torn apart.
Her love moved in her, enlivening them both, heating their hearts and arousing their bodies. They’d had sex in that bed before, but not as two people in love, destined to be married. Poppy had been in love with him and some secret part of her had acknowledged that truth. But she’d never voiced it and he hadn’t seen it until she was taken away.
Thinking became impossible as the beat of orgasm crept closer. She couldn’t breathe as it rose higher, tightening her core and racing her heart.
“Yes,” Poppy whimpered, focused only on him.
His consuming gaze went from concentrated to aware, with maybe a hint of amusement. Poppy didn’t get it, but she didn’t care. Everything in her world was about him and what his body was doing to hers. It just felt right to hand herself to him, to trust him with her heart and with her pleasure.
“First,” she panted. “Oh God, First… Oh, just like that.”
“Damnit, I love you,” he exhaled swooping down to kiss her quick before speeding up to take her to ecstasy.
It wasn’t her fault that her head spun in the bliss of climax. Just the way he looked at her could turn her on, having him occupying her body was almost more than Poppy could handle. She completely missed his climax while lost in the pleasure of hers.
When he flipped over onto his side of the bed, the cold left her bereft.
“First,” she whimpered, rolling toward him to snuggle against his side. “Where’d you go?”
“I’m right here, baby,” he said, hooking his arm around her to pull her closer. “Just like always.”
From that point on, they’d have each other. Sometimes she had to repeat it in her mind just to convince herself it was true. They were together and in love… and getting married in less than two days. Turner just didn’t know it yet.
Waking up with Turner was supposed to be a treat. It probably would’ve been, except when Poppy opened her eyes to look for him, he wasn’t anywhere around.
Damnit.
Driving both fists into the mattress, she forced her upper body off the bed to scan the whole space.
“Damnit,” she said out loud.
All she had to do was keep him in one place, with her, until she could convince him they needed to get their marriage license. If she’d been thinking, Poppy might have realized he’d probably want to check on his buildings. No, well, she had thought that… she just thought having his naked fiancée in bed might be enough to keep him in one place for the time she needed.
Calling him was an option, but there would be no way to be subtle about bringing up their license. Her mind was racing through options when the bathroom door opened, startling her. When Turner appeared, relief surged through her.
“Baby,” she said, probably revealing too much elation.
“You okay?”
Her smile widened. “I thought you’d gone and left me.”
“I was about to,” he said, approaching her. “There’s a whole long list of shit I need to do.”
“I know,” Poppy said, holding her hand out. When their fingers laced together, she pulled with all her strength and lay down without letting go, which forced him to sit with her. “I don’t mean to pile on…”
“Hmm,” he said, freeing his fingers from hers just to brace his hand on the other side of her so he could bow down for a kiss. “If I could stay in bed with you all day…”
“I know you have to work,” she said, stroking his torso. “I was just thinking I might come with you.”
That request confused him. “To work?”
“If you wanted, we could make a quick stop… somewhere we might… maybe…”
Straightening his arm, Turner put a little space between them. “Might maybe, what?”
“Do you have your driver’s license? I brought my passport from home.”
“I don’t understand what you—”
“It’s just a quick hop to the clerk’s office.”
For a second, he considered her. “You wanna get a marriage license?”
“If you think it’s a good idea.”
“They’re only valid for a certain amount of time, I don’t know how long. Once we get it, the clock will start counting down.”
“It’s not a one-shot deal. If we want to put it off, we can. We can always apply again later.”
“You said you didn’t want a big fancy party.”
“I don’t,” she said, toying with his tee-shirt. “If you really hate the idea—”
“I don’t hate the idea,” he said. “I don’t want you rushing into anything you’ll regret later.” Her eyes flashed to his in horror,