Remembrance: A Contemporary Erotic Romance (Iris Series Book 4)

by Lynn, Rebecca

  He loved her. He actually friggin’ loved her. It really wasn’t a dream. He was there right next to her, and –

  She stopped, looking next to her on the bed. It was empty.

  She began breathing more heavily, that sick feeling hitting her stomach.

  Oh, God. Please. Please don’t tell me it was a dream.

  She covered her mouth and tried to control her breaths, but couldn’t. He was here. He’d been here, right?

  “Hey.”

  She turned her body to see Luke standing in the entrance of her bedroom. Completely naked and gorgeous, his hair a mess and a sweet smile on his face, which turned to concern when he saw her face.

  “What’s the matter, baby?” He immediately walked over and climbed onto the bed, falling down next to her.

  The adrenaline rush ebbed out of her body, leaving her with that dizzying sensation. She took deep breaths.

  “What happened? Did you have a nightmare?” He was stroking her hair.

  “No,” she breathed, kissing his neck. “I,” she hesitated, feeling like a lovesick idiot.

  “What?”

  “It’s nothing. Just me being stupid. How long have you been up?”

  He looked down at her. “Did you think I’d left?”

  She sighed, avoiding his eyes.

  He directed her gaze back to him and looked down at her tenderly. “I told you I’d be here. I’ll never lie to you, Janie.” Then he teased, “Say it with me, now.”

  She swatted him, then mumbled, “Sorry.” Then, “I knew you were here. I remember you snoring,” she joked, swatting at him. He grabbed her hand.

  “I don’t snore!”

  “Yes, Luke. You snore.”

  “Did I keep you up?”

  She shook her head no and smirked at him.

  “You’re the first woman to tell me I snore,” he said, a glint in his eye.

  She pressed her lips together in annoyance. “Your other paramours didn’t complain?”

  “Nope. I guess when your other paramours don’t have the opportunity to hear if you snore, it makes it hard for them to comment on it.”

  A moment of silence passed, and she blinked her eyes. “Are you telling me,” she paused, “you’ve never slept the night with any of your girlfriends?”

  He shrugged then shook his head no.

  “Never?” She couldn’t believe it.

  “Never.”

  “Wow.” She looked away processing that happily.

  “So I guess you’ll have to tell me about all of my idiosyncrasies while sleeping.” Then his mouth kicked up into a smile. “Like how I’m going to tell you about how you kept kicking your leg out but then crowding me at the same time.”

  “I did not!”

  “Yes you did,” he laughed. “Like you were trapping me to the bed and then pushing me out of it. You couldn’t figure out what to do with me.”

  “I’m not used to sharing my space,” she grumbled good-naturedly. “It’s tight quarters on a double. You’re like a giant taking up the whole space.”

  “Aww. Pobrecita,” he joked, which meant ‘poor baby’. She’d remembered him using that word on her when she complained about his tutoring in high school. “Did you have a rough night?”

  “No,” she said haughtily. “I slept exceptionally well considering all the noise you made.”

  He moved to tickle her. She screamed and grabbed at his hands.

  “Well, it’s a good thing I have a king size bed then,” he said, smacking his lips. “We’ll be able to spread out and make all kinds of noise, use the whole space to our liking,” he said salaciously while biting down on his bottom lip. Then he continued before she could respond. “So I was going to surprise you with coffee in bed, but I can’t for the life of me figure out your frigging coffee maker. Do I need some culinary degree to work that thing?”

  She barked out a laugh. “It’s the kind that grinds the beans right before it’s made. I’ll make the coffee anyway.” She smiled brilliantly at him.

  He stayed. He really stayed. It wasn’t a dream.

  “You don’t trust me to make coffee, do you?”

  “No,” she smiled, giddy. “What time do you have to be at work? I’ll make you breakfast.”

  “Let’s get donuts or bagels. It’s a day to celebrate anyway, and now this way you don’t have to cook. We can get them delivered. There’s a place right by my loft that delivers.”

  Her mouth hurt she was smiling so hard. “Okay.”

  He laughed at her expression. “Someone wants a donut.”

  “No,” she shook her head. “Someone’s just in love,” she said, feeling like such a dork.

  He pushed a long curl off her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Tell me again,” he whispered.

  “I love you,” she swallowed.

  “Mi dulzura,” he murmured. “Te adoro, mi amor.”

  She snuggled into him. “What time do you need to be at work?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t have any pressing meetings today. We’re all kind of in holiday mode at the moment. But I do have one meeting I need to see to,” he murmured. His hand drifted to the sheet still covering her and pulled it down to free her breast. “I believe I need to start looking for a lingerie manufacturer for women with gorgeous,” his hand skittered over her nipple, “mouthwatering,” his lips kissed down her neck to the intended target, “handfuls of love like these right here,” he finished, his lips now resting between her breasts and his hands plumping her up. “You’re perfect,” he said, nibbling over to gently capture a nipple between his teeth.

  She let out a satisfied moan and arched into him, putting her hands in his hair. “That’s really nice.”

  “Nice? Nice is too bland of a word for these works of art. We can do better than that. Repite, por favor. Perfecto.”

  “Perfecto,” she smiled.

  “Magnifico.” He spoke against her skin.

  “Magnifico,” she sighed.

  “Hermosa,” he whispered, moving his lips to her other breast.

  “Hermosa,” she gasped when his lips hovered over her nipple. “You gotta love a man who wants to get me a donut.”

  “Voy a hacer el amor contigo, Janie,” he whispered around the tightened bud.

  She let out a breathy sound and said, “Translation.”

  “I’m going to make love to you. The coffee and donuts can wait. I, however, cannot.” He moved them so she was on top straddling him while he leaned up against her head board. He reached to the nightstand, fully erect already and pulled on a condom.

  “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet,” she began, putting her hand over her mouth.

  He slammed his mouth to hers and bit at her lip. “I don’t fucking care, Janie. I need your pussy around me.” He pulled her down on top of him without warning and she cried out. He settled her so they were a snug fit. Then his hands moved to her hips and encouraged her to begin moving. His hands skimmed up her back to land in her hair, fisting the glorious tumble of curls the color of the sunrise, perfect for their morning loving. He closed his eyes and buried his face into it, murmuring, “Tight and warm and perfect. I love the way you smell.”

  His words made her move a little faster, circling her hips so she felt him even deeper. She let out a purr and wound her arms around his neck, rubbing into his chest, enjoying the feel of muscle against her skin, her fingertips.

  One of his hands moved down to her butt and squeezed, helping to pump on him, setting the slow and sleepy erotic pace. Her head fell back even more into his hand and he kissed her neck, sucking at her skin.

  His hand on her ass moved further down behind her so his fingers touched lightly where they were connected. She let out an ‘mmm’ sound, her nipples now tingling deliciously at the friction of his chest to hers.

  He pulled her hair so her neck was exposed then leaned over her and looked deeply into her eyes. They were heavy lidded. “Para siempre, Janie. Repite.”

  “Luke,” she said with feeli
ng. She pumped more forcefully, but he slowed their movements, still gripping her hair and controlling the pace. He had said ‘forever’.

  “Say it,” he growled.

  “Para siempre,” she gasped out in multiple syllables. “Luke, please,” she nearly sobbed, so overcome with emotion. “Go faster.”

  “You want me to fuck you faster? Harder? My dirty girl. How hard do you want it?” he teased.

  “Luke,” she said through gritted teeth, her fingernails pressing into his shoulders.

  Keeping one hand in her hair and the other on her ass, he began pumping them more vigorously.

  She started to gasp, the incredible friction now causing her movements to turn frenzied. His pelvic bone ground into her clit and she growled out a scream, getting closer.

  “That’s it. Feel what you do to me,” he groaned, now moving faster and faster. The hand on her ass moved to her nipple and pinched gently, holding on and pulling it away from her body. “You have no idea what you’ve unleashed. I’m going to want to be inside you all the time,” he breathed out. He pumped madly into her. “Come, Janie. Come around me. I need to feel you.”

  His commands were louder and louder causing her to finally spill over into the abyss. Her keening scream and constricting muscles that were pulling at him greedily indicated that she had reached absolute bliss.

  He went at her full force, both hands now on her ass, slamming desperately into her until he yelled out and held her tightly to him, spilling his seed into the condom.

  They were both taking huge gulps of air. Now in exhaustion, Janie collapsed forward, nuzzling Luke’s neck, still trying to catch her breath. Her hair was everywhere, more wild due to his fingers grabbing at it. They spent the next several minutes enjoying the afterglow.

  Then Luke said into her hair, “Every day, Janie. I’m going to be at you every day.”

  Her body tingled all over at his words. “If you must, you must, I suppose. Far be it from me to disobey my authoritative man.”

  He kissed her nose. “Let’s make sure to call the doctor today.”

  She nodded, smiling.

  He changed the subject. “If you make the coffee, I’ll order the donuts. You might not let me cook the food, but I’m damn good at ordering it.”

  “You got it, Lukey. I’m on it.”

  Before she got up, he pulled her back for one more juicy kiss. “I love you, baby girl.”

  She melted, now hearing the nickname in a whole different way. “I love you,” she whispered.

  Then they got up to start the day.

  ……

  “It’s called Decolletage, Inc. It’s based about an hour upstate. The owner’s name is Cleo Adams and she sells all of her lingerie online. When I called and spoke with her, she was very excited to say the least. She sounds like quite a character, so I’m thinking you’ll love her,” Luke said sipping at a glass of wine before dinner. The two of them were currently sitting on Janie’s sofa.

  The day had been, simply put, fabulous. After donuts and coffee that morning, Luke went into work for a little while, then called her to set up a dinner date for that evening. They were catching up on their day and then heading out for her surprise dinner location in the next half hour.

  Janie had spent the majority of her day calling her mom and all of the girls. There were squeals, tears, laughs and such happiness that Janie was truly on cloud nine. She didn’t say anything about Luke’s semi marriage proposal. She was going to give him some time to think more on that, believing in the moment that he’d meant it, but also knowing that the simple fact that he merely loved her and wanted only her was enough for Janie.

  She’d also called her doctor once Luke had gone to work. Although she couldn’t fit her in for an appointment before the New Year, she did go over the various birth control options and Janie had decided on the pill. Her doctor called in the prescription and Janie had already picked it up. She had a few days before it went into effect, but she’d called Luke as soon as she’d picked it up at the drugstore.

  To say he was happy was putting it mildly.

  His voice brought her out of her musings.

  “Pull up her website. I think you’ll like her stuff.” Luke rattled it off and Janie booted up her laptop, spending the next few moments looking at lingerie. “I told her I knew with Christmas right around the corner she probably couldn’t make an appointment for us to go up, but she assured me she could fit us in. So,” he smiled, “you want to go up tomorrow?”

  “That quick? You can get away?” Janie nearly burst she was so excited.

  “There are some perks to being the boss,” he quipped. “Plus this is kind of work related anyway.”

  “And she’s really okay with us coming up?” A lingerie manufacturer practically right around the corner who designed beautiful undergarments for women with boobs bigger than a D? Was it possible?

  He nodded. “Let’s make a day of it. What do you say? Maybe on the way home we can swing by your parents and say hi. I know Robbie will be home.”

  She shrieked and threw herself at him. He caught her with one arm and didn’t even spill the wine. He was a talented guy, that Luke Daniels.

  “We can spend the whole day together?”

  He nodded and looked like he was holding back his laughter at her excitement. Putting down his wine, he grabbed her face. “So, let’s talk about our new sleeping arrangements.”

  She blinked at his change of subject, then immediately felt the butterflies in her stomach. “What do you mean?”

  He rubbed his nose into hers. “What I mean is I plan on having you next to me when I go to sleep from here on out, Janie. So let’s figure out what works, but know that your ‘sleeping alone’ days are over.”

  “Really?” she whispered with a brilliant smile.

  “What if you used this place only for the catering business?” He let that sit for a second and watched her. Her breathing picked up.

  “And,” she stuttered. “I would, um, you mean –?”

  “And you would move in with me,” he whispered, looking hesitant and hopeful at the same time.

  “You want me to move in with you?” she whispered back, smiling radiantly.

  “I said para siempre, remember? Maybe it’s time to start getting used to the idea of living together.” He waited for her to catch up.

  It did take a moment to catch up. He really, really wanted to marry her? There was so much that had happened in 24 hours. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she said, letting out a breathy giggle.

  “Well maybe when you move in, you’ll start believing it.”

  She grabbed his face and kissed him. “You’re terrifying,” she said around his lips.

  He let out a gut laugh and grabbed her to him. “I’m not trying to scare you.”

  “You’re just moving fast, which I’m not complaining about. Especially since everything you’re saying is everything I want. I just want to make sure you’re really okay with this.”

  “Baby, it’s been twenty years of getting to know you as a person. I don’t need or want to wait anymore. You’re 28, I’m 33. I don’t need to figure any more out. I just want you. But I’ll slow down if you –”

  She was already shaking her head no. Her chest felt tight with emotion. “I don’t want to wait either.” Her eyes had a sheen of emotion covering them causing him to be out of focus.

  “Good,” he said nuzzling her lips and pulling one of her curls straight then watching it bounce back into place. “We can talk about the details tonight at dinner and then bring your parents up to speed when we swing by their place tomorrow.”

  She giggled some more and hugged him tighter, shaking her head at the insanity of what had become her life in a few short hours. Her callbox went off in the middle of their love fest and she bounded to the door.

  “Yes?” she said happily.

  “Hi. This is The Local Yokel?”

  “Yes?”

  “I have a delivery.”

&n
bsp; “Okay, come on up.” She buzzed him in, knowing she hadn’t ordered anything and not having any idea what it could be. She slid open the door with Luke now standing behind her, and the delivery man walked up to the door with a bottle of wine and a box of something with a bow on it. “Thank you,” she said to him and took it. Luke gave him a tip and closed the door.

  “I could’ve taken care of that,” she grumbled. He waved away her remark and she set the box and wine down, looking for a card. Luke walked over to pick up the bottle of wine and raised his eyebrow after looking at the label.

  “What?” she looked over.

  He held up the wine for her to look. It was from the Gastaldi vineyard.

  She sighed giving him a side glance and a smile that said, Whattaya want me to say?

  “That must’ve been some lunch. You never did tell me if he –”

  “He didn’t, Luke,” she said, exasperated but laughing. She knew he was going to ask her if Miguel had kissed her.

  “What’s the card say?” he asked dryly. “I can’t wait to hear this.”

  She tore it open while Luke stood off to the side.

  Janie,

  I had a great time with you this week. I’m looking forward to us getting to know each other more in the New Year. Until then, I hope you’ll think of me while enjoying this gift. Have a wonderful holiday and we’ll finalize plans for our next date soon.

  Thinking of you,

  Miguel

  Janie rolled her lips in over her teeth and pressed them down, looking warily at Luke whose eyebrow had shot up into the hemisphere. He hadn’t seen the writing on the note, but she was figuring he was a smart guy.

  “So, before you get upset,” she began.

  He put out his hand and beckoned his fingers to her asking wordlessly for the card.

  She huffed and handed it to him then flopped back on to the sofa. She watched him as he read it, his eyebrows coming together into a frown. Then he crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Next date?”

  She mirrored his actions and crossed her arms, ready to get into it with him. “It’s actually a pretty funny story. You know, on Monday alone, I had messages from three different men who wanted to go out with me,” she laughed nervously.