He gave a slow shake of his head.
“It was you, Dell. Your belief in me, to make me strong enough to say good-bye to a life I wasn’t really living, to get my own life, to choose who I am, to build that person. To be strong. Like you.”
“Jade.” His voice was thick. Clearly he was stunned and deeply affected to hear that he’d so impacted her life. “It was all you.”
“I know what you did that day you first had me organize your desk and then let me look at your accounting. And then again when you showed me how to break out of that hold. If it wasn’t for you, I’d never have discovered who I really was. Or the fact that I am not defined by the worst day of my life.”
His eyes softened. “I just wanted you to never be afraid again. To believe in yourself. And then, when that started happening, when you started gaining confidence, I realized the truth. It was happening, exactly what I wanted—you were learning to live without fear and getting strong . . . so that you could leave. I was helping you leave.” Letting out a low laugh, he pressed his forehead to hers. “Christ, that sucked.” He tilted his head and kissed her gently, eyes open, locked on hers. “I love you,” he breathed. “I love you so goddamn much it hurts.”
Her heart swelled. A single moment of terror had led to her running from everyone and everything she’d ever known, but she could no longer regret or resent it.
Not when it’d all led to this, to the best moment of her life.
She pressed her hand to his chest. “I love you, too, Dell. With all my heart. And I want my job back.”
The corners of his mouth tilted up in a slow, intimate smile. “I was hoping you would.”
“You should know, I gave up my lease on that loft in Sunshine. I’ll have to find something else.”
“I know a place.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s not too far from work.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It’s a house. Airy rooms, wide-open space. There’s ice cream in the freezer at all times. Pizza on speed-dial. Cats are welcome. And there’s a gym. Comes with a personal trainer. Interested?”
Her heart caught. He’d been serial dating for years and had never even brought a woman home with him. Not once.
Until her. “More than you can imagine.”
“Good.” He kissed her, not gently this time. “There’s only one thing left, then.”
“What’s that?”
“The terms.”
She turned, and he unzipped her dress so that the bodice fell from her breasts to the crook of her arms. Stepping close, he pressed himself against her. She could feel him hard against the cleft of her buttocks as he dipped his head and nipped at the nape of her neck. “T-terms?” she managed.
“Are you a bed hog?”
“I—” One of his hands slid up to cup her breast, his fingers teasing her nipple until she moaned and ground into him. “You already know that I am.”
“That’ll have to go on the spreadsheet.” He ran his lips down her throat to her shoulder. Her knees buckled, but he had her.
“S-spreadsheet?” She sounded like Peanut.
“Yes. We’ll need a spreadsheet to keep track of things. We don’t want any hard or hurt feelings. I’m a hot-water hog. That’ll go in my column. I’ll have to make retribution for that . . .” He pushed her dress over her hips so that it dropped to the floor, leaving her in her lace bra and matching thong, which pulled a rough groan from deep in his throat as he stroked the curve of her breast.
A rush seared through her so strong it was almost painful. She held her breath and waited, for it to relent, for it to lessen into a normal level of desire, but there was nothing normal here, nothing in her realm of understanding.
She’d never felt like this with anyone else before. “Will we share the cooking?”
“Or dialing for takeout.”
She started to laugh but choked on it when he pressed a hand low on her spine, urging her to bend over the desk slightly. “I dreamed about you last night,” he said, voice rough.
“You did?” She flattened her hands on the wood as he slid a hand up her thigh and let his fingers brush the front of her lace thong. “You dreamed about doing this, here, with me?”
“Yes.” His tongue traced the shell of her ear. “I dreamed of you, like this.” He thrust two fingers into her in one long, smooth movement. She gasped. With no effort, and without relenting the rhythm of his fingers, he rearranged her to suit him, spreading her legs a little, bending her over more so that he could continue to drive her mad.