Audrey’s hand rests on my thigh as we drive out to a late afternoon meeting I’ve set up with a new client. Or so I told her. It’s almost unreal that we’ve been working together a full year now, but you know what they say about time and having fun. Working with Audrey made me love my job again, and she says it’s the same for her. The new agency is thriving with our combined skill sets. I like to say we’re like one big super-agent.

My partner has been silent for most of the ride, most likely planning the staging for a property that will go on the market next week. She straightens in her seat and darts her eyes over the landscape.

“Oh hey, I know this road. We’re meeting a new client, right? Is the lake house up for sale again, or is there another property nearby? You’d have mentioned it if Mrs. Hartwell called, right?”

“I certainly would have.”

“Then what’s up? If I remember the maps correctly, there are literally no other houses accessible from this road for at least another hour.”

“Fine, I lied. No new client.”

She eyes me, waiting for more information. I try not to grin. It’s easier than it would be if I weren’t the smallest bit nervous.

“Seriously, Caleb. What’s going on? You’d better tell me right now, or I will inflict ungodly tortures on you.”

“Promise?” I grin suggestively.

“Okay, this is the lake house driveway, I’m one hundred percent sure now. Why are we going here, and why is it a secret, Caleb?”

“Relax,” I say. “I just thought it would be nice to drop by.”

“It’s a little far to drop by, but okay.”

I run around the car to grab her hand as she steps out, old-school chivalry style. She laughs at these traditional gestures, hippie that she is, but I think she secretly loves it.

“Have I mentioned how lovely you look today?” I ask. Her purple chiffon dress is cut low in front and clings to her curves over a darker satin layer. It drives me crazy every time she wears it, and she knows.

“You might have mentioned it,” she says with a smile.

We skirt the house, and I lead her instead down the gravel path toward the lake. The sun is low in the sky, almost touching the tops of the trees and casting brilliant reflections over the water. At the dock, a linen-covered wooden picnic table faces the lake. Mason jars of flowers and a pair of softly burning hurricane lamps flank either end of the table, giving away my pretense. Audrey laughs as I help her over the bench and scuttle off to the boathouse to retrieve the giant picnic basket waiting for me.

“Oh, Caleb, this is so wonderful! Where is Mrs. Hartwell, though?”

“As it happens, she’s out of town tonight.” I set the basket down and begin unloading a dozen small-bite dishes perfect for an evening picnic. “I asked her if she would mind us celebrating an anniversary of sorts tonight. It’s been exactly a year since our night together here, and I think it’s worth celebrating the start of something so great.”

She smiles up at me, her face more breathtaking than this lake view people pay millions for. “I couldn’t agree more.”

I pull out wine glasses and pour a lightly sweet Riesling, then join her on the seat. She pulls me in for a tender kiss, and only reminding myself what’s to come keeps me from laying her on the table and tasting her instead.

Over dinner, we talk about the weekend that changed everything and the year between, laughing at our challenges and counting our successes. I almost forget the time, but as the sun slips further below the silhouette of the trees across the lake, I pull Audrey to her feet.

“What’s dinner without a sunset flavored dessert?” I ask.

“My favorite,” she says. Then she giggles. “Sunset flavored? A year ago you’d have called that new age nonsense.”

“You’re probably right. But I’m not a man who can’t learn new tricks.” I bump one eyebrow up a couple times. “Have any other new tricks you’d like to try?”

She wraps her arms around my waist. “Oh, now that you mention it, a college friend of mine is selling pot-infused lube. I may have a bottle of it on order…”

“I can’t wait.” I chuckle and disentangle, not to be deterred from the dessert treat I’ve got planned.

At the end of the dock, dessert and champagne are chilling on ice. I light citronella candles first, because I definitely don’t want any pests ruining what I’ve got planned for Audrey. She stretches her legs out to the side on the soft blanket spread out over the planks. I snag the dessert tray and sit behind her so she can lean into my chest. I select a ganache-filled truffle and feed it to her as we watch the play of color over the water. Her gentle moan of delight tests my restraint, and I begin to swell with desire. She pulls away, grabs the champagne flutes and the bottle, and scoots to face me as she untwists the wire over the cork. It pops open, and she pours the frothing liquid into glasses.

“What should we toast?” She tosses her long hair over one shoulder. “Our partnership? Our sex-iversary?”

“I hope instead we can toast our engagement.”

Her lips part. I palm the little box and open it toward her to reveal a round diamond flanked by marquis-cut emeralds set along twining platinum vines. Her eyes meet mine.

“I love you, Audrey,” I say simply. “I want to be your partner for the rest of our lives. Will you marry me?”

She sets aside the champagne and pulls me forward into a kiss that tells me everything.

“Yes,” she whispers against my lips.

Our hands tremble as I slide the ring onto her finger.

Her arms snake around my neck, and I cradle her head in my hand as we pull together. We begin tenderly, lips soft and tongues meeting gently. My fingers find the zipper of her dress and lower it, and then drift back up to unhook her bra.

As she pushes the fabric off her shoulders, I break away and take off my shirt. I take a moment to appreciate her full breasts, nipples pebbling in the cooling breeze. This sexy, amazing woman is mine. It humbles me.

“I don’t deserve you,” I murmur as I gaze at her. “You’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I know. So big even this business can’t tame it. Thank you for giving us another chance.”

Her hands skim over the hard muscles of my chest, and my palms graze her nipples. She leans into my touch with a sigh.

“We all deserve love. And everything I give you, you return with interest. Even in my wildest fantasies, I never dreamed it all could be this good.”

Our lips crash together, harder this time as urgency grows.

After I shift to my knees, I gently lay her on the dock and help her shimmy out of the dress. I lie beside her and kiss her again as I luxuriate in the feel of her body close to mine. I touch her all over, skimming my hands over the curves I adore. Love shines in her eyes in the waning light. I drink it in, marveling at the depth of my love for her.

I kiss her again then rest my hand over her mound. She sucks in against my mouth, stealing a little of my breath. When I dip under her panties and between her folds, I bring the wetness to my lips.

“I’ll never get tired of this,” I say. “Every time I want you, every time I touch you, you are ready for me.”

“I love you,” she whispers. “And I will always want you.”

Moving over her, I slide her lacy panties over her hips and sink between her thighs. I lick several long strokes that slip between her folds and wet her clit. She gives a soft moan. I slip two fingers inside and flick my tongue over her nub. When I swirl my tongue in slow circles, her knees fall to the sides and she grips my head. I alternate pressure, flattening and pointing my tongue as it circles her clit. I kiss her pleasure center and suckle gently while my fingers press against the spot from inside. My tongue finds the sweet spot I know by heart now, and her moans get louder.

“Let me hear you,” I urge. “There’s no one nearby.”

“I don’t want to wait, Caleb. I want you inside me now,” she demands.

“Hell, no. I’m right where I want to be.” I kiss her thighs, making her wait for trying to rush me. My fingers, wet with her juices, slip up to tease her clit. Her muscles quiver against my cheek as I trace around her clit, watching the micro responses of her body’s most sensitive spot to my touch. Nothing turns me on more than her arousal. The flush of delicate skin, the thrust of her hips, the hitch in her breathing when I get the rhythm right.

I taste her again, torturing her by caressing every spot but the one she wants. The more impatient she gets, the slower I go.

Then she sits up and scoots away from me. The next thing I know, she tackles me and straddles my waist. My head hits the deck with a thump, and I gaze up at her breasts dangling over me in the deepening dusk. I thought I wanted control, but the reversal is sexy as hell. My dick strains against my pants as her warm slit presses against my belly. She leans forward and allows me to take one nipple in my mouth. I fill my hands with her and flick my tongue over the stiff peak. She moans and rocks against me. I suckle gently but let my teeth graze the pebbled skin. Her hair falls around us in a dark curtain, tickling over my bare shoulders. I release her breast and move to the other, lavishing it with care in turn.

Her warmth leaves me, and her fingers gently smooth over my eyelids to close them. There’s a jerk at my belt, the sound of a zipper. She eases my pants and boxers over the giant erection that springs free. My hands go down to cup my balls as she tugs my pants off my ankles. My belt clinks as she tosses the heap aside. I try not to peek. Where will she touch me first?

She plucks my hand away and presses both of them against the dock, down by my sides. She doesn’t have to tell me not to touch—I’m loving this game. I inhale as her lips and tongue touch my nipple. The breeze over the wet skin makes me shiver, but I don’t open my eyes.

“I like having you like this, for a change,” she purrs. “I love your body. Your chest”—her hands caress my shoulders and pecs—“your six pack, your ass.” Fingers trail over my hips, and my dick twitches as they get close.

“I love your runner’s legs, too.” Her soft palms wrap around one leg and travel up my thigh. A whisper of skin on skin, and her warmth settles between my legs. My balls draw up tightly against me in anticipation, and she must notice. A hand cups me, and light pressure travels under my balls to the ridge of flesh behind. At the same time, a firm grip wraps around my shaft.

“Ah, that feels good, Audrey. Now your mouth…”

Abruptly, her hands leave me. I clench my jaw over my protest.

“That’s not how we’re doing it today. Tell me how you feel, but don’t tell me what to do. Is that understood?”

Jesus Christ, I’d agree to anything right now.

“Yes,” I rasp.

There’s no reply, but her hands return, massaging lightly. Lightning shoots from my balls to my dick as wet pressure strokes from base to tip. Her tongue. She licks me like I’m an ice cream cone on a hot day, and my hips jerk. I mutter incoherently, fighting to go by her rules. My fingers flex against the blanket.

Finally her mouth encases me, and I groan—relief is followed by piercing need. I want to touch her, guide her over me, watch her mouth move on me. I focus on the sensations instead. Pressure builds faster than I could imagine. Her hand on my shaft moves with her mouth. Lips and tongue move over me, and her other hand still caresses my balls and taint. With nothing else to see or do, the onslaught of sensation is nearly too much. I hold on with everything I’ve got.

“I’m getting close, Audrey. God, that feels good. I don’t know if I can—” Whatever I meant to say gets lost in the guttural noise that breaks free.

The sensations stop.

Weight settles over my hips.

She lifts my hands to her waist.

My eyes fly open in time to see her face, backlit by emergent stars, as she braces against my chest and angles her hips over my cock. Pleasure explodes in me as she sinks onto my dick, holding my gaze. Her hair tumbles in waves over her shoulders, ending just above her rosy nipples. When she’s seated fully, she covers my hands with hers and begins to lift her hips, roll them forward, and drop. Every time her hips fall, my dick throbs, swelling impossibly bigger it seems. She grunts as she takes me, sheathing my full length.

Her eyes roll upward, and her breathing gets faster, her perky nipples thrusting forward, bouncing as she rides me. She’s the earth mother I always thought she was, a primal force. Her wet pussy is my whole world, and the galaxy surrounds us. Colors—midnight blue and forest green—seep into the edges of my vision.

She throws her head back and begins to move faster, abandoning her rolling motion for fast, hard strokes. Her ass smacks against my lap. Her voice rises in soft cries. Her eyes fly open and meet mine, dark with lust and love. Her lips fall open as she pants. She’s close. The urge rises in me, swelling and building, and it’s here, and the spasms begin just as her pussy contracts around me. She grinds against me and yells with me, our voices echoing against the far bank of the lake as our pleasure fades in pulsing waves.

Chest heaving, I sit up to hold her close. The night air cools the sweat on our bodies, but the warmth of skin on skin wraps us in a golden cocoon.

“Audrey, you are a goddess,” I whisper against her salty lips.

“I’m just a woman,” she says, smiling. “But you can call me whatever you want if you make me feel like this for the rest of our lives.”

“Forever,” I promise.

* * *