me clear off my feet and carried me to the front porch, only to bang my legs into the porch post as he climbed the steps.
“Oh God, Carly, I’m sorry.”
I laughed and cupped his cheek. “I’m fine. Take me to bed, Marco.”
He grinned. “I’ll try not to maim you in the process.” Then he carried me into his room, lowering my feet to the floor next to his bed.
“Are you sure?” he asked, worry filling his eyes.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”
He kissed me again, and we fumbled with each other’s clothes, shedding pieces while we kissed and ran our hands over each other’s bodies. His was every bit as beautiful as I’d known it would be. We lay down on the bed, and Marco grabbed a condom out of the nightstand drawer, then didn’t waste any time putting it on.
He studied my face, seeming to hesitate again, so I rolled him onto his back and lowered myself onto him, leaning my head back and moaning at how good he felt.
“Jesus, Carly,” he gritted through clenched teeth, grabbing my hips and holding me still.
I fell forward and kissed him, then bit his bottom lip.
He groaned, rolling me over onto my back, and grabbed my hips again. “I want to take it slow.”
“Take it slow next time,” I said, “I want to go fast.”
He growled, then gave me what I wanted.
Afterward, he collapsed next to me, gathering me in his arms as though he worried I might regret what we’d done.
I looked up at him and smiled. “I’m not going anywhere. I won’t change my mind.”
“I love you.” He stroked my cheek, staring at me with so much adoration I wondered why I’d wasted so much time.
“I love you too.” For the first time ever, I felt like I was where I was supposed to be.
Chapter Nineteen
I overslept the next morning.
After Marco and I brought the telescope inside and put it away, we put on a movie but only made it a few minutes in before we started making love again. This time we took Marco’s slow route, not that I complained. But I forgot to set my alarm, so I didn’t wake up until Marco’s alarm went off at seven-thirty.
“Shit,” I said, scrambling to get out of bed. “I’m supposed to be at Hank’s right now.”
“You don’t have to meet Wyatt, Carly,” Marco said, sitting up in bed. The sheet fell down to his lap, exposing his broad, naked chest and drawing my attention to the erection the sheet was covering. “You don’t owe him shit.”
“I know,” I said, hurrying into the bathroom to brush my teeth. “But I’m not doing it for him. I’m doing it for Hank.”
I started brushing my teeth, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My hair was wild, and I had the look of a woman who had been thoroughly satisfied.
Marco walked up behind me and pressed his naked body to my back. He lowered his lips to the curve of my neck as his hand pressed on my stomach.
“You’re making this hard,” I mumbled around my toothbrush.
“Good.” He kissed his way up my neck to my ear, then bit my earlobe.
“You also realize this has got to be one of the most unsexy things I could be doing right now.”
“See how much I love you?” he asked with a grin.
I leaned over and spat into the sink, then rinsed out my mouth. I stood and turned around to face him, resting my hand on his firm pec. Why was I leaving again? “You realize I’m an older woman,” I teased. “Carly Moore just turned thirty, but Caroline Blakely is about to turn thirty-four.”
“I guess that makes you a cougar,” he said with a grin, his hand skimming over my shoulder and down my arm.
I sobered. “My biological clock—”
He leaned over and gave me a slow, sensuous kiss, then lifted his head, keeping our faces inches apart. “You are what I want, Carly. You. If we never have kids, I’m okay with that.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked with tears in my eyes. “I’m not okay with that.”
“I would never want to bring our children into a world where they’re not safe. We’ll work it out, okay?”
I nodded, and he kissed me again. “Do you want me to call Hank and tell him you’ll be late?”
“No. As crazy as it sounds, he’ll be happy I’m late.”
“Doesn’t sound crazy to me. Just the other day he told me