For all kinds of reasons, I couldn’t stop smiling. "I do now."
"You bet your ass, you do." Slowly, he lowered his head and pressed his lips to mine. He kissed me like he meant it, and I leaned into him, savoring the feel of his lips and the taste of his tongue.
I'd missed him so very much – the sound of his voice, the feel of his body, the smell of his soap. In every possible way, he filled my senses, making me ache deep in my core.
I wanted him.
I'd wanted him almost from the start, even back when we'd supposedly hated each other.But that was then. This was now.
Now, he was mine. And I loved him so very much.
And he lovedme.
Talk about a crazy wonderful world.
When his hands slid up the back of my shirt, I felt the familiar tingle of anticipation. His hands were big and warm – not smooth, but strong and steady.
Beyond eager, I reached underhisshirt, too – yanking and pulling at the fabric until with a laugh, he pulled back and let me practically rip the polo shirt over his head, leaving him naked from the waist up.
His waist was lean, and his chest was picture-perfect, just like I remembered. But it wasn't his body, or even his handsome face, that made my breath hitch and my heart skip a beat.
It was the look in his eye when he said, "You're amazing. You know that?"
"No.You'reamazing."
And he was, from head to toe.
As he stood shirtless in the kitchen – whose kitchen, I didn't even know – I felt like this was the fresh beginning I'd been longing for, a way to reconcile the past with the present and whatever future came our way.
And speaking of longing, already I could feel my body responding, growing slick and warm in anticipation.
With a grin, Brody said, "You know what I'm gonna do next, don't you?"
Already, I was breathless and giddy. I couldn't help it. I snickered. With mock innocence, I said, "I have no idea."
"Yes, you do." He glanced down at my shorts. "But first, these have gotta go." With that, he reached for my waist and unfastened the button. One zip and few yanks later, I was standing in my panties, with the small of my back pressed against the nearest granite countertop.
Slowly and gently, Brody lifted my shirt over my head, and then tossed it aside. My bra – pink and lacy – was the kind that fastened in front. With love in his eyes, Brody unfastened the clasp with one hand and lowered his head to my neck. As his lips brushed my skin, he murmured, "I missed you."
My breath caught. "I missed you, too."
He pulled back to look at me. "You're so beautiful."
Ifeltbeautiful. And happy — happier than I'd felt in, well, forever, actually. As I searched for the words to tell him so, he took one of my hardened nipples between his fingers and toyed with it just the way I liked.
With a soft moan, I went straight for his pants, fumbling first for the button and then for the zipper. When I pushed down his slacks and saw the massive bulge in his briefs, the warmth inside me only grew.
He was so immensely hard, and I was so slick and willing. We'd kicked off our shoes somewhere in all the fumbling, and I was pretty sure I knew what came next.
But I was wrong.Instead of hoisting me up onto the counter, he reached down to the floor beside us and picked up his discarded shirt.
I laughed. "If you put that on, I swear, I'm gonna lose it."
With a wicked grin, he informed me, "You're gonna lose it anyway, I promise you that." He lifted the shirt higher. "But the shirt's not for me. It's for you."
He reached around me and placed the shirt on the countertop directly behind where I stood.
"Ohhhh," I laughed. "Padding."
