couldn’t hold in an amused smirk. “No, bathing me was cruel.”

In an instant, he realized his mistake. Catching on to his teasing, Aimee’s eyes assumed a playful light. She reached between their bodies and wrapped her fingers around his straining erection. With one firm squeeze, she brought his body surging into the palm of her hand. “The bath was, huh?”

Kyle muttered an oath that prompted her into light laughter. But her educated hands, and the equal knowledge of his body that she possessed, didn’t hold an ounce of amusement. She slid her satin palm down his hard shaft, swirled her thumb over his swollen tip. Pressure built at the base of his spine, pulsing ecstasy through his limbs. For the first time in nine months, every nerve ending came to life. He exhaled in a hiss and curled his unhindered hand into the carpet.

Christ, she knew exactly what to do to turn him into putty.

“Aimee—”

Knowing all too well the effect her fingers had on him, she grazed her palm up his abdomen and flattened it against his chest. “Your heart’s racing.”

“Mm-hm.” He gave her a false look of irritation. “Imagine that.” Leaning into her, he captured her mouth with his and caught her wrist in his hand. He lifted her palm off his body, applied gentle pressure to her arm, and levered her onto her back. When she lay sprawled beneath him, he pushed with his good leg, coming over her to straddle her thighs. “Game time’s over.” He dropped his head and captured a tight nipple between his lips.

Aimee arched her back on a low moan.

The sound destroyed all thoughts he had entertained of thoroughly re-acquainting himself with Aimee’s body. His cock pulsed in answer, and a bead of moisture cooled his overheated flesh as it trickled down his shaft.

“Damn,” he muttered. Left arm shaking from the strain of holding his weight off her and himself in check, he lifted his head to pull in a deep breath.

Seemingly determined to fragment his control, Aimee looped her arms around his neck and urged him to lower his body. At the same time, she lifted her hips and slid her slick feminine flesh down the length of his erection. Moist heat demanded an immediate response. Sighing, Kyle sank into her arms, his hips fitting snug between her parted thighs. As he caught her mouth and drew her into a ravenous kiss, he thrust his hips forward and sank deep inside her warm sheath.

A gasp tore from his throat. Ecstasy saturated his senses, and his body convulsed. He bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to curb impending release and sucked in short breaths through his nose. She was everywhere, surrounding him body and soul, and there was no more perfect place in this world.

She moved beneath him, rocking her hips so he glided deeper into silken heat. He felt the flutter of her flesh ripple around his cock, and Kyle yielded to overwhelming sensation. Pulling his hips back, he retreated slowly, then pushed back in, gliding all the way to the mouth of her womb.

****

Aimee clung to Kyle, afraid if she let go, she would fall off a dangerous ledge. Her hips moved in time with his, taking him in and out of her body. Each thrust, each retreat, sent shocks of pleasure coursing through her veins. She struggled to catch her breath. To overcome the staggering way he stretched her wide, filled her up, and nudged her toward oblivion.

She’d never quite forgotten the perfect pleasure he was capable of creating, but her memory hadn’t held on to the finite details—the warmth of his skin, the pleasant way his powerful body dominated hers.

The amazing ability he possessed to time each thrust so he flawlessly stroked that central place of pleasure that made her tremble each time he glided through her flesh.

She surrendered to a guttural moan and arched her back as the need for faster, harder, stole over her. Her hands slid down the thick muscles along his spine and dug into his tight buttocks, guiding him into the pace she desired. His breath rasped against her cheek. His body hammered into hers. And though nothing about his lovemaking was gentle now, the brush of his lips against her temple, the whisper of her name that tumbled off his lips, held unique tenderness.

Where his forearms touched her shoulders, she felt the shaking of his muscles. A tremor that mirrored the trembling in her thighs. Bliss pounded into her. Carried her up, up, up to that dangerous plateau she both feared and cherished, until rapture became unbearable, and she splintered apart. With a sharp cry, she dug her nails into Kyle’s lower back. Climax claimed her, blending her soft mewls with Kyle’s hoarse shout.

Gradually, their bodies slowed. His sweat-slicked chest rubbed against hers as he lowered his weight and rested his forehead on her shoulder. Their ragged breathing echoed in the surrounding silence.

Kyle turned his head and gently kissed the side of her neck. “I’ve missed you, sweetheart,” he whispered.

A slow smile spread across her face. She lifted her heavy arms and wrapped them around his narrow waist. “I’ve missed you too, Kyle.”

“I wish I could carry you to bed.”

She lazily trailed her nails down his spine. “You could lead me by the hand.”

His chuckle tickled her skin. “You sure you want me there? I’m apt to keep you up all night.”

“Mm.” Aimee closed her eyes on a contented sigh. “Is that a promise?”

“Yeah.” He raked his teeth across her shoulder. “It’s a promise.”