Remembrance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 4) (44 page)

She giggled.  “I’m go
ing to tell him I have a list of qualities that he didn’t measure up to.”

“No,” he clarified.  “First, you’re g
oing to tell him that you’re madly in love with me.”

She smacked her smirking lips.  “Oh, is that what I’m go
ing to say?”

“Uh, huh.  Then you’re go
ing to tell him that I’m madly in love with
you.
”

Her heart raced.  “Yeah?” she breathed out.

He nodded.  “Yeah.  Then you’re going to tell him to go fuck himself.”

She laughed and touched his face.  “That seems a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

“No,” he grumbled.

“The poor guy’s just trying to get a little,” she teased.

“Yeah, well he can get a little from his hand for all I care.  He’s not getting it from you.”

She smiled then chuckled again.  “You really are adorable when you get all commanding and jealous like this.”

He kissed her chin.  “We did add ‘authoritative’ to your list, I believe.”

She sighed.  “Do you remember the other qualities?” she asked while he kissed her face.

“Endurance, skill, patience, creativity, well-endowed, dirty talk, ‘has balls’, sweet, sense of humor,” he rattled off without hesitation.

She blinked.  “Wow.  You really
have
had this list on your mind.”

He nuzzled her nose.  “Every time you listed another quality you wanted,” he looked into her eyes, “I realized I had it.”  He smiled confidently.

“You’re pretty sure of yourself, aren’t you?”

He nodded slowly. 

“When you told me your qualities,” she began, “about how you wanted someone to come home to, how you wanted your ‘queen’?  Someone you could trust and make you laugh?”

He nodded slightly and waited.

“I was hoping it was me.”

He touched her face and whispered, “It was always you.  I was thinking of you when I said them,” he confessed.  She cuddled into his hand and kissed his palm.  Closing her eyes, she began shaking her head slowly.

“What?”

“I just can’t believe how this night began and now how it’s ending.  Honestly, I feel like I’m g
oing to wake up from a dream.”

He pulled her into his arms.  “We’re go
ing to go to sleep, then tomorrow morning when you see me sleeping next to you, you’re going to know.  It’s not a dream, Janie.”  Her lips were pressed to his neck and she felt him swallow.  “It’s the best fucking day of my life.”

She squeezed him and felt the prick of tears.  “It really is.  Best ever.”  They held each other a moment longer, then she spoke again, propping her chin on his shoulder.  “Why did you go to that particular wine bar tonight?”  She couldn’t help but smile.

“Mike called me and said he and Jem wanted to take me out for a drink for my birthday.  It was last minute because none of us had planned anything ahead of time.  Mike suggested the bar.”  Luke’s mouth quirked up.  “He seemed surprised to see you there, but now I’m beginning to wonder if he knew all along.”

“Emily knew.  She called me right before I left to meet Chaz.  I’m sure she told Mike to take you there.  I don’t know if she told him I was go
ing to be there, but I’m sure she suggested the bar.”

“Remind me to thank her.”  His hand went to her hair and he pulled her up to kiss her.  “And that brother of yours has turned into the matchmaker from hell lately,” he added dryly. 

“I know.  It’s hilarious.”  When she moved back, she continued.  “If you didn’t see me at the bar tonight, you really were just going to wait outside for me?”

He nodded.  “I’d already had my laptop ready to do some work while I waited.”  He had a smug look on his face while he said, “You were go
ing to be mine tonight.  I was done with the wondering and it was my plan to find out why you were pissed and then to convince you otherwise.  And to kick the ass of whomever you’d gone out with tonight.  I was ready for all possibilities.”

“You did a very good job of convincing me not to be pissed at you anymore,” she said, kissing his shoulder.

“I’m good like that,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head.  Janie chuckled then sighed with contentment.

They fell asleep just like that, holding each other.

……

The bright sunlight through her gauzy curtains brightened her bedroom as Janie opened her eyes, rubbing the sleep from them.  She felt incredible, having slept beautifully the night before.  Cuddled in the arms of Luke.

He loved her.  He actually friggin’ loved her.  It really wasn’t a dream.  He was there right next to her, and –

She stopped, looking next to her on the bed.  It was empty. 

She began breathing more heavily, that sick feeling hitting her stomach.

Oh, God.  Please.  Please don’t tell me it was a dream.

She covered her mouth and tried to control her breaths, but couldn’t.  He was here.  He’d been here, right?

“Hey.”

She turned her body to see Luke standing in the entrance of her bedroom.  Completely naked and gorgeous, his hair a mess and a sweet smile on his face, which turned to concern when he saw her face.

“What’s the
matter, baby?”  He immediately walked over and climbed onto the bed, falling down next to her. 

The adrenaline rush ebbed out of her body, leaving her with that dizzying sensation.  She took deep breaths.

“What happened?  Did you have a nightmare?”  He was stroking her hair.

“No,” she breathed, kissing his neck.  “I,” she hesitated, feeling like a lovesick idiot.

“What?”

“It’s nothing.  Just me being stupid.  How long have you been up?”

He looked down at her.  “Did you think I’d left?”

She sighed, avoiding his eyes.

He directed her gaze back to him and looked down at her tenderly.  “I told you I’d be here.  I’ll never lie to you, Janie.”  Then he teased, “Say it with me, now.”

She swatted him, then mumbled, “Sorry.”  Then, “I knew you were here.  I remember you snoring,” she joked, swatting at him.  He grabbed her hand.

“I don’t snore!”

“Yes, Luke.  You snore.”

“Did I keep you up?”

She shook her head no and smirked at him.

“You’re the first woman to tell me I snore,” he said, a glint in his eye.

She pressed her lips together in annoyance.  “Your other paramours didn’t complain?”

“Nope.  I guess when your other paramours don’t have the opportunity to
hear
if you snore, it makes it hard for them to comment on it.”

A moment of silence passed, and she blinked her eyes.  “Are you telling me,” she paused, “you’ve never slept the night with any of your girlfriends?”

He shrugged then shook his head no.

“Never?”  She couldn’t believe it.

“Never.”

“Wow.”  She looked away processing that happily.

“So I guess you’ll have to tell me about all of my idiosyncrasies while sleeping.”  Then his mouth kicked up into a smile.  “Like how I’m going to tell you about how you kept kicking your leg out but then crowding me at the same time.”

“I did not!”

“Yes you did,” he laughed.  “Like you were trapping me to the bed and then pushing me out of it.  You couldn’t figure out what to do with me.”

“I’m not used to sharing my space,” she grumbled good-naturedly.  “It’s tight quarters on a double.  You’re like a giant taking up the whole space.”

“Aww. 
Pobrecita
,” he joked, which meant ‘poor baby’.  She’d remembered him using that word on her when she complained about his tutoring in high school.  “Did you have a rough night?”

“No,” she said haughtily.  “I slept exceptionally well considering all the noise you made.”

He moved to tickle her.  She screamed and grabbed at his hands. 

“Well, it’s a good thing I have a king size bed then,” he said, smacking his lips.  “We’ll be able to spread out and make all kinds of noise, use the whole space to our liking,” he said salaciously while biting down on his bottom lip.  Then he continued before she could respond.  “So I was go
ing to surprise you with coffee in bed, but I can’t for the life of me figure out your frigging coffee maker.  Do I need some culinary degree to work that thing?”

She barked out a laugh.  “It’s the kind that grinds the beans right before it’s made.  I’ll make the coffee anyway.”  She smiled brilliantly at him. 

He stayed.  He really stayed.  It wasn’t a dream.

“You don’t trust me to make coffee, do you?”

“No,” she smiled, giddy.  “What time do you have to be at work?  I’ll make you breakfast.”

“Let’s get donuts or bagels.  It’s a day to celebrate anyway, and now this way you don’t have to cook.  We can get them delivered.  There’s a place right by my loft that delivers.”

Her mouth hurt she was smiling so hard.  “Okay.”

He laughed at her expression.  “Someone wants a donut.”

“No,” she shook her head.  “Someone’s just in love,” she said, feeling like such a dork.

He pushed a long curl off her face and tucked it behind her ear.  “Tell me again,” he whispered.

“I love you,” she swallowed.

“
Mi dulzura
,” he murmured.  “
Te adoro, mi amor
.”

She snuggled into him.  “What time do you need to be at work?”

He shrugged.  “I don’t have any pressing meetings today.  We’re all kind of in holiday mode at the moment.  But I do have one meeting I need to see to,” he murmured.  His hand drifted to the sheet still covering her and pulled it down to free her breast.  “I believe I need to start looking for a lingerie manufacturer for women with gorgeous,” his hand skittered over her nipple, “mouthwatering,” his lips kissed down her neck to the intended target, “handfuls of love like these right here,” he finished, his lips now resting between her breasts and his hands plumping her up.  “You’re perfect,” he said, nibbling over to gently capture a nipple between his teeth.

She let out a satisfied moan and arched into him, putting her hands in his hair.  “That’s really nice.”

“Nice?  Nice is too bland of a word for these works of art.  We can do better than that. 
Repite, por favor.  Perfecto.
”

“Perfecto,” she smiled.

“
Magnifico.
”  He spoke against her skin.

“Magnifico,” she sighed.

“
Hermosa
,” he whispered, moving his lips to her other breast.

“Hermosa,” she gasped when his lips hovered over her nipple.  “You gotta love a man who wants to get me a donut.”

“
Voy a hacer el amor contigo, Janie
,” he whispered around the tightened bud.

She let out a breathy sound and said, “Translation.”

“I’m going to make love to you.  The coffee and donuts can wait.  I, however, cannot.”  He moved them so she was on top straddling him while he leaned up against her head board.  He reached to the nightstand, fully erect already and pulled on a condom.

“I haven’t brushed my teeth yet,” she began, putting her hand over her mouth.

He slammed his mouth to hers and bit at her lip.  “I don’t fucking care, Janie.  I need your pussy around me.”  He pulled her down on top of him without warning and she cried out.  He settled her so they were a snug fit. Then his hands moved to her hips and encouraged her to begin moving.  His hands skimmed up her back to land in her hair, fisting the glorious tumble of curls the color of the sunrise, perfect for their morning loving.  He closed his eyes and buried his face into it, murmuring, “Tight and warm and perfect.  I love the way you smell.”

His words made her move a little faster, circling her hip
s so she felt him even deeper. She let out a purr and wound her arms around his neck, rubbing into his chest, enjoying the feel of muscle against her skin, her fingertips.

One of his hands moved down to her butt and squeezed, helping to pump on him, setting the slow and sleepy erotic pace.
 Her head fell back even more into his hand and he kissed her neck, sucking at her skin.

His hand on her ass moved further down behind her so his fingers touched lightly where they were connected.
 She let out an ‘mmm’ sound, her nipples now tingling deliciously at the friction of his chest to hers.

He pulled her hair so her neck was exposed then leaned over her and looked deeply into her eyes.
 They were heavy lidded.  “
Para siempre
, Janie.  
Repite
.”

“Luke,” she said with feeling.
 She pumped more forcefully, but he slowed their movements, still gripping her hair and controlling the pace.  He had said ‘forever’.

“Say it,” he growled.

“Para siempre,” she gasped out in multiple syllables.  “Luke, please,” she nearly sobbed, so overcome with emotion.  “Go faster.”