Repeat - Kylie Scott Page 0,78
each other.”
“Ed, this is amazing.”
“Frances helped. Doctor Patel is away at a conference and Detective Chen had to work. No way was I inviting the little shit from the café who keeps asking you out. But otherwise, I think we got pretty much everyone.”
“This is amazing. But why?”
He just tips his chin. “Why not?”
Why not, indeed. We both know life is short. It doesn’t need to be said. My eyes fill with tears and I blink them back furiously. The emotion teeming inside my chest is huge. Overwhelming.
“Hey, are you all right?”
“Yes,” I say, managing a watery smile. “I love you.”
There’s the inevitable pause. His careful blank face. “Thank you, Clem. Why don’t you go say hi to your friends?”
I just nod and do as he says. There’s a goodly amount of hugs, pats on the back, and some kissing of cheeks involved in greeting all of the assembled. Ed’s lack of a reaction to my declaration doesn’t matter. I mean, it does. But it’s okay. Everything’s good.
If I’d stopped and thought about it for half a second, it was always going to be this way. The important thing is, we’re together and there’s always the possibility of a future. He might come around. It’s what I tell myself through all of the smiling and the first two glasses of wine. (Just as well I hadn’t taken any of my chill pills.) Alcohol takes the edge off my angst and we have a great night. Everything is fine.
* * *
As soon our bedroom door clicks closed, I kick off my shoes and undo the tie and zip on my jumpsuit. There’s been a hesitancy to him since we left the restaurant. A troubled look in his eye. Like his mind’s been busy all night concocting a speech, figuring out exactly what to say regarding my disturbing confession. Doubtless he has all sorts of sensible reasons for not saying it back or for wanting me to leave the L word out of things for now. But I don’t want to hear it. Not yet.
“Clem . . .” He turns to me, a hand running agitatedly through his hair. His eyes widen slightly at the sight of me shrugging out of my clothes, stripping off my underwear. Or maybe it’s the aggressiveness with which I’m doing it. While he might be conflicted, I know exactly what I want.
“No talking,” I say.
“But—”
“No.”
I grab the lapels of his suit jacket and go up on tiptoes, slamming my mouth against his. Surprise is on my side. Hands clutch at my waist, his lips opening to me. For all of tonight’s emotional upheaval, it’s pretty fucking hot, him wearing a slick black suit and me being naked. Only I’m not acting exposed or vulnerable. It doesn’t take Ed long to get with the program. To take control. We war with tongue and teeth, greedy for each other as always. He backs me into the door, breathing heavy. Then he drops to his knees.
“Ed?”
“You said no talking.” He nips at the soft skin of my belly in warning. A hand lifts one of my thighs over his shoulder, opening me to him. I grab hold of his hair for balance sake. His warm breath is right there.
My insides tighten in a most stimulating manner. Rivers have gushed less than my pussy.
His free hand kneads one of my ass cheeks, angling me just so. And the tip of his nose brushes against my mound as he plants soft kisses. “Surely you know when someone wants to go down on you.”
Excitement takes over and my mind is empty. I really have nothing to say. The long flat of his tongue drags through me, up toward my clit. Just that easy, my legs start trembling. In the low lighting of his bedroom, his gaze is so dark and hungry. The man can eat me alive. I’d be totally fine with that. Next, he sucks at the lips of my labia, making my blood surge. He teases my clit with flicks of the tip of his tongue. I’m a wet writhing mess in no time, grinding my pussy against his face. And the sound he’s making. The sucking noises and groans of appreciation as if he doesn’t just like how I taste and how wanton I’m acting. He fucking loves it. When he concentrates on my clit, sucking on it, and even nibbling gently, I explode. My legs go weak, my whole body shaking. If he wasn’t holding me up, I’d