is, you know. We can’t control any of the rest, but we can make this moment count.”
Daniel glanced past her at the clock on the bedside table, then grinned. “Especially since we only have about forty-five of those precious moments left before that lunch I ordered turns up.”
Molly kicked off her shoes and reached for the buttons on his shirt. “Then I suggest we not waste another second.”
Daniel didn’t want to be rushed. He wanted to savor everything about this afternoon. He wanted to take his time stripping away Molly’s clothes, lingering over each caress of her magnificent, familiar body. He wanted each minute to be memorable.
“Maybe I should call down and cancel lunch,” he murmured as her fingers grazed his bare chest and made his pulse skip.
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m starved, first for you, then for food.”
It was the way she’d always been, eager to make the most of whatever time they had. She could take her own sweet time tormenting him, or she could get caught up in a quick rush to pleasure that had them both gasping and breathless in a heartbeat. That was clearly her intention now, as she undid his belt and the button at his waist, then slid her hand down until his entire body jolted at the touch of her clever fingers.
Daniel spotted the quick rise of satisfaction in her eyes, the tiny frown of concentration on her brow, as she set about making him crazy. Maybe this moment wasn’t about him. Maybe it was about Molly regaining her sense of control over their relationship. Maybe he simply needed to go along for the ride, let her take him wherever she wanted him to go. Being passive wasn’t in his nature, but Molly seemed to have a plan and since at the moment his body seemed more than content with it, who was he to argue?
Her hands were everywhere and so was her mouth. He heard her catch her breath as she slid his pants down, releasing him in his full state of arousal. She touched the tip of him, sending a jolt through his entire body.
“I want you, Daniel,” she said, looking up at last to meet his gaze. “Make love to me.”
“With pleasure,” he said, lifting her to the high bed with its thick comforter and soft, fresh-smelling sheets.
He stripped off his already disheveled clothes, joined her on the bed and then set to work undressing her, taking his time as he removed blouse, bra, jeans and, at long last, panties. It wasn’t so much an exploration of her body—he already knew it as well as he knew his own—as it was a reawakening, for both of them. He wanted to remember—wanted her to remember—what it was like between them, how well they fit together, the pleasure that had always washed over them like a storm.
Already, though, she was restless, her hips seeking his touch. She was slick with perspiration, moist and ready for him to enter her. He’d waited so long for this, missed it in ways he hadn’t even realized until now, but no more. He couldn’t wait another second.
With one sure thrust, he was inside her, surrounded by her heat, feeling her contract around him with the first spasm. He waited as the waves subsided, then began to move, slowly, teasing her, then harder and deeper as her cries of pleasure mounted and his own body tensed, straining toward the promised release. When it came, it was shattering, the way it had always been with Molly…and only with Molly.
And with his climax came the equally shattering realization that the condoms he’d bought and kept in his wallet for this moment were still safely there. He waited for the panic to set in, waited for the awful fear that there might be another pregnancy that could come between them, but instead an amazing sense of peace stole over him. If there was a baby, so be it. Today was all about second chances. There could be no greater second chance than the opportunity to prove to Molly that he was ready for a family, that he wasn’t afraid of testing his ability to be a husband and father. Not as long as it was with her.
Still joined with her, he gazed into her eyes. “Marry me,” he said. “Be with me forever.”
Alarm flared in her eyes, and he could almost feel her emotional withdrawal.
Her gaze shuttered, she said, “I thought you understood that I’m not ready for that,