My breath catches. No uncontrolled desire lingers in his gaze, but raw love and hope sit in its place.
I throw my knees over his lap, straddling him. I open my mouth to speak, but he stops me. Again.
“Before you say anything, before we do anything else, I need you to know this.” He takes my cheeks in his hands. “Laura, I love you. I’ve always loved you. I never should have let you slip away in the first place. And I don’t care if you’ve been with a thousand guys since me. I don’t care if you slept with half my team.”
I laugh at his hypotheticals.
“But I am never walking away from you or Jack again. And I will spend the rest of our lives making up for the time I missed. You are my—” He cuts off, searching for the right words as his eyes well up, before continuing, “Everything.I’ve loved you since I was sixteen, and I’m never going to stop. A hole has been in my chest, a feeling of despair. I didn’t know it until I saw you at Fireflies. But the second I did, it was like I came back to life and that hole was filled again.”
My breaths are huffing in and out. And it isn’t until his thumb sweeps my cheek that I realize I’m crying. I’ve been waiting for what feels like forever to hear him say that.
I don’t have anything to say. He used up all the words. So, instead, I kiss him.
I kiss his lips, but it’s so much more than that. I give myself over to him, heart and soul. Although he might have had them this whole time.
He deepens the kiss, his tongue parting my lips. My hips involuntarily begin rocking against him, causing soft groans to pour into my mouth.
Alec’s rough, callous hands delicately sweep across my back, slowly guiding the zipper down. The straps fall off my shoulders, and I stand, the dress pooling at my feet.
Alec bites his lip and pulls his arms out of his shirt, tossing it next to my dress.
Holy shit …
Every inch of his torso and shoulders is defined, and I want to explore it all with my tongue.
He rises off the bed and undoes the belt of his pants, shimmying out of them.
He reaches for the band of his boxers, but I stop him, placing my hands over his. I slide my fingers into the band and gently pull them down, his large erection bouncing from the release.
Alec’s hands find their home on my jaw, and I relinquish the control I had.
“Come here,” he orders as he guides my mouth back to his.
His tongue dances with mine. He spins us around and places one hand around my back. With impressive strength, he lowers us down to the bed, bearing his weight on the hand by my head, our lips never separating.
When he pulls his hand out from behind my back, his fingers find that tortuous rhythm on my center. A second later, two fingers begin pumping in and out, and my eyes roll from the overwhelming sensations.
Alec’s forehead falls onto mine, his lips pulling away for the first time since we found the bed. “You’re so beautiful, Lu.” His fingers stop their rhythm, and my body instantly misses it. “Are you ready? You’re okay?”
His eyes find mine, and they are so vulnerable, so genuine, that a lump forms in my throat.
I nod my head.
He chuckles. “I need to hear you say it, Laura.”
He rolls a condom on and delicately lines himself up with me, his tip slightly pressing into my entrance.
My fingers dig into the sheets with anticipation. “Yes, yes, please yes.”
The largest smile graces his lips as he slowly fills me, inch by inch. I can feel him stretching me, feel him hitting spots deep inside that I didn’t know existed.
My head rolls back, my mouth falling open.
Alec moans, “Laura, look at me. Don’t stop.”
Lifting my head up, I find his stare.
“Can we make a deal?” His voice is husky.
