The kiss was just as heady as the last. Sin was temptation personified. Everything about her seemed to draw him closer; from her sweet taste to her feminine scent, from the way she met his kisses fervently to the way her hands roamed over his back as they kissed. With his arms he sealed her tightly to his body. When that wasn’t enough, he closed his hands around her waist and lifted her onto the counter.
Though her long-forgotten dress was beneath her, neither of them cared. All that mattered was the passion circling them hungrily and the flames of desire that jumped between them. Worth fit his body between her spread legs then lowered his hands to her ass so he could drag her closer. Her whimper of response sent fresh need shuttling through him and he deepened the kiss.
Damn! She was sweet.
It felt so good to touch her and to be touched by her again. She stroked his shoulders and his head as they kissed sending waves of electric heat through him. How long had it been since they’d been together like this? Too damn long. He took his fill of her, skimming his hands over her thighs, over her hips, squeezing where he could, and caressing every inch of smooth exposed skin.
His hands came up to her breasts and squeezed her flesh over her bra. When she moaned into his mouth in blatant pleasure, he did it again then lowered his head so he could kiss the tops of each breast. They looked so juicy, so tempting in their fabric cage that he just had to release them. He slid the straps to her elbows then reached behind her to unclasp the bra. It fell away from her easily and he tossed it somewhere on the floor. Meanwhile, his eyes never wavered from the tempting sight that met him.
Without conscious thought, he murmured, “So beautiful!”
The only sound in the room was her harsh breathing as he caressed both breasts then brought them together and squeezed. She was perfect. Her breasts were just the right size; slightly more than a handful, honey-toned and topped by chocolate-brown points that seemed to be calling his name. He obliged. All it took was a slight bend of his head for him to capture one of her nipples with his lips.
Her sharp intake of breath told him that he was doing something right. When he rolled the hardened point tenderly with his tongue, Sin moaned in delight. Smiling, he kept worrying her nipple with his tongue. His goal was to drive her as close to insanity as he could. By the way she was arching her back to get closer to his mouth and gripping his neck, it was clear that she was willing to go wherever he led.
“Worth!” Sin panted his name. “Please!”
She didn’t have to say what she was begging for. He already knew. He switched his attention to her other breast and gave it the same torturous treatment. It puckered and tightened under his ministrations.
Letting her tender flesh pop from his mouth, he commented quietly. “I’ve missed these. I’ve missed this.” He raised his gaze to meet hers. “I’ve missed you, Sin.”
Though her eyes were glazed with passion, tenderness flashed within them. She smiled softly. “I missed you too, Worth.”
Hearing her say those sweet words was akin to receiving a trophy of achievement. Worth slanted his lips over hers for a grateful kiss. Ever since he’d walked back into her life, he’d ached to hear those words. Now all he needed was to hear her say that she loved him. It would happen, he swore as he slid his hand between her thighs. By the end of the night, he’d make sure that she was his.
Sin gasped when he cupped her pussy. Even though her panties were in the way, he could feel her heat beckoning for his touch. He slid his hand lower, pushing his fingers between the swollen lips to find her clit. Her response was immediate. She bucked her hips as if trying to increase the pressure. Obligingly, Worth rubbed the nub over the cloth hiding it. Soon, moisture leaked out.
“You’re already wet,” he whispered against her lips as he continued rubbing.
“Aaah…” Sin moaned and closed her eyes.
“You like that, don’t you?” he asked as he twirled the little nub.
“Ye-” Her words died when he pushed aside the cloth so he could get to her flesh. She screamed. “Shit! Aaah… Wor… aah.”
The sounds she was making, the way she was writhing, how tightly she was gripping his shoulders… every one of her reactions was loveable. Worth couldn’t help watching her as he played with her. He flicked her small point of need in slow circles before going a little lower, to her entrance.
“Jeez-” She jerked upwards when he pushed one finger in.
Fuck! She was tight. His cock jerked and swelled at the thought of being inside her, feeling that tightness squeeze him, but he restrained himself. It wasn’t his turn yet.
When he started to saw his finger in and out of her, her mouth opened in a silent scream. By the time he added a second finger in, her feet were on the counter and she was actively throwing her hips forward to meet his every stroke.
Feeling her honey coating his fingers was enough to make his mouth water. It’d been so long since he’d tasted her… too long. He crushed his mouth over hers as he reached for the side of her panties. With one quick drag they were off her and tossed somewhere on the floor. Her wetness glimmered against her swollen lips, practically begging for him to taste. After getting her to set both feet on the marble counter again, he moved his hands under her ass and lifted her to a better position before he bent over.
However, when he tried to kiss her mound, she pressed her palm to his forehead. “Worth!”
“Let me.” He pushed her hand away. “I haven’t tasted you for so long. Let me.”
He didn’t wait for her answer. He just set his mouth on her. At first it was just a light press of his mouth against her plump labia, but the wetness between was too tempting. He swept his tongue along her slit until he bumped into her clit.
“Worth!” she crooned when he repeatedly flicked the button with the tip of his tongue. “That feels so… so good.”
He repeated the caress, over and over again, mixing wide paintbrush strokes on her slit with quick attacks on her clit, enjoying her at his leisure. When he sucked her clit into his mouth, she let out a scream that couldn’t be construed for anything other than extreme pleasure. With a smile, he sucked harder. His goal was to tease and please.
When he inserted a finger deep inside her while toying with her button, her pleasure took over. Soon the only sounds in the room were her cries and whimpers. Those cries got louder and more desperate. Her fingers dug into his scalp and pulled at his hair as she squirmed. Her pussy walls constricted around his fingers and her whole body began to tremble.
He knew the exact moment when her orgasm hit her because she screamed like a banshee. Overwhelmed by her pleasure, Sin pitched forward. He caught her just in time to keep her from falling. Smiling in satisfaction, he rose back to his full height even as he kept his arms around her.
Her eyes were closed and her lips parted as she leaned against the mirror boneless. He brought her back to him and set his lips to hers. Soon, she was back with him, kissing him, running her hands over his back and pressing her pussy to his erection as if she hadn’t just had her pleasure. When she reached for the hem of his pullover, he obligingly lifted his arms so she could take it off him.
The touch of her hand on his naked flesh sent indescribable pleasure pulsing through him. Her fingers were soothing yet arousing as they traced the muscles on his chest and stomach. When they lowered to brush against the swollen flesh beneath his jungle-green khaki pants, he growled at the amazing feeling. She must’ve spent the last four months thinking of new ways to torture him because having her touch but not actually stroke his dick was sweetly painful. When her hand finally firmed over him, Worth almost wept in joy.
But she wasn’t done with him.
With fast movements, she unfastened his belt then unzipped him. He almost jumped out of his skin when she stuck her hand right below his boxer-briefs and cupped him.
“Fuck!” He threw his head back as sensation after sensation throbbed through his body.
She was squeezing him, stroking him, killing him. He was so immersed in his pleasure that he didn’t even realize that she was moving until she got off the counter. When she turned them so that he was the one leaning back against the counter, he couldn’t even summon the energy to ask what she was doing. He just reveled in the feel of her touch on him.
Somehow, someway, his pants and boxer-briefs disappeared. Soon, he was just as naked as she was. Even then he couldn’t think straight; only feel and watch. The sight of her hand moving up and down on his throbbing tool was spell-binding. Her hand moved down to the base of his cock, then began to caress his balls. Christ! The electric prickles that immediately swept through him were almost too much to handle. Gritting his teeth, he held on tightly to the edge of the counter and mentally counted sheep. If she kept up with this, he’d erupt in her hands.
But the worst wasn’t over.
She suddenly lowered herself to her haunches.
Instinctively, he knew what she was about to do, so he tried to stop her. “Sin, don-”
He was too late; she was already flicking the tip of her tongue over the head of his cock. When she dragged her tongue along his length, his protests died a quick death. How could he say no to what she was doing? He’d never felt this intense kind of pleasure before. It got even better when she took him into her mouth.
“Oh, Sin!” he moaned as he opened his eyes into thin slits. Her head was bobbing up and down. With each downward stroke her mouth engulfed almost half his length, then back up again. Over and over again. She tried to take all of him but when she couldn’t she used her hand to stroke what her lips couldn’t.
“Fuck! Fuck! Aaah…” He was in heaven. He was in hell. His eyes were closed and his jaw clenched as he struggled not to scream because of the intense sensations racking his whole body. He was gripping the counter so hard, he was surprised his fingers didn’t break.
Using her mouth and her hands, she pushed him right to the edge until he was certain that another second of this would mean his demise. But he couldn’t let that happen. This was their first time together after so much time apart. He wanted to be inside her when he broke.
“Come here,” he growled as he pushed her head away from his groin.
“I’m not done yet,” she protested as her beautiful brown eyes met his.
“Later,” he promised before fitting his hands beneath her armpits and lifting her to her feet.
Once she was standing, he turned them so that she was facing the mirror and he was behind her. When her voluptuous buttocks brushed against his rock-hard length, his cock immediately jumped in appreciation. Sin smiled at him through the mirror then wiggled around until his knob was trapped between her cheeks. If he wasn’t already as hard as steel, that would’ve done it.
When she rocked up and down, squeezing and caressing him at the same time, his breath caught in his throat. She was trying to kill him, wasn’t she? But oh, what a delightful death it would be.
Grinning despite his pain, he slapped her ass. “Stop teasing me.”
“Ow!” She pouted back at him through the mirror but didn’t stop playing with him. This little tease!
Only common sense kept him from shoving himself deep into her right then and showing her the consequences of playing with fire. He took a minute to grab a condom from the drawer beneath the counter and strap up. Once he was sheathed, he came back.
“Up!” he ordered harshly.
“Hmm?” Her eyebrows arched and her eyes widened in question.
“Leg on the counter,” he commanded.
She obeyed promptly, setting one leg on the counter and sticking her ass out so she was completely open to him. He could see everything; her plump brown lips, the moisture wetting them, the nub winking above and the slit just waiting for his cock. Stroking his cock, he edged closer to her then guided the head between her swollen lips. She was watching him in the mirror, but when he pushed his rigid member in, she closed her eyes and her mouth fell open.
“Shiiit,” Worth groaned as he pressed forward through the snug, wet opening. “Fuck!”
It felt so good to be inside her. So damn good. How the hell had he lasted for four months without her? He must’ve been crazy to keep away for so long. Aching for even more pleasure, he pushed more and more, very slowly, until his cock was buried in her to the hilt.
“Wooorth,” her whimper melded with his growl of pleasure.
Christ! This must be what it felt like to be in heaven. Every inch of him was being squeezed, milked and stroked by her warm velvety insides. The world around seemed to disappear as every cell in his body focused on the delicious sensation of being part of her. Having her was better than any drug he could imagine, and he wanted more.
He started to move.
SIN WAS IN hell. Her whole body was on fire, burning up. The sensation of having Worth moving inside her was more intense and more delicious than anything she’d ever experienced. She wanted to tell him to stop, she wanted to tell him to do it harder, yet all she could do was moan.
“Worth… Worth… Wor… ah… aaah!” Her moans echoed in the bathroom to meld with his pants and the slapping sounds of his body meeting hers.
Now that they were together, she realized that she’d missed him even more than she thought. And she’d missed this. Had he always been this thick and long, she wondered as he pushed more of himself into her. Had their lovemaking always been this intense? It felt like the fire licking at her nerves was much hotter today.
She bent further until her breasts brushed against the cold marble and threw her hips back to make him go deeper inside her. My goodness! He was brushing against every sensitive nerve with each hard stroke. A flush spread over her body as heated sensations circled her and the throbbing between her thighs intensified with each stroke.
In and out. In and out.
As he plunged in and out of her body, his hands encircled her waist. One hand reached upwards to squeeze her breast in rhythm to his hard pumping. When his cock hit the top of her womb, it almost felt like getting zapped by an electric current.
Ah! There. Right there!
She threw her head back in a keening cry that resounded in the bathroom. Her cries only got louder as he pounded into her. When he suddenly pulled out of her completely, she cried out in protest.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he soothed as he turned her around to face him. “It’s okay. I got you.”
He soothed her with soft kisses as he caught her just under her thighs and picked her up. She expected him to set her on the counter so they could continue their delicious activities, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned with her in his arms and started for the door.
His cock slapped against her pussy as they walked, teasing her with memories of what she’d just had. By the time he let her down on his large bed, she was shaking with wild desire. Unfortunately, Worth wasn’t ready to come back into her. Hovering over her, he pressed little kisses on the side of her face and her lips.
“So beautiful,” he murmured as he kissed her forehead, one eyelid then the tip of her nose… her cheek. “I love you so much,” he whispered before coming back to her lips.
This kiss was different. Though desire lingered in the background, it was more tender than passionate. Almost as if he was making promises with his kisses, trying to seduce her into accepting him back with just his lips, and begging for her to love him too.
She ached to let him know that he didn’t need to beg. That she loved him too. But she couldn’t. Not when she was planning to make this their last night together. Saying those three little words would only make it harder to part. Instead, she met him with a soft kiss of her own. She suckled his lips and twirled her tongue around his softly. It was her way of showing him that she felt the exact way about him even if she couldn’t put it in words.
When he urged her to spread her legs for him, she did. He fit his lower body into the v between her thighs. He sucked her tongue hungrily as he slowly eased his cock into her. She slid her hands to his back, caressing his flesh and enjoying the way the muscles there rippled with his every little movement.
“You okay?” Worth murmured once he was sheathed inside her. She could tell that he was straining to keep himself from thrusting by how stiff he was and how harsh his expression was.
“I’m okay.” She spread her legs wider and canted her hips so that he could go even deeper. When he slowly thrust in, stretching her in the process, she couldn’t help her loud moan. “Aaah… that feels so good.”
“What about this?” he murmured as he pulled out of her then thrust in with a long, strong stroke.
“Ah, so good. So goo-” She couldn’t even finish her sentence because of the delicious sensations licking at her body.
With slow strokes, he pistoned in and out of her body. Every second of his torment dragged her closer and closer into the white light. The world shrank away until it was just the two of them. Tiny sweet kisses, one overlapping over the other, punctuated their frantic dance.
“Look at me,” Worth urged as he pumped in and out of her.
She obeyed his orders and found him watching her with a gentleness that she’d never seen in his gaze before. Maybe it was that tender gaze. Maybe it was the position that was more intimate. Maybe it was the emotions roiling within them that were more intense. Maybe it was because she knew that this would be their last time together. Either way, Sin felt a weird stinging behind her eyes. No amount of self-control could leash the tears that slipped down the side of her eyes.
Worth lowered his lips to the side of her eyes, kissing away those tears.
“It’s okay,” he whispered as he slowed his strokes until it almost seemed like he wasn’t moving. “It’s okay.”
No, it wasn’t okay. Would this really be their last night together? Would she just let him go after this? How would she survive afterwards? The last four months had been hell. She could only imagine how hellish the next couple of years would be.
Oh, why couldn’t he be someone else? Her heart constricted painfully. To ease it, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and dragged him even closer so that his chest smashed her breasts. She hugged him fiercely, revealing without words how much she didn’t want to let him go. How much she wished they could stay together!
Worth was more intuitive than she gave him credit for. He fit his hands beneath her neck and back, holding her close too. He kissed her neck. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart.”
He turned his head to meet her in a deep kiss that touched every inch of her. When he increased his speed again, she pressed the soles of her feet against his butt, trying to keep him sealed to her for as long as she could. Maybe she could drag this on forever and keep him from leaving her.
His thrusts were slow but rhythmic, heady and passionate. They got harder and more determined with each passing second until he was practically slamming into her. When he lifted off her slightly so his upper body was supported on his elbows, the strokes got harder, stronger, more fierce.
“Ah… ah… ah…” She wanted to scream but she was out of breath so she just dug her nails deeper into his back and arched upwards to meet his strokes.
The sensation of him jutting in and out of her and tearing her apart pushed her over the edge. She felt a familiar sharp yet delicious sensation even before she realized what was happening. By then it was too late. Even if she’d tried, she wouldn’t have been able to hide the scream that tore from her throat as her orgasm hit her. Her body shuddered, contracted and jerked as it washed over her with the fierceness of a dam breaking its banks.
Her climax spurred Worth’s. His strokes became even more frantic, shorter, faster… faster… faster… He broke with a loud groan that echoed in the room. Boneless, he collapsed on top of her and buried his face in her throat.
For a while, Sin was so lost in the afterglow of her release that she didn’t even feel how heavy he was. All she felt was how good it felt to be so close to him and how safe she felt when in his arms. However, soon reality seeped in. It was over now. If she didn’t leave soon, there was no way she’d ever be able to leave.
She waited for him to head to the bathroom to get rid of the condom. While he was in there, she forced herself to sit up in the bed. Her plan was to dress up and leave even before he realized what was happening, then she realized that her clothes were in the bathroom with him.
Damn it! She nervously wrung her hands as she waited for him to get out. As soon as he did, she tried to skirt past him.
He grabbed her wrist. “Where are you going?”
“The bathroom,” she said but didn’t explain further.
“Okay.” Smiling, he let her go. “Come cuddle with me after.”
That wasn’t going to happen! No way.
As soon as Sin was in the bathroom, she quickly dressed up. Her dress was still wet at the side and a little stained, but she wore it anyway. At the door, she took a deep breath and steeled her shoulders, preparing for the opposition that she knew would come. No matter what he said she’d leave, she swore. She opened the door and exited the bathroom.
Worth was seated on the bed, his back against the headboard with the covers at his waist. As soon as he spotted her, his brow furrowed. “Why are you dressed?”
“I’m leaving.” She avoided looking his way as she started towards the door. “Thanks for the night but-”
She never finished her words or got to the door. Worth shot out of the bed so fast that she stopped moving in surprise. Soon, he was standing in front of her, blocking her exit. Though he was naked as the day he was born, he didn’t seem to give a damn.
Something resembling fear shone in his eyes as he asked, “What do you mean you’re leaving?”
“Exactly what it sounds like.” She skirted past him, knowing that if she stayed any longer, she’d break.
However, Worth wasn’t willing to let her go. Before she’d even moved two steps, she felt his heat behind her. A moment later, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders from the back while his other hand closed around her waist, keeping her sealed to him, unable to move, unable to leave.
“Don’t go.” He tucked his face into the crook between her neck and shoulder. “Don’t go.”
“I have to,” she said. Already she could feel tears building at the back of her eyes. “Please Worth. Let me leave.”
“No.” His arms closed tightly around her, like chains binding her close to him. “No.”
“Worth, I already told you that I can’t do this.” Her stupid tears had started to spill. It felt like there was a stone clogging her throat as she added, “We can’t do this.”
“Why not?” He turned her to face him. His expression was already harsh but when he saw her tears his frown deepened. With an unexpected tenderness, he brushed his thumbs over her cheeks to wipe her tears. “Because you’re scared that we won’t work?”
She didn’t say anything but her answer was obvious.
“You don’t need to be scared.” His gaze was so intense it felt like he was burning a hole into her face. “Trust me… it will work. We can work.”
“But your reputation-”
“I don’t give a damn about my reputation.” His expression softened into a smile. “All I care about is you.”
This man was crazy. Did he even know what he was talking about? She sighed in frustration. “Why are you insisting on bringing me into your life? Why would you do this? What so special about me that you’d risk everything like this?”
“Everything about you is special to me.” He grabbed her hand by her wrist, and his thumb brushed against her pulse. “Everything.”
His words warmed her up, but they were not enough to ease her resistance. “That’s not enough of a reason for you to do this. You’re being ridiculous!”
“What’s so ridiculous about loving you?” He watched her. “Can’t you just give us a chance?”
Oh, she wanted to. God knew she wanted to. But she couldn’t, could she? Not when she already knew how this would end.
“Just give me a chance,” he went on before she could answer. “I promise I won’t make you regret it.”
“I’m not the one who’ll regret it,” she reminded him. “You’re the one with everything to lose. You’ll regret it.”
“No, I won’t!” he insisted. “How could I possibly regret being with the woman I love?”
“Worth, please don’t make this harder.” She brought her hands up until her palms were on his upper arms. If he weren’t already so much stronger than her, she would’ve shaken him. “I don’t want this. I’m not interested in a relationship that is going nowhere.”
“Who said it’s going nowhere?” He frowned. “I want everything. I want us to date on the premise that we’ll get married.”
“What?” Shock ricocheted through her. She hadn’t even gotten past the idiocy of their dating and he was already thinking marriage? Yup! He was crazy. Certifiably nuts!
“What did I you think I came for?” He canted his head to study her. “Isn’t that what normal couples do?”
“We’re not normal. How can we date like normal people? How can we get ma-” She swallowed convulsively. Even the words were hard to say let alone imagine. “How can we get married? We’re not normal.”
“Of course we’re normal.” Worth stared at her like she was the one talking crazy. “We love each other and sometimes we hurt each other. Isn’t that what it means to be normal human beings? A normal couple?”
She huffed in frustration. “You’re deliberately misunderstanding me.”
“No, you’re the one needlessly complicating our situation.” He swept his hands over her arms in a soothing up and down movement. “Stop thinking of all the bad things that you think might happen in the future and just concentrate on the now. What does your heart want right now? If I wasn’t Wentworth Ransom… if I was just Joe who works in that photo-studio next to your café, would you still not want to be with me?”
Of course she’d want to be with him. Still… she lowered her gaze to the floor between them. “But you’re not Joe.”
“That doesn’t matter.” With two fingers, he lifted her chin until she was staring into his eyes again. “I’m the man you love. I’m the man you should be with.”
“Worth…” she sighed.
“Sweetheart, please. I love you.” Frustration glittered in his eyes and his tone was beseeching as he asked, “Can’t you just let me into your life? I promise I’ll protect you from my family, from everyone… Can’t you just let me love you? I’ll beg if I have to.”
He was saying all the right words, relentlessly pounding at the walls she’d built around her heart. As she stared up at him, she could feel herself weakening.
“You don’t have to beg.” She took a breath to harden her weakening resolve. “It’s just that this is a bad idea. It won’t work…”
“We won’t know that until we try.” His grip on her shoulders tightened into a light squeeze. “Let’s just try, huh? Just a bit. If it’s too hard for you, then I’ll let you go.”
“What if it’s too hard for you?”
Worth grinned. “That will never happen. I’m a big boy!”
Her lips lifted in a reluctant smile and she lightly slapped his chest. “Are you saying that I’m not a big girl?”
“Of course not!” Worth laughed and the booming sound seemed to ease the tension throbbing in the room. His laugh softened into a smile as he brushed his palm over her face. “You’re a big girl. You’re my big girl.”
He bent to kiss her softly. She should’ve stopped the kiss, pushed him away, but she couldn’t. Every cell in her body was yearning for him, begging her to stop being so unbending and accept the love that he was so insistent on giving. She found herself wrapping her arms around his waist as they kissed. His own arms went around her body to bring her closer to his naked one. Immediately she felt his cock dig into her stomach.
“Whoa!” She gasped as her eyes lowered to the already erect rod then lifted back to meet his.
There was no embarrassment in his gaze. He shrugged. “That’s how much I want you. That’s how much I need you.”
She had to smile. Only Worth could make a hard-on seem romantic.
“Didn’t you miss me this whole time? Didn’t you feel like you were dead inside without me for these last four months?” His expression was as grave as his tone as he confessed, “I did. I missed you so damn much. And I can’t handle feeling like this anymore. I don’t want to miss you anymore.” He suddenly frowned as his gaze roved her face. “Or maybe I’m the only who felt like this.”
“Of course not!” she answered without thinking about it.
His mouth lifted in a slow smile. “So you’re saying you missed me?”
She wanted to hide the truth but her body refused to cooperate and she found herself nodding.
It wasn’t enough for Worth. “I want to hear the words.”
It took her a while to say them but eventually, she murmured, “I missed you.”
His grin couldn’t have been bigger. Who would’ve thought that just three words could make a man so happy? When he suddenly lifted her up by the waist, she was caught by surprise and instinctively wrapped her arms and legs around him to keep from falling. It must’ve been what he wanted because he started walking towards the bed. A moment later, she found herself lying on the bed. Before she could even remind him that she hadn’t agreed to any of this, he was hovering over her.
He was so breathtakingly close that she couldn’t even think, couldn’t come up with more ways to say no. When he bent down and set his lips over hers, she felt something in her break and crack. And when he kissed her like she was the only one he wanted to love, those broken pieces of her resistance melted away, like blocks of ice bowing to strength of boiling water. By the time he ended the kiss, lowered himself to the bed and turned her to face him, her heart was already swinging its gates wide open for him.
“If you missed me, then just let us be together.” He rubbed her shoulder and upper arm with smooth slow strokes. “We shouldn’t have to be apart. If I could live without you, I wouldn’t be here. I can’t live without you, Sin. I’m sorry. I can’t let you go.”
“Don’t say things like that.” She swallowed nervously. “I might change my mind.”
“I’m saying things like these to make you change your mind.” His hand came around to the back of her head and he came closer to kiss her softly.
When they came up for air, she found him watching her with an air of desperation that left her feeling an unexpected guilt. Why should he have to beg so much? She was the one who was unequal to him. The defective one. She should be the one begging him to love her. She brought her face closer to his and sealed their lips. In her kiss was the apology she couldn’t voice.
He said, “I know that I’ve let you down in the past and that I don’t deserve your trust-”
“You weren’t the only one who messed up.” She cut him off.
“But I messed up more,” he said. “And at least you tried to rectify what you did.”
“You also came back to set things right,” she reminded him.
“Are we going to keep arguing about who was more wrong or will you let me convince you to love me?” he teased with an amused twinkle in his eyes.
“Neither.” She watched him keenly as she confessed, “I already love you.”
“What?” His shock was as clear as daylight.
She exhaled in a long, controlled breath before repeating, “I already love you.” What was the point of resisting anymore? Clearly, Worth wasn’t going to just let her go, and clearly, none of her wanted to let him go. She said, “I love you, Worth.”
He blinked once, blinked twice, then blinked again. “Did you just say you love me?”
“You’re not deaf,” she teased before leaning forward to brush her lips against his in a brief kiss.
“Wow!” He was grinning like Cheshire cat. “I just never thought I’d hear those words from you.”
“Should I say them again,” she teased. When he nodded eagerly, she laughed. “I love you, Worth.”
He dragged her into his arms for a hard kiss that left her breathless and giggling. He said, “I won’t make you regret saying those words. I promise. I’ll make sure you don’t regret giving me a chance.”
“I know you won’t.” She smiled, but on the inside she was more worried about whether he’d regret taking this step. She hoped not. God, she hoped not.
Still, for now all she could do was enjoy the ride while it lasted. Hopefully it would last for a long, long while and everything would work out. Hopefully, her worries would prove unwarranted because she really, really, wanted a happy ending with him.
“I love you, Worth,” she whispered as she moved even closer to him.
“I love you too.” He came back for a tender kiss.