with pleas that she barely comprehended, Angela found herself on a peak she’d never reached. Without thought of the consequences, only knowing she wanted Jake with her, she wrapped both hands around his hard length and pushed him even harder inside her.
A sound like the growl of a rabid animal emerged from Jake’s chest and he slammed into her. Biting her lip to hold on to the ecstasy as long as possible, she closed her eyes. How she loved this rougher, out of control side of Jake.
“Open your eyes.”
Her eyelids flickered opened and she gasped. She had seen Jake aroused before but the heated intensity of his gaze was nothing compared to this. He was a man teetering on the edge.
He ground out between clenched teeth, “We do this together. Eyes wide open.”
She nodded.
Their gazes locked, Jake plunged again and then again, once more pistoning inside. Her clit so aroused it was exquisitely painful, she looked deep into his eyes and when they exploded together, she gasped out the words she had been longing to say for so long, “I love you, Jake Mallory.”
And then the world disappeared.
Rolling to his side, Jake propped himself on his elbow and took in the panting, sweat- slick, slender body beside him. Dammit, he’d meant to be easy with her, wanting to show her how much she meant to him. Angela had been through hell and he’d just pounded into her with all the finesse of a horny gorilla.
“Are you all right?” she asked breathlessly.
He jerked at the question. “Hell, I’m the one who should be asking you that. I’m sorry I was so rough. I—”
Her fingers on his lips stopped him from finishing. “Oh no you don’t. If you apologize for the best, most sexually intense moment of my life, I’ll—”
Feeling only slightly better, Jake’s mouth curved slightly. “You’ll what?”
“I’ll cook for you.”
He barked out a laugh. “Is that supposed to be a threat?”
“You’ve never tasted my cooking.”
Gathering her close, he buried his face against her neck and breathed in the delicious fragrance that was Angela. “I am sorry I wasn’t more gentle. When you, uh, grabbed me, I kind of lost it.” He winced. Blaming her for his loss of control was particularly assholish. “Not that that’s an excuse.”
He felt her head shake. “Lose it with me any time you like. Okay?”
A giant breath huffed from his chest and he raised his head to face her, needing to say something before they went any further. “What you said…about loving me. Was that in the heat of the moment or did you—”
“I meant it. I’ve loved you forever.”
He cleared his throat. “I haven’t said those words to a woman since I lost Teresa.”
Instead of asking for them, she shook her head. “I don’t need them.”
Hell, he wanted to be able to say them but she deserved more than token words. He tried to explain, “I swore when I lost Teresa, I’d never let myself be vulnerable like that again. Loving someone means opening yourself. I closed down after she died. I don’t know that I can ever go that far again. But I do want a future with you…that is, if you’re not too pissed.”
“Jake, you don’t have to say them. And yes, I want a future with you, too.”
Relieved that she understood and wasn’t expecting more than he could give, he pulled her back into his arms and began to make love to her again, determined that this time, he would show her the gentleness he had intended before. As he kissed and caressed her, lingering tenderly over the areas where she had been cut or bruised, he shut down a voice inside his head. The one that mockingly told him it was too late to worry about falling in love. That the feeling was already there, whether he was ready to deal with it or not.
Chapter Twenty-one
Two weeks later and Angela was still experiencing bliss. Jake might not be able to say the words ‘I love you’ yet but not a day went by that he didn’t show her how much he cared. Romantic gifts like flowers, candy, takeout from a favorite restaurant, a book she had mentioned wanting to read were all wonderful and much appreciated. The practical things were just as special, like repairing a stopped-up shower drain or adding a brighter bulb in her reading lamp. He’d also helped pack up some of her family’s things for storage, then held her while she cried once again for them.
He