Sweat was pouring off of me. The realization of how close I’d come to possibly dying hit me.
Jake turned on the lamp. “Nina?”
“Huh?”
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“I remember waking up in the ambulance now. I thought I was dying. The thought of never seeing you again…you know what’s crazy? I was thinking about you more than even our children. Somehow, I knew they’d be alright because they’d have you. But I didn’t think you’d be okay without me. And I didn’t want to leave this Earth without you. Does that make sense? I knew you’d be there for them because you had to be, but I didn’t think you’d really be okay.”
He held me tight. “You’re right.”
“This might sound strange, but I feel like we’ve been together before this life and like we’ll be together again. It’s as if we’re—”
“Truly connected. I know. When they made me stay out of the operating room and I had to wait not knowing whether you were okay, I came to that same conclusion. I felt dead until the doctor came out and told me you were alive.”
“That must have been so scary for you.”
“Try not to think about that. Just be with me now. We have to trust that even when our time here is over, the powers that led us to each other will bring us together again. In the meantime, don’t waste another second worrying about what could have happened that day. Okay?”
“This moment…that’s all there ever is.”
“I’m glad you remember some of what I’ve taught you over the years.”
I reached over to kiss him on the cheek, but he abruptly turned his face toward me. His mouth devoured my lips in a ravenous kiss. My body melted into his. It had been too long. My hand started to slide down to his crotch.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I thought we were following the doctor’s orders,” he said over my lips. “I’ve been very good, but if you touch me like that, I can’t be responsible for what happens next.”
“This is what the doctor ordered tonight.”
“Fuck. It’s been five weeks.” He placed his hand firmly on my ass and pulled me into him. “You’re not gonna hear any argument from me.”
“I know how hard for you this wait has been.”
“Hard for you. Yes. You got that shit right.” He sucked on my bottom lip before slowly releasing it. “Let’s not talk anymore.”
“Less fighting, more fucking. See? I remember that, too.”
He laughed as he kissed down my neck and said, “That one might just be the wisest thing I ever came up with.”
As he started to lift up my nightgown, I snapped, “Turn the lamp off.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No way. I want to see every inch of you while we fuck. Your body is amazing like this. You know how I feel about it.” He palmed my breasts. “There’s even more of what I love. I want to enjoy it.”
“We’re not doing it with the lights on.”
Ignoring me, he said, “How about I start?”
He got up and slowly took his pants off, kicking them away. His body was rock solid, jacked, and his skin was flawless. Jake only got better with age. Meanwhile, I felt fat, and knew the insecurity would stick with me until every ounce of the baby weight came off.
He still had his underwear on when he kneeled over me. “Like what you see?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Keep your eyes on me, but don’t touch me,” he said gruffly.
I went along with it.
My eyes travelled from his strong jaw, down the length of chest to his six-pack. A thin happy trail of hair formed a sexy line down the middle of his V muscle.
His voice was low. “What do you want, Nina?”
“I want you to take these off.” When I tugged on his underwear, he grabbed my hand and moved it off him.
Giving me a sexy smirk, he slid his tongue across his bottom lip. “No touching.”
“Okay.”
The tip of his cock stuck out from the top of his boxer briefs. He was fully hard.
“So, you want me to take these off, huh?”
“Yes.”
“The thing is, you wanted to shut the light off. Then, you won’t be able to see me, either. Don’t you want to see me?”
My mouth was agape. “Yes.”
“I want to see you, too. Let me see you first.”
I reluctantly slipped my nightgown over my head but left my nursing bra on.
“Take it off.”
I unsnapped it from the front and threw my bra on the ground.
“Good girl. Now, your panties.”
I slid my boy shorts down my legs and tossed them aside.