I looked up at him. “I’m staying here tonight. My suitcase is upstairs.” There was silence. His expression didn’t change, but under my hand, his heart beat faster. I jerked my hand away in confusion. He smiled.
“Thank God for that,” he said. “I’ve been wondering when you’d decide on that.”
I jerked around and stared at him. “I’ve been waiting for you to say!”
He shook his head. “The decision had to be yours. I wasn’t going to put you under any pressure.”
I couldn’t believe it. A whole week wasted.
No, not wasted. I stood up, faced him, hands on hips. “Okay. One more thing.”
His eyebrow quirked. “Only one?”
He’d made me practice hiding my feelings before. I’d got quite good at it, I thought. So I smiled sweetly instead of smacking him and said, “Well, one for now.” I leaned forward, the joke was over. “No more secrets. No more, I’ll wait for this, even if I want it, I’ll make you guess what I want.” I stood straight again. “No more secrets.”
His eyes shadowed over, and my heart nearly stopped. I’d not even paused to think he might not be being completely honest with me even now.
“No more secrets,” he echoed. “At least, no more new secrets.” He stood up beside me, and went to put his arms around me. I flinched. What was he going to say?
“There are two things you need to know about, Toni, but I can’t tell you yet, until they’re finalized.” He bent his head. “Neither will keep us apart.” He lifted my chin, gently. “Will you trust me, Toni, just with those two? Apart from those, I agree, no more secrets.”
I stared into his face. “What are they? Why can’t you tell me?”
He shook his head. “Neither are certain or clear. I have to make sure what I tell you is the truth and not assumptions. As soon as I know, I will tell you. I promise.”
I wanted to trust him, I really did. Did I believe him that I’d misinterpreted the call I’d overheard?
I thought for a moment. “Can you tell me though, is there anyone else involved in either of those secrets? Is there another person in your life?” Please God, please God, let the answer be no. I didn’t want to know if the answer was yes, but I had to, needed to.
His mouth was very close to mine. “My Toni, there is no other woman in my life. There hasn’t been for quite a while, and there never will be again. Only you, for the rest of my life. I promise.”
My heart turned over and began to race. I believed him absolutely. I wanted to trust him about those two secrets, so I pushed away my fear and lifted my mouth to his. His hand tangled up behind my head and his lips crushed against mine, his mouth open, demanding, and I yielded to him, feeling complete again. His other arm was around my waist, holding me up, as I felt my strength dissolving with the force of my relief and emotion.
I pulled away from his kiss a fraction. “Please take me upstairs.”
His mouth nuzzled back against mine. “With pleasure, my Toni. No secrets, it’s my pleasure.” He broke away and looked at me, held out his hand. “Come with me.”
* * *
He didn’t take me to my bedroom, he took me into his. The understated monochrome look showed masculinity, as did the musky scent of him as he drew me closer.
“My Toni. I have you back, and I will never, never let you go again.” His hand behind me slid down the hidden zipper, and I wondered inanely how he knew where it was concealed. His hands went to my shoulders, slipped the straps off and my dress pooled around my feet. I could feel my breathing was ragged, shallow as I waited while he looked at me. The pain was tight in my chest, I’d waited so long for this.
“Hurry. Please hurry, James. I need you.”
He chuckled. His deep, warm comforting chuckle that I’d missed so much the week I was gone.
“Not on your life. I’m going to enjoy every minute I have you here.”
I shut my eyes, deliciously waiting. Maybe I swayed, but his arms were around me, and he was lifting me, placing me on his bed. The scent of him rose all around me, and I felt a warmth in my center. I felt his hand sliding down my leg, towards my ankle and he slid my shoes off. His touch was gone, and I looked to see where he was. He was standing beside me, unbuttoning his shirt, his eyes fixed on me.
I reached out. “Let me help.”
“No way.”
I had to be content with feasting my eyes on his body as he shucked off shirt and jacket together. Unbuckling his belt, his eyes on me the whole time, I felt my core clench with the anticipation of feeling him inside me. My pussy was swollen and throbbing with need so much it almost hurt, and I decided to speed things up a bit.