38. Adam

I meant what I said. I would wait until Tessa was ready for a commitment. But the emotions I felt for her ran deep. I wanted a life together.

She didn’t even blink. I barely took another breath before she replied, “I love you. You don’t have to wait. I want us. I want this life with you. We’ll figure out the details. I’m never going to let Rich get in the way of us again.”

She closed her eyes, her shoulders shaking as she took a breath. She released my hand and placed her palm over my heart when she stepped closer. “I need you. Now.”

She leaned up as I dipped my head. Our lips met in a fierce, devouring kiss. We broke apart only because of the desperate need for oxygen.

Her palm slid down my chest in a bold stroke over my swelling arousal. I meant to take control of the moment, but Tessa snatched it right out of my hands. There was a wildness to her, an intensity I hadn’t experienced before. Beyond being apart for too many weeks, the unsettling events of tonight were streaks of lightning in a dark sky, illuminating everything at this moment.

She yanked at the buttons on my fly, swiftly kneeling. At the last second, with her palm curled around my swollen length, her eyes angled up to mine. “Is this okay?”

As if it were anything but. “Please,” I rasped.

I felt the kiss of her lips before she drew me into her mouth with deep suction. I breathed deep, clinging to my control as my fingers laced into her hair. My release was already threatening. Maybe another time I would’ve just let it go, but I needed to be joined with her completely. I needed to find my pleasure with hers.

“Tessa,” I bit out.

She drew back, releasing me with a soft pop. “I need you,” I nearly growled.

It was a tumble and a fumble as we yanked at each other across the short distance from the door to her bed. We left a trail of clothes behind us. I crawled onto the bed and pulled her on top of me, savoring her silky soft skin, her warmth, and the lush give of her curves.

With one arm around her waist, I pressed a palm into the mattress, levering myself up and back until I was partially seated against the pillows. “Right here, sweetheart,” I murmured.

Straddling me, she shimmied up and over me. I gripped her on one hip and palmed her cheek with my other hand. I surged up just as she sank down, sheathing me in her slick channel.

She let out something between a sigh and a whimper. I nudged a little deeper. “Look at me, sweetheart.”

Her lashes lifted, and I was ensnared in her dark gaze. There was a fusion of desire, fierce, raw lust, and a deep, abiding love that spun through all of this moment. It cinched the threads holding us together tighter and tighter.

“I love you,” I murmured against her mouth in a lazy, open kiss.

The moment was slow and sensual as I rocked into her, feeling the brush of her nipples on my chest and savoring the way she began to tremble. I knew her body. I knew just what she needed. I waited until I felt her shudder deeply and go completely still for a millisecond before she cried out. I captured her cry with a kiss, and my own release sizzled like burning lightning.