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FAYE ROLLED OVER, STRONG arms pulled her close. She snuggled backward into his warmth, loving the feel of him. Waking, his cock pulsed against her backside in greeting.

“Morning, lover,” she said stretching and slapping his hands. “I’ve gotta go.”

He released her and she headed to the bathroom. The past couple days had been perfect, no better than perfect, she thought as she washed her hands.  Jarcee was just... she smiled when she thought of him. So passionate, but loving, gentle and sweet. He cooked for her, carried her to the kitchen, pool, and jacuzzi, naked of course, and focused a 100% on her. No one had ever looked at her as if she were an extremely precious jewel they wanted with them all the time.

Giddy with joy, she pressed her palm against her mouth to keep from giggling aloud. Her man had excellent hearing, something she learned the first night.

Inhaling, she appraised herself in the mirror and smiled. She looked a hot mess. No make-up, bed-hair, and hickey marks all over her neck, chest and places the mirror didn’t show. None of that mattered to Jarcee. The way he looked at her made her feel more beautiful, more confident, and loved. They had spent the entire weekend together, she never left after dinner Friday night. Or put on any clothes. That bought another wide grin to her face.

The man was insatiable, then again, so was she. Either she’d climb on him, or he’d wake her and they had sex all night and most of the days.

Faye could say without hesitation, she was thoroughly screwed. A giggle slipped out and she slapped her palm over her mouth before looking at the door.

Re-entering the bedroom, she tried not to feast her gaze on his naked body but couldn’t help it. She was positive no other man would ever compare to Jarcee and prayed she didn’t mess things up, something she’d been accused of doing in the past.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said in that husky voice that stripped away her will.

Marshalling her strength she forced her gaze away and picked up his robe. “Beautiful has to go to work today. Office meeting at 10. “Please, please convince me to stay,” she prayed silently.

“Work?” he sounded confused.

She chuckled but didn’t face him. “Yes, we talked about it Friday.” She whistled. “I’ve been here all weekend.”

“I loved having you here with me, wish you could be here all the time.” He sounded so sincere, her eyes watered. She heard him move, felt his hands on her shoulder.

“There will never be another woman for me, no one else is you. I belong to you, Faye, heart, mind, and body.” His voice held a ring of commitment and truth.

A shudder ran through her, she felt dizzy. What was he saying? They hadn’t known each other long enough to say things like that to each other.

“Jarcee... I... we...” Thoughts scrambled, she tried to think of an appropriate answer.

“We are a... couple. A forever couple,” he said turning her to face him. He placed his finger under her chin and tipped her face upward. “You’re mine, I’m yours. It’s that simple for me.” He brushed his lips against her, stealing her will to argue or deny him anything.

Faye wrapped her arms around his waist and breathed in his unique woodsy scent. Nobody smelled as good as this man. Last night he’d been talking all kinds of sexy things. “You said that last night, didn’t you?” She snuggled closer, smiling. He’d had her repeat what he said just before taking her to the moon, she saw stars. Her body shook so hard he held her close whispering things to her.

“Yes, I did and I will always tell you the same things as well as show you,” he promised.

She believed him. Finally, at the ripe age of 35, she met her soul-mate. When she got to work, she’d call her mom. No, she had better wait until they had a week under their belt or her mom would start planning a wedding.

“You’ve got nothing to say?”

She snapped out of it and smiled. “I don’t want anyone else either. You’ve ruined me for anyone else, I want us to be together as long as we can.”

He frowned. “As long as we can?”

She didn’t want to jinx the relationship, it was too new and she’d messed up in the past. “Yeah, things happen. Life happens, but I promise to do everything on my end to make us work.” She rubbed away his frown with her fingertip.

“I cannot lose you, Faye,” he said in between nibbles on her neck.

“You won’t.” The idea of growing old with a strong, handsome, horny man grew more appealing by the minute.

“Would you like to move in here?” he asked. “Or I could stay with you.”

The idea held merit, she hadn’t received an answer from the seller on a home she’d offered a lower amount than the asking price. She could definitely move here from the Extended Stay place.

“That might be something we can do,” she said and explained her situation with the sales contract she had submitted and countered.

“If there are any penalties, I’ll take care of it,” he offered, surprising her.

“Mama’s going to love you,” she said taking a step back to look for her dress.

“What about you? Will you love me?”

She met his earnest gaze and choked back the truth. Instead, she said. “Probably in time.”

“That’s fair.” He paused. “Where are your parents?”

Pleased he didn’t press on the “love question” she picked up her dress and shook it out. She’d need to shower and head back to the hotel. “Actually, she’s my step-mother. My biological mother died when I was an infant, I don’t know anything about her.” Normally she didn’t share the complicated details of her family but she wanted him to know.

“My dad had an affair with my mom. They dated a year or so, off and on. She got pregnant. My dad’s first wife divorced him when she found out, they didn’t have any kids. When I was born, my mom left me on my father’s doorstep. She died shortly after. My step-mom was originally my babysitter, she had two young sons. Mom and dad fell in love and we became a family.”

He smiled. “She raised an amazing woman.”

“Yes, she did. I love her and my brothers. She and daddy are still going strong.”

“Do you ever wonder about your biological mother?”

“No, never have. She’s not a part of my life.” She pulled on her dress. “What about your family? Are they still in Norway?”

He tilted his head in thought. “I have not been there in many years, so I’m not sure. Would you like me to check into it?”

Was he serious? Yes, yes he was. “Do you want to know?” She couldn’t imagine him not being curious.

“Not really. I have close friends who I consider family.”

She definitely understood that. “In that case no reason to look them up.” She zipped up her dress and searched for her shoes.

“I’ll follow you to your hotel and bring your things back here. What would you like to eat when you come home?”

Home. Hearing that word from him resonated throughout her body. Jarcee was home.

No. They’d just met. The sex was great. She hadn’t gotten bored like she normally did. Being with him was peaceful and stimulating. A place of refuge and fortitude.

Yes. Home.

“I like green salads with meat, seafood’s good too. When I get home later we can go to the grocery store together if you want.” She would like that, it made things seem normal, not rushed.

“Okay.” He pulled on a pair of jeans and sweatshirt and looked utterly fantastic. Men, she thought as she searched for a comb and picked up his hairbrush to try and tame her short curls.

###

FAYE STRODE INTO THE office smiling ten minutes before the start of the meeting and sat in her cubicle. Jarcee. Her heart sang as she thought about him. God, please let this work. He was perfect for her, she prayed he didn’t change. When they reached her lodgings, while she showered and changed, he packed her things and checked her out. By the time she was dressed, his car was loaded with her things. She planned to make this a short day.

“Meeting’s starting in the conference room,” Beth said from the front of the hall. Faye and several others walked in that direction. She chose a seat near the door next to a guy who had been polite to her last week.

He inhaled, stood and leaned against the wall.

In a good mood, she didn’t think much about his behavior and drifted through the hour-long meeting thinking of Jarcee.

“Faye?” Mr. Nelson called her once the meeting was over.

She smiled at a female associate and waited until the room cleared some before making her way to the front.

“Yes?” Her gaze slid from him to Beth and back again.

“That information regarding areas that are protected, I sent it to your email, have you looked at it?”

Heat seared her cheeks, but she remained professional. “Not yet, I’ll get on it now.”

He frowned but didn’t say anything as she walked off and returned to her cubicle. She pulled up the email, read the contents but couldn’t focus. Jarcee crowded her thoughts.

She missed him. Not a simple miss him, but a gut-wrenching need to see, touch, hear and taste him, miss him. For several minutes she sat at her desk trying to understand what was going on with her. Why nausea?  Without a thought of the consequences, she grabbed her purse, left the building and went to Jarcee.

When she arrived he’d been pulling his car out of the driveway and stopped. She parked her car next to his, joy at seeing him filled her belly. Arms outstretched she ran and jumped into his arms. Hugging him tight around the neck, her stomach eased, and focus returned.

“I missed you,” she said.

“Same here, I was on my way to get you,” he admitted.

Laughing she leaned back and smiled at him. “Really? Well here I am, let’s put the cars in the garage and I’ll unpack.”

He kissed her again and released her slowly. Giddy with relief and sublime joy at being with him again, she pulled into the garage and holding hands they went inside. She never wanted to be separated from him again.