She nodded to herself, no longer clinging to the uncertainties and doubts that had ruled her emotions for too long. "Just as much as you believe in everything I do, and everything I am."
"Do you need me?" he asked, husky emotion deepening his voice.
Oh, yes, she most definitely needed this man. "I need your support, your encouragement, and the way you understand me better than I know myself sometimes. I need you to remind me that it's okay to be a little scared sometimes and that you'll always be there for me. I need you in my life, Ian."
"Do you love me?"
"In ways that are frightening, but oh, so wonderful." She blinked back the well of tears gathering in her eyes. "I don't want to cling to my past or fear the future. I want what's right in front of me, and I won't settle for less."
"I take it that means you've decided to stay in Chicago, and that you don't mind me being your new boss?"
She laughed throatily, wondering how she ever thought she could leave this man behind when he was such an integral part of who she was. "I'm staying in Chicago, because it's the only choice I ever could have made. As for you being my new boss … we'll have to discuss what kind of perks and benefits you offer."
"How's this for starters?" The line disconnected just as the door to her studio opened.
Startled, Erica stood up as Ian entered the room, unable to believe he'd been there at the station the entire time they'd been on the air. She could only guess that he'd made the trip over as soon as he'd heard what tonight's topic was all about. Him. Them. Her wanting him. He tucked his cell phone into his pocket, came around the console separating them and stopped in front of her.
With a wicked grin, he framed her face in his hands and lowered his head and kissed her, long and slow and deep. A "perk" designed to sway her. His hot, aroused body pressed her up against the console, and she welcomed his solid weight as his lips consumed hers. She melted into him, lost in the heat of his mouth, the emotion in his kiss, the tenderness of his touch. Everything that was now hers, and always would be. When he finally let her up for air she blushed, though no one but Ian could see the high color rise in her cheeks.
"Um, we're still on the air," she told him, making sure he realized that the city of Chicago was listening in on them.
"Good," he said, smoothing his hands down her back and over her bottom, making their position a more intimate one. "Because I want everyone to know how much I love you, and to make sure that they stay tuned for more sexy city nights to come."
She sighed as he dipped his head and nuzzled her neck, and she threaded her fingers through his thick, silky hair. "Aah, another perk." Sleeping and working with the boss was going to be a whole lot of fun, she decided.
He met her gaze again, his need for her shining in his vibrant green eyes. "When you're ready, will you marry me?"
He was giving her time. Time she no longer needed because a day, week, month or year wouldn't change the way she felt about him. She slid her fingers along his jaw as undescribable happiness bubbled within her, and it was a feeling she embraced wholeheartedly.
"I'm ready now," she said.
Two months later, she made good on that promise as they recited their wedding vows surrounded by family and friends … and with the city of Chicago listening in on the joyous occasion that was broadcasted live on Heat Waves.
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Heat Waves Page 22
