His gaze dipped down to her belly, and when he studied her face, there was something that looked like…longing. As if he, too, thought about it, and liked the idea. “I think you’d make an awesome mother someday.”
Lauren forced a light laugh. “Yeah, we’ll see. So…dinner?”
“Yeah. Right. Uh, I made reservations.” He finished his treat, dusted off his hands, and held his arm out for her. He still wore a suit from his day at the office, while she had on shorts and a tank top. “Are you ready?”
“Depends. Do I need to change?”
“Why would you do that?” He frowned. “You look beautiful already. You always do.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the compliment. “Well, if we’re going somewhere fancy, I need to wear a dress.”
“Nah, you’re fine.” He opened the door for her, and led her through it. “Lock up.”
She did. The whole time, she felt his gaze on her.
There was something there, buried in those hazel depths that made her heart race and her thighs tremble. When she finished, she turned to him. He pressed her against the door, towering over her, his chest pressed to hers, and trapped both her hands on either side of her body. She almost dropped the flowers. “Steven?”
“You look so damn pretty in the moonlight. How did it take me so long to see what was right in front of me? How could I have been so damn blind?”
He lowered his mouth to hers, stopping just shy of kissing her. His warm, minty breath fanned across her cheek. Tears threatened to spill out. Not from fear—though she was scared, too—but he looked down at her as if she was the most important thing on this planet, and she had no idea what to do with that. She’d never been anyone’s first choice. Never had someone who literally needed her in his life.
Her mother had been too busy mourning the loss of her father for her entire life while paying bills, so Lauren had always been on her own. No one needed her. But Steven…he did. And that meant a lot to her. So much.
She didn’t want to lose it, or him.
A tear slipped out, and Steven’s thumb caught it with lightning fast reflexes. “Why are you crying? I didn’t want to make you cry. Shit, I’m sorry, cupcake.”
He’d freed one of her hands, so she curled it behind his nape and shook her head again, gasping for a good breath. The emotion inside of her was…was…overwhelming. “I’m not crying.”
“Uh…” He tried to pull back, but she didn’t let him. “Then what the fuck is coming out of your eyes?”
“Tears. But they’re good ones. Very good.” She took a deep breath. “I—”
“In that case?” He brushed his lips across hers lightly. “I can make them happier.”
She curled her fingers into her palms. “Steven—”
“Shh.” He kissed her again, and this time when their lips met, there was a deep, tangible emotion behind the gesture. One that there was no running from, or avoiding.
Moaning, he pressed closer, and cupped her face. The flowers fell to the sidewalk, bouncing between their feet, but they didn’t stop kissing. She strained to get closer, and her hands roamed his body, learning everything with new vision. Memorizing every hard edge and muscle. And it wasn’t enough.
She needed him now.
And it seemed like he had the same opinion, too. He spun her around the corner of her shop, into the dark alley. The second they were cloaked in darkness, he undid her shorts, yanking them down. She gasped and reached for his buckle, unfastening it and ripping his pants open. They didn’t waste time with foreplay or soft caresses.
There wasn’t any time.
The need was too strong, too loud, to be denied.
Hauling her up against the brick wall, he positioned himself at her entry. He was seconds from sending her soaring into an orgasm, but he stopped. “Shit.”
“What?” she asked breathlessly. “Why’d you stop? Don’t stop.”
“I didn’t bring a condom. We were supposed to go to a sweet date, like normal people, and fuck at home in a bed…again, like normal people.”
Home. He’d called her place home. A strangled laugh escaped her. “We’re not normal, and I’m on the pill, so come on.”
“But…” Still, he hesitated. “Are you sure? I mean, I’m clean, but that’s a big step. I’ve never even fucked without a condom before.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” She grabbed either side of his face and squeezed. “I’m yours, and only yours. I’m not sleeping with anyone else, and don’t want to. And if you don’t fuck me right now, I’ll kill you.”