by Marci Bolden
He laughed as he slid the tips of his fingers under her hemline and caressed her thigh. “I considered it momentarily, but no. I was going to tell you that I’ve fallen deeply, madly, insanely in love with you.”
Her breath rushed from her, and she stared into his eyes, trying to gauge the truth there. “You don’t have to say that just because—”
He tightened his grip on her thigh. “If you discount my profession of love because you think I’m trying to get you into bed, I’m going to be highly offended.”
She bit her lip before she could finish that very statement.
“I hated every moment that you spent trying to make things right with Mitch. I hated the thought that you actually might make things right. But I couldn’t tell you how I felt until I knew you weren’t in love with him. And I didn’t know that until you decided—on your own—you were ready to leave him.”
She ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m so sorry if I hurt you.”
“No. Don’t apologize. We both needed you to be sure, and you couldn’t be sure unless you tried to forgive him.”
She touched his cheek, caressing the smoothness of his shaved skin and absorbing the heat that she had missed so much. She looked into his eyes and held his gaze as she whispered, “I never could have gone back to him, Paul, because he wasn’t you. I don’t know the exact moment I fell in love with you, but I know it was long before I should have. I’m sorry we had to go through so much before I could see it.”
He opened his mouth, and she put her finger to his lips.
“You don’t get to discount my profession, either. I love you. I do. And I’ve been waiting for us to get to this place for so long. I don’t want to wait anymore, Paul.” She kissed the corner of his mouth as she held his face. “Would you like to go upstairs with me?”
He gave her that sexy grin that had a way of melting her. “I would like that very much.”
The sound of Dianna closing the bedroom door behind them seemed to confirm what Paul already knew, that they were there for more than mere comfort this time. The light streaming in through her window was enough to make out her silhouette as she led him to her bed. A storm of emotions brewed inside him—excitement and nervousness mixed with peace and a warmth that was on the verge of consuming him.
Paul slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. With her back pressed into his chest, she let her head drop back on this shoulder. He lifted his left hand to her face and lightly trailed his fingers from her cheek, down her neck, and along the low neckline of her dress as he put his lips to her ear.
He slid the tips of his fingers into her neckline but didn’t touch any of her intimate parts—he simply traced the border of her dress. She sighed and melted against him. He brushed his other hand over the material of her dress. She gasped and pressed her chest out as he gently moved his hand over her breast. He was moving slowly—so slowly it was torturous—and he wondered if the anticipation was killing her as much as it was killing him. He suspected it was when she sighed again.
“This dress is so sexy,” he breathed in her ear, “but it needs to go.”
She lifted her head and stood upright so he could reach for the zipper that ran along her spine. He found the metal clasp and eased it down. When it was free, he put a kiss to the back of her neck and then one on each shoulder as he exposed her. He pushed the material slowly away from her skin, and it fell to the floor around her feet.
He slid his palms over her stomach and then, as he had when she was dressed, pulled her back against him. This time when he brushed his hand over her breast, all that stood between him and her flesh was a thin layer of satin. She pushed her breast into his palm as he teased her, squeezing and rubbing over her taut nipple. He continued with the soft touch until she put her hand over his and encouraged him to grip harder. He tightened his hold, eliciting a mewed sound from her.
She turned and faced him, and he lowered his gaze over her.
“You’re beautiful.” He lightly swept his knuckles over her black bra. “Perfect.”
He put a soft kiss on her lips, gently pushed her to sit on the bed, and then kneeled before her. He pushed her legs apart and moved between them. On his knees in front of her, he was eye-to-eye with her as he lifted her hand and kissed the inside of her palm.
She stroked her other hand over his hair until she was holding his face in both her hands. She kissed him, sweetly at first, but then her tongue caressed his lips and his passion exploded. He was determined to be gentle and slow, to show her how much she meant to him, but damned if his body wasn’t demanding to have what he’d been fantasizing about for months.
He didn’t break the kiss until he was breathless, and then he stood and removed his suit coat, tossing it carelessly to the floor. He tugged the knot in his tie loose, undid the buttons at his cuffs, and started on the buttons along the front of his shirt. Dianna watched him release his belt, button, and zipper. He pushed his shoes off and then dropped his pants. He tossed his socks aside and moved back to her. She rolled her head back to look up at him and slid her hands up the outsides of his legs until her palms were on his hips as he brushed his fingers through her hair.
“Lie down,” he instructed.
She held his gaze as she slowly scooted farther onto the bed and leaned back. He pushed her legs apart as he crawled up the bed, tracing his fingertips along her thighs as he went. She gasped when he was practically lying on top of her, enough so that he could press his erection against her. He covered the cup of her lacy bra with his mouth, and she fisted his hair. He teased, taunting her nipple as he deftly unhooked her bra.
Dianna laughed softly. “You’re very good at that.”
“I’m quite motivated at the moment.”
He pushed the material aside and suckled her unhindered nipple. She breathed his name as she lifted her hips up to meet him as he gyrated again. She fisted his hair as he pressed into her again. With his weight on his elbows, he started pressing lingering kisses, which he occasionally traded for a gentle bite, to her neck and shoulders.
“I want to kiss every inch of you. I want to savor you.” He licked her nipple and then softly tugged it with his teeth. “Devour you.”
“Jesus, Paul, I’m going to scream if you don’t stop.”
“I’m not opposed to screaming.” He licked her other breast. “Or moaning.” His fingers grazed over her stomach. “Or sighing. You’ve been doing a lot of that.”
“Please.”
“Please what?”
A sound, a mixture of pleasure and frustration, left her. “I want you.”
“I want you, too.”
She tried to pull him over her. “Then take me.”
“I will. When I’m ready.”
Despite her protest, the moment his mouth moved to her navel, she cried out softly. She tangled her hands in his hair and writhed beneath him. She tugged at his hair even as she pushed his head closer to her, gasping and jerking when he exhaled a heated breath against the front of her panties.
“Paul…please…”
He brushed his nose along her waistband. “I love hearing you say my name like that.”
She gasped as he pressed his mouth to her center through her underwear. He moved his hand to her thigh, over the lace top of her thigh-high. “Do you always wear these, or was this for me?”
“For you.”
“I like them.” He slid his finger between the lace and her skin. “Remind me to buy you more of these. I want to come home to you, slip my hand under the hem, and feel your skin.” He pushed one down as he spoke, dragging it all the way down her leg and over her toes, and then did the same with the other. He returned his attention to the last bit of clothing she was wearing, the black satin panties. “I like these, too. These are lovely.” He ran his hand over the front and then between her legs, making her groan. “These are very lovely.” But that didn’t stop him from tugging them free, as he had the rest of her clothing.
He
took his time removing them, running his hands over her calves. “You have the sexiest legs I’ve ever seen. I’ve dreamed of having these legs around me for so long.”
He got to his knees between hers and pushed his boxer shorts over his erection and down his thighs. He kicked his underwear off and then nestled between her thighs, hovering over her. He brushed her hair back and smiled. She smiled back and lifted her head to catch his mouth. The kiss was gentle, loving rather than teasing. He pressed himself against her, and her body opened to him. He broke the kiss and leaned back.
“Look at me,” he whispered when she closed her eyes. “Dianna. Look at me.”
She stared into his eyes as he moved his hips forward. He filled her, and her muscles tightened around him, making him moan. The movement between their bodies was perfect, and as he slid deep, her body stretched to accept him but then clenched around him, making the fit tight. He stroked her face, silently demanding her attention as he pumped slowly in and out. She felt better than he’d ever imagined, and as she moved her hips in time with his, he kissed her softly.
She arched up and moaned his name. She started to quiver around him, crying out, as he thrust faster and harder. She wrapped herself around him, squeezing him tightly with her arms and legs as her body spasmed over and over, milking his erection as he released deep inside her.
As soon as the tension that was rolling through him started to ease and he could finally breathe, he kissed her lazily. He leaned back and stroked her hair, smiling as she looked up at him. He rotated his hips slowly, and she moaned as they both came down from their climaxes. He kissed her one more time before he eased back and rolled over. She turned onto her side and curled against him, wrapping her arm around him and putting her head on his chest.
He stroked his fingers along her back. “This is all I’ve wanted for so long.”
“Sex with me?” she teased.
He chuckled. “Yes. And this contentment I’m feeling right now. Like everything is how it should be.”
“I feel that way, too. Things are finally going right.”
“Yes,” he whispered. “Yes, they are.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Everything was set. The yard was filled with balloons and tables for Sam’s graduation party. Dianna sighed as she looked around. So many memories had been made in her backyard, and in just a week’s time, she’d no longer be able to stand there and recall them. Someone else would be there, making new memories.
She swallowed hard as the weight in her chest started to form a knot.
Paul walked up behind her. “Di?”
She blinked rapidly, hoping to mask her tears, but he sighed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he kissed her head. She’d been an emotional roller coaster all day. Of all the proud parents at the ceremony, she had no doubt cried the hardest. It wasn’t just Sam growing up and moving on. It was everything that had transpired over the last year. All the changes, good and bad, had bubbled up as she sat looking out over the sea of black caps and gowns.
Paul had held her hand and passed her tissues while Kara sat on her other side, patting her knee. She’d been embarrassed, but she hadn’t been able to stop her tears. She was just glad that they’d taken all their family photos before they left for the ceremony.
“Okay?” he asked.
She exhaled loudly. “Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm.” She leaned back into him, smiling as he slid his arms around her and pulled her back to his chest. “It was nice of Annie and Donna to come over and decorate.”
“They were happy to do it. They know you’ve been busy packing and getting ready to move.”
She rolled her head back onto his shoulder. “Remind me again.”
He hugged her closer. “You’re doing the right thing. The new house is going to be much better for your budget. Life is going to be much simpler once you get moved.” He pressed his lips to her ear. “And you will have so much less stress that, when I rub your back, it won’t be to release the tension.”
She grinned. “As if it isn’t already.”
His quiet laugh sent a thrill through her. Turning, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Their kisses had a way of deepening, and this one was no different. She couldn’t help the way she got lost in him. His arms never failed to offer her an escape from whatever was happening around her. Today, that just so happened to be the misery of knowing she would be leaving her home in exactly one week, mixed with the joy of Sam successfully graduating high school without getting suspended or becoming a father. But all that faded as Paul’s lips worked over hers. She moaned quietly, content to let him kiss her as she dug her fingers into his hair.
“Hey, Di,” Mitch said, “do you want me to…”
Dianna pulled from Paul as if caught doing something wrong. Guilt hit her like a sledgehammer to her gut, but she wasn’t sure if it was the frustration on Paul’s face or the hurt in Mitch’s eyes that caused it. She held her breath as she licked her lips, removing Paul’s kiss as Mitch looked away.
“Sorry,” Mitch said after an incredibly uncomfortable stretch of silence. He started to turn, but Dianna stepped around Paul.
“Did you need something?”
“I was just going to see if you needed any help setting up.” He looked past her to Paul. “Looks like you’ve got it under control.”
“Kara and Annie were going to start getting food out. I’m sure they could use help.”
He laughed softly. “Uh, actually, I’m a little scared to be alone with Kara and Annie.”
Dianna grinned. “There are more chairs in the garage. You could bring those out.”
He nodded and disappeared back into the house, and she exhaled. Turning, she gnawed at her lip and waited for Paul to face her.
When he did, she offered him a slight smile. “So that was awkward.”
“A little.”
“I’m sorry.”
He put his hands in his pockets. “It’s important to you that you and Mitch move past the divorce so you can be a family for your kids.”
“Yes, it is.”
“So don’t apologize. Not to me, not to anyone. You’re doing this for your kids, and you’re right to do so. I missed out on half of my kids’ lives because their mother can’t stand the sight of me. I think it’s great that you and Mitch are working past this.”
“You do?”
“Yes, and it doesn’t matter how anyone else feels about Mitch being here. Today is about Sam, and his father should be here.”
The weight of her guilt eased as she smiled at him. Stepping forward, she slipped her arms around his neck. “I love you. So much.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, it just so happens that I love you, too.”
“Thank you for understanding and for supporting me. I know Kara is irritated that I invited Mitch. I imagine Annie is, too. I’m glad you aren’t.”
“I will always support you.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Now. I’m going to take the high road and go see if your ex-husband needs help with the chairs.”
Dianna lifted her brows. “Paul, you don’t have to—”
“Hey, I plan on sticking around for a long time. I don’t want every family event to be uncomfortable because there is tension between Mitch and me. Might as well settle things now. Besides…” He gripped her hips and pulled her to him. “I should thank him. If he weren’t such a bastard, I wouldn’t have you.”
She giggled as he walked off.
Within an hour, the backyard was filled with family and friends coming to congratulate Sam. Dianna was in the kitchen fighting to remove the plastic top when Mitch walked in behind her. She glanced back, and her heart tripped a bit. She’d caught him watching her more than once throughout the afternoon and was anticipating a lecture from him about showing Paul affection in front of Sam. Just because Mitch had always been frigid didn’t mean she had to continue the trend now that he
was gone. Paul wasn’t too embarrassed to hold her hand or give her a quick kiss in front of other people, and she wasn’t too embarrassed to accept. Mitch be damned.
Defenses up, she took a breath and braced herself, more than ready to tell him to go straight to hell.
“Let me,” he said.
She stepped aside, giving him plenty of room to pry the top off the container. “Thanks.”
He removed the lid with ease. “Need anything else?”
“Can you grab another case of soda from the garage?”
“Yeah,” he said but made no move to do so. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to get you alone.”
“Oh?”
He leaned back on the counter. “Up until today, until seeing you with Paul, part of me thought you were punishing me. That you told me you didn’t want to get back together and were dating him because you were angry. But seeing you with him… I was right when I said you were in love with him, wasn’t I?”
“I didn’t realize it at the time, but yes, you were right.”
He lowered his gaze for a moment before looking at her again. “Well, he seems to love you, too. While we were getting chairs, he told me he’d like to leave everything that happened in the past so that we can move forward for you and the boys. He said that’s important to you.”
“It is. I’d like if we can do this type of thing without it being uncomfortable for everyone.”
“I’d like that, too. I mean, you were right when you said that we still have to be parents, and eventually we’ll be grandparents. I don’t want the boys to feel like they always have to split their time. We can still be a family for them.”
Relief rolled through her, easing her defensive posture, and her shoulders relaxed. “Well, today is a good start.”
He nodded. “I can’t remember the last time I saw you look so happy, Di.”
“I can’t remember the last time I was so happy.”
