“I love you,” she said in a hoarse, congested whisper.
He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back several inches. She resisted the urge to hide her face and damp cheeks in his neck.
“You don’t have to say that because I gave you the bracelet. It wasn’t even mine to give. It belonged to Lynn, so it now belongs to you.”
She gave a ragged laugh and rolled her eyes. “Give me some credit. That’s not why I’m saying it.”
A small smile tilted his mouth. His eyes shone. Her heart seemed to squeeze in her chest. Her admission had made him happy. It had made her happy, too, despite her former anxiety about it.
“I’ve felt it for a while.” She shrugged. “I just . . . didn’t know if—”
“You could trust it?” he asked calmly, lifting his hand and cupping the side of her head.
She bit her lower lip, her gaze cast downward. “I didn’t know how to say it,” she admitted. “I’ve never said it before.” He delved his fingers into her hair. Her eyelids flickered in contentment when he massaged her scalp. “Was it . . . was it hard for you?” she asked.
“To tell you I love you?”
Her heavy eyelids sprang open at the sound of his deep, rich voice uttering those words.
“Yes,” she whispered.
“At first. I’ve told you before I’ve never been much of a romantic. But at some point, it starts to feel like denying the sky is blue.”
She just nodded, her throat too constricted to think for a moment. “I don’t know what it means, exactly.”
“You don’t have to sign a contract because you say you love someone, Alice.”
She laughed. “I know. I mean . . . I guess I do, anyway. Lately, it doesn’t feel like I know much of anything anymore.” Her gaze ran over his face. “We have such a complicated, long history. And at the same time . . . everything feels so new,” she confessed. He probably had no idea what she was talking about. Alice wasn’t sure she did.
His thumb swept over her cheek softly.
“We’ll do it just like we’re going to do everything else. One day at a time.”
She nodded, recognizing she was staring at him with hope in her eyes. He noticed, and his expression turned sober. He cupped the back of her head and brought her to him. His kiss started out tender, but emotion frothed in her. She kissed him back feverishly, her tongue tangling with his. She slid her hands against the solid wall of his chest, relishing his hardness and the steady beat of his heart. Beneath her, she felt him stiffen. She ground her hips down against his crotch in order to feel him better. Her fingers found the knot of his tie. She broke their kiss, gasping, and jerked, hearing the hiss of silk as she loosened it.
“There’s no time. We have to leave for the hospital in a few minutes,” she said against his mouth.
“Then why are you undressing me?”
She blinked in surprise when she glanced down. She’d not only loosened his tie but had the first two buttons of his shirt unfastened and was working on the third.
“Because I want to touch you,” she replied honestly, wasting no time in sending her hand in the opened placket of his shirt. She caressed dense muscle and crisp hair. When she found a small, erect nipple and rubbed it, his mouth went hard. He abruptly grabbed the hand stuck in his shirt and lifted it over her head along with her other wrist. He whipped her T-shirt off over her head and arms in a second flat, tossing it on the floor. Her sports bra soon followed.
“Only a fool doesn’t make time for this,” he stated gruffly, caressing her appreciative nipples too briefly before he turned his focus to unfastening her shorts.
“Do you really think it’s wise?” Alice asked, coming up on her knees to assist him as he jerked her shorts down over her ass.
“Who said it had anything to do with wisdom? Stand up for a second.”
She scooted awkwardly back on his thighs, her breasts swaying at the movement. He growled softly and leaned forward, halting her progress by cupping her breasts in his hands, his thumbs running over her nipples.
“God, your breasts,” he muttered, his mouth slanting like he’d just been stabbed by sexual hunger. Alice knew exactly what it felt like. It must have been a result of all the emotion that’d been bursting out of her, but she suddenly felt desperate. She moaned and arched her back shamelessly, willing him to touch her more. He gave her what she wanted momentarily, molding her breasts to his hands and gently pinching and rubbing her nipples until they were distended and stiff. He lifted the globes and let them fall, only to catch them again as they bounced softly. Another moan vibrated her throat. He glanced up at the sound, his eyes shiny with lust.
“Stand up and slip out of your shorts.”
She stood and shoved her shorts and panties down her legs. She straightened, now na
ked. Dylan was in the process of hastily unfastening his belt and pants. He hooked his thumbs beneath his boxer briefs and stretched the waistband over his erection. Lifting his hips, he pushed his clothing down to his thighs, sat and reached for her in a seamless, hasty movement. Alice once again straddled him in the chair, her breathing coming in choppy bursts.