Embrace

by S. Layne

  There is plenty of room for the two of us. When I turn to James, holding on to his hands, I can’t help but show my appreciation.

  “Thank you.” I press my lips to his.

  His hands instantly wrap around my waist, pulling me to him until our bodies are aligned.

  “This is amazing.”

  I turn on the sundeck, my cheeks hurting from smiling, to see the area where the driver sits before James leads me back downstairs.

  “Let me show you this,” he says. “But watch your head.”

  I duck through the small opening and let out a surprised gasp. My fingers cover my mouth as we walk inside a small living area. Black granite counters, sparkling, small appliances. Cream leather couches wrap around one corner. A small dining table on the other side. A flat-screen television larger than ours at home is embedded into one wall.

  “It’s like a small apartment.”

  It’s amazing. Not huge, not overly flashy, but it’s still incredible.

  He points down the hall. “Down there are two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Jensen said we could pick whichever. And in the kitchen, he had his assistant stock everything we’d need for tonight and tomorrow.”

  “This is incredible. I can’t believe you did this.”

  “I promised you when we got married that I’d give you everything you ever wanted, Laurie.” His smile drops and his expression grows serious. His hand reaches out and cups my cheek before his fingers press back through my hair. “I know I haven’t lived up to that, but this…tonight…it’s a way I wanted to show you that I meant that promise years ago and I mean it more now.”

  Tears sting my eyes, making my vision go slightly hazy.

  He laughs quietly. “Don’t cry.”

  “I’m not,” I say, laughing too. I run my fingers under my eyes and blink rapidly, fighting them back. “I won’t.”

  “Good. Because we have a night of fun ahead.”

  His grin is infectious—his laughter more so.

  My body is warm and primed, and while I want to immediately head back to the bedrooms, the arousal in my sex beginning to throb with anticipated pleasure, I don’t say anything.

  If James has more surprises, I’m all for them.

  “How in the heck did you learn to drive this thing?” I ask as we skim across the darkening water. It feels like we’re headed straight into the sunset.

  My smile is huge as the wind whips into my face and through my hair.

  We can barely hear each other over the motors but it hasn’t stopped us from shouting.

  “Jensen took me out all week for an hour every day so I could get used to her.”

  “What’s the name Midnight Love mean?” I ask, thinking of the boat’s name.

  “I have no idea.” He shrugs. “Jensen wouldn’t say.” He turns and winks at me. “But I thought it’d be appropriate for what I have planned for tonight.”

  My stomach swirls and dips at the innuendo just as the motors begin to quiet and James brings the yacht to a slow and steady stop.

  We’re out in the middle of the lake. It feels like it, anyway. He said we’re only a couple of miles off shore, really, but with everything darkening, the lights of the town behind us look more like stars than towns.

  It’s majestic.

  “And what do you have planned?” I ask, although I already know.

  He brought up food and snacks and drinks before he took us out of the marina. They’re in a warming container that James said would stay hot for hours. We didn’t eat before our appointment with Elissa and that was hours ago.

  I’m starving.

  Based on the way James’s stomach growls once the boat is stopped and we’re rocking back and forth on quiet waters, he is, too.

  “Time to eat,” he says and stands from his chair.

  I place my palm in his outstretched hand and smile. “Lead the way.”

  He grabs the basket and a blanket, and I follow him to the bow of the boat, where he lays the blanket down.

  “This reminds me of the park,” I say, and flush in embarrassment.

  James shoots me a sparkling flash of his eyes but doesn’t say anything. He simply opens the container holding our dinner.

  “Have I told you lately that this is incredible?” I’m on my knees, butt to my heels, and my eyes keep growing larger and larger.

  James takes out bread, wine, salads, and two entree dishes, all with “Sal’s Restaurant” stamped in red on the containers.

  “I didn’t cook.” He looks almost sheepish.

  I laugh. “Thank goodness for that. I wanted to survive tonight.”

  “Hush,” he says playfully. “You like Sal’s.”

  “I love it.”

  “Good. Eat up.”

  He brings out a corkscrew, sets the wine glasses on a small bench next to us so they don’t spill, and then we dig into our food.

  It’s delicious, like everything from Sal’s.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something,” James says suddenly, pulling me out of my revere for the food and my admiration of the sky that’s starting to shine with stars.

  My stomach flips and I gulp down my wine. “Yes?” I ask nervously. I don’t like his tone.

  Hesitant. Maybe scared.

  “Do you remember when I talked to Nolan when we were in Ann Arbor?”

  “Yeah…”

  He licks his lips, runs a hand through his hair. “We were talking about our jobs, being unhappy and everything, and why he started his own practice.”

  I frown but give him time to continue, although I feel like I know what he’s going to say before he does it.

  Finally, he lets it out in a big rush.

  “He wants me to go work for him.” His eyes meet mine.

  My pulse beats a bit faster in my wrists and my ears.

  “It’d mean moving back to Ann Arbor—something I know you’d hate to do with leaving Denton and Talia, but it could be good for us. I’d make my own hours. It’d give us the fresh start Elissa mentioned tonight. We’d be closer to our families, to your mom and dad. You’d be able to help them, find a job there doing whatever you want. It’s bigger, more opportunities…”

  “James,” I say, resting a hand on his knee that’s wiggling wildly. “Take a breath.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. That was a lot.”

  “Have some wine and calm down.” I smile, laughing softly, and I follow my own advice.

  The thick red wine is delicious, with a hint of berries. I take a moment to savor the taste while trying to consider everything he just said.

  Hell, I try to remember what he just said—it was a lot of words in a short amount of time.

  “Say something,” he prods, after moments of heavy silence.

  His nervousness makes him seem cute—not a word I typically think of when I think of James. But his jitters take the shock out of his statement.

  “Do you want this?” I ask, tilting my head. I need to stay calm. Rational.

  I see the positives.

  To be honest, besides Talia, I don’t see many negatives. And we’re only two hours away.

  He pulls in a long breath, his entire chest heaving as he relaxes. “I think that yes, I like the idea of having my own company, working only with Nolan, him and I deciding together what cases we take. He’s building a great clientele already and I figure with the contacts we know, your family and everything, it wouldn’t take long until financially we’re back to where we are now.”

  “You’ve thought about it a lot. Why are you only saying something now?”

  “You had so much going on with your mom, and then coming back here.” He stops abruptly and shifts, pushing aside our empty plates.

  I give him the time, smile when he refills our wine, and then laugh when he pulls me onto his lap.

  “Sorry, I want you close to me.”

  My heart flutters happily. “I don’t mind.” I brush my fingers through his hair. “Continue.”

  “Wednesday you ripped
up the divorce papers and I knew you were serious. I think until then I was still worried, and I didn’t want to bring up major decisions until I knew what was happening with us.”

  “We’re not exactly stable,” I tell him. There’s still a lot we need to work through. I know this. He knows it. Our issues can’t be solved in a day or a month. Maybe not even a year. “Moving could be stressful for us.”

  “Moving back home to where we have support could be good for us,” he counters.

  “I know.” I see his point. My fingers find his hair again and I play with the ends. “I see your point, and I can’t disagree, honestly. I just…can we take some more time to think about it?”

  “Of course.”

  “Do you have to give Nolan an answer soon?”

  He leans forward, brushes his nose against my jaw. “You smell incredible.”

  “James,” I say, laughing, fidgeting under his teasing touches. “Focus.”

  “I am.” His lips press against the column of my throat.

  I tilt my head without realizing, giving him easier access to the skin he seems to want so badly all of a sudden.

  “I’m completely focused.”

  “On the conversation.”

  “Oh. That.” He feigns a sheepish look, and I lean in, pressing my lips to his. He tastes like wine and delicious Italian, and I sigh into his mouth.

  “You were saying?”

  “I have no idea.” He laughs, takes our wine glasses, and sets them to the side. “To answer your question, no, I don’t have to give Nolan an answer. He said if I want to come work for him, he’d love to have me, just let him know when.”

  His hands go back to distracting me, slowly gripping my waist and moving up, taking my shirt with them.

  “What are you doing?” I whisper, but I see the playful want in his eyes when they meet mine. I raise my arms and let him remove my shirt. Reaching behind me, while still balancing myself on his lap, I unclasp my bra and remove it, letting the straps fall down my shoulders. “Is this what you wanted?”

  His throat dips as he swallows, his eyes fixated on my breasts. “Yes. God, yes, this is what I want.” His hands cup my breasts like they’re treasures, and I gasp when his thumbs slide across my already hardening nipples.

  I shift, feeling him hard beneath me.

  “You’ve always wanted to make love on a boat at night?”

  I nod, my mind feeling like mush as his touch continues to tease me. His fingers pluck and twist my nipples, cupping my breasts, and then he adds his lips and his tongue. Kissing my shoulders, leaning down until he sucks a nipple into his mouth.

  “James,” I whimper. “Yes.”

  I want that. His touch is heaven, creating a slow-burning desire to flood my veins.

  My lips press against his, my hands in his hair, tugging him to me, and I love the way our bodies respond to one another.

  We’re quickly divested of our clothes, James slowly laying me down on the deck of the boat. The blanket is thick and soft beneath us as I spread my legs and he settles in between.

  His hands roam reverently all over my skin. Between the slight chill in the air and his warm touches, pleasured bumps break out all over my skin.

  His touch is divine, and I arch into his hands wherever he touches, needing more of him.

  My hands roam his chest until they fall onto his hips, holding him against me.

  “I really love you,” I whisper into the night air and space between us. I need him to know.

  His head drops for a moment before he lifts and meets my gaze. “I love you, more than anything.”

  I smile, feeling a heaviness that’s been weighing between us lift and disappear.

  “Make love to me,” I tell him, my hand finding his thick erection that’s pressing against my core. He’s hot and heavy in my hand, and I squeeze him firmly, loving the pleasured groan that falls from his lips.

  “Damn, Laurie. You undo me. All the time.”

  And as he slides into me, I feel full—not just physically, but emotionally too. And it’s the first time in a long time that I wrap my arms around James, loving the way he rocks into me, pleasuring me, seeing me and feeling me, that I feel completely connected to him in every way.

  I wake up before James, and take a moment to remember the night before: how slow and passionate our lovemaking was on the top of the boat, and then again in the bed, where we fell asleep completely spent.

  My hands roam his broad chest, loving his warmth.

  Next to me, he snores slightly, and I laugh to myself.

  He always snores, and it wasn’t until he was back in my bed, sleeping next to me, that I realized those noises that sometimes annoyed me really make me feel secure. I know parts about him that no one else knows.

  That no one else will ever know.

  He stirs beneath me, releasing a low groan that tells me he’ll be waking up soon.

  But I have a better idea on how to wake him up.

  Moving down the bed, I slowly remove the sheet covering him until I’m hovering over his semi-hard erection.

  Men. Always ready.

  I lick my lips, feeling my own need for pleasure increasing and beginning to heat even while I’m only thinking of pleasing him.

  Giving to him selflessly.

  I dip down, my lips wrapping around the tip of his cock before I lick the entire length of him. He hardens in my hand and in my mouth, and when his hips shift, his legs widening even in his sleep, I glance up at him.

  His eyes are half open, that sleepy, still half-dreaming look all over him.

  “Good morning,” I murmur, my tongue licking his crown as my hand drops to his balls.

  “Holy fuck, Laurie.” His head drops back and his hands cover his face when he releases a deep, shuddering sigh. “What the hell are you doing?”

  I laugh and look up. “Do you want me to stop?”

  He props himself up on his elbows, the haze of sleep disappearing. “Fuck, no.”

  “Then just relax.”

  I wink and then go back to pleasing him. I suck him into my mouth, taking him deep before beginning to find a rhythm with my lips, one hand on the base of his shaft, and the other massaging his balls.

  My pussy is dripping wet as his groans and grunts fill the room. I moan with him, shifting on the bed, trying to find a pressure for me at the same time. My moans vibrate against his shaft and he swears, his hand gripping my hair and holding me in place.

  “Wait a second,” he gasps, and I slowly pull off him.

  “What?”

  He begins pulling up. “I want to taste you.”

  Thank goodness, I think, but shake my head. “This is for you.”

  “And I want to give to you.”

  I don’t argue. Taking a moment while I still tug on his shaft, rubbing up and down the length of him, I turn until I’m straddling him.

  His hands immediately grip my hips and he pulls me down.

  His tongue swipes down the length of my folds before flicking my clit.

  “Shit,” I gasp, taking my mouth off him before I bite down. “So good, James.”

  I grind against his face and refocus my attention on his thick cock.

  We move together. He licks and tastes me, driving me crazy, and I massage his balls, feeling them grow tight in my hand.

  His erection pulses inside of me and he adds his fingers to his ministrations to my body.

  We’re driving each other crazy, and my orgasm coils tight before I shatter.

  “James!” I cry, lifting off him and screaming his name. My hips shake and his fingers dig into my skin, holding me against him. I put my mouth back on him, taking him deep, sucking him hard.

  He thickens in my mouth and his head falls back to the bed. “Fuck. Yes…”

  And then he’s coming in my mouth. Thick spurts, warm and salty, hit my mouth as I struggle to swallow all of him. He returns to licking me, tasting me even as he finishes inside my mouth.

  Spent, I roll off him and
quickly climb back up his body, covering him. We’re sweating and slightly smelly from sleep and sex.

  I love it.

  “Good morning.” I smile playfully. Happily.

  “Best morning ever.” He returns my smile, his hand in my hair. “I’ve loved this getaway with you.”

  “Me too. And I think you’re right.”

  His eyebrows pull into a slight frown. “About what?”

  “About Ann Arbor.” I was up late last night, a couple times during the night, and early this morning. It’s been on my mind nonstop.

  Everything he said makes sense.

  I want a new start. Something fresh. A place to live where I don’t see the visions of him and Becky together. Where I don’t remember Liam.

  “I want a new start with you, James. And if you think Ann Arbor is somewhere you can be happy working, I want to give that to you.”

  He rolls, flipping us so I’m on my back, his chest against mine. “I want to give you the world.”

  And then he sets about proving it.

  “This house is beautiful,” I say, bringing in the last of the boxes from the moving truck we rented.

  We could have hired movers to help us, but James and I wanted to do it together.

  With Talia and Nolan helping, the day has gone faster than I ever expected it would, and now James and I can begin the fun times of unpacking.

  Making our new, small bungalow in the heart of Ann Arbor into our new home.

  A place where someday, we might potentially raise a family.

  Fall is coming quickly. University students will soon be rushing back to town, increasing the city’s population by thousands. Fall football fans will be cramming the restaurants and streets and sidewalks on Saturdays.

  I’m looking forward to all of it.

  Ever since we decided to move back, we have thrown ourselves into our relationship and into working together to make sure we have a successful, happy, and thriving marriage.

  It’s important to both of us.

  “I like it,” James says, coming up and wrapping his arm around my waist. “Now we just have to kick the kids out so we can christen it.”