Truly Madly Deeply Boxed Set(195)

Once inside the house and back on her feet, Nikki took charge. She’d promised herself if she had to walk away, it wouldn’t be for lack of trying to make her marriage work. She glanced down at the ring on her left hand. While not a sparkling, glittering diamond, the simple gold band meant more to her than any jewel.

“Disappointed?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It’s perfect,” she murmured. “Just like the day.” Although she’d dreamed of a traditional wedding surrounded by family, those dreams belonged to the child she’d been, not the grown-up she’d become. And the small but intimate ceremony with Janine, Kevin, and the life growing inside her met all her current needs and dreams.

She grabbed for his hand and as he laced their fingers together, a curling ribbon of warmth flowed through her. Just for tonight, Nikki wanted to put all thoughts of the future out of her head. She wanted to focus on the present. Tomorrow she would build from there.

“Come on.” He turned toward the hall, giving her hand a light tug.

“Where?” she asked, playing along.

“Come to bed. My bed.” His husky voice pulled at her, luring her with its depth and need.

She followed him down the hall, anticipation building with every step. She paused at the entry to the master bedroom. “I thought it was our bed now.”

He swept her off her feet again, and deposited her on top of the mattress. As an answer, she supposed it sufficed. And she had to admit, it gave her hope.

He lowered himself over her, bracketing her shoulders with his hands. The intense pull stretched from her breasts downward, where between her legs, a pulsing, throbbing beat picked up a steady rhythm.

His dark eyes bore into hers and she was drawn in all over again. Kevin pulled her to a sitting position and worked at the buttons on the front of her suit. The lapels of her jacket fell open and slipped off her shoulders.

Nikki shouldn’t be embarrassed. Kevin had seen her before, night after night when they’d made love in her bed. But he’d never looked at her as his wife—the woman he’d tied himself to—for as long as they both shall live. Or at least for as long as Nikki could hold onto the hope that lived inside her at this moment.

But she couldn’t help the seeds of doubt, the concern that maybe he regretted his decision. “Disappointed?” It was her turn to ask.

He shook his head. “You’re perfect. Just like...”

“Don’t tease me, Kevin. Not about this.”

He grabbed for her hands, which now covered her chest, and pulled them down to her sides. “Look. And see yourself as I see you.”

She glanced downward. Her breasts, fuller now than ever before, spilled over the lace cups of her bra. “I guess I can see how they meet with your approval.”

His hands cupped her breasts. His darker skin against her whiter flesh, combined with his heated touch, had an erotic effect on her senses. And when his mouth came down hard on hers, concerns about what he thought fled. Because she couldn’t mistake the reverent way his hands caressed her body or the deliberate way he made love to her with his mouth.

With every touch, with every shift of his body against hers, he told her she was special. He left no doubt in her mind that he didn’t regret his decision and that he wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. As always, their inhibitions fled beneath the covers, but this time their union   meant so much more. And she prayed that for once, it would last into the light of tomorrow.

Kevin entered her, creating exquisite friction as every hard ridge of his erection touched the deep recesses of her body. And in the burst of light that followed, Nikki caught a glimpse of her future.


* * *

Nikki came awake by degrees. A delicious warmth heated her body and a tantalizing masculine scent greeted her with each breath. “Kevin,” she murmured.

In response, his hand slid upward to cup her breast. She sighed at the strong touch and buried her face in the crook of his neck while her fingers splayed over his hard length.

He groaned aloud. “You know how to start the day off right,” he said, pressing a kiss against her cheek.

The butterfly-light touch whispered against her skin, creating a tingling sensation she didn’t want to end. With his other hand, his fingers moved idly across her breast, sending a direct current flaring to life between her legs.

“I should get to work.” He made no move to leave but she braced herself for his withdrawal just the same.

“Are you happy working there?” Nikki asked, less as a stalling tactic and more because she really wanted to know.

He shrugged. “It’s a job.”

“That’s not how you felt about being on the force.”