can’t. I honest to God cannot wait another minute for you, Evie.”
She folded against him, looking up. “Then don’t.”
He kissed her again while he closed and locked the door, then ushered her toward the back, somehow knowing exactly where they were going. He stopped to lean against a wall to intensify the kisses, his whole body so hard and powerful she felt like she was melting into the board-and-batten panels.
“Not bad for post-twenty-four-hour shift,” she murmured.
“And I didn’t sleep five minutes.” Tunneling his fingers into her hair, he lifted her head to get to her throat.
“A lot of calls?”
“Very few.”
“Then why didn’t you sleep?” she asked.
“’Cause I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve.” He glided a hand down her neck and slowly caressed her breast. “Presents waiting to…”
She bit her lip and looked up at him, dragging her hand down the front of his T-shirt. At the bottom, she let her fingers graze the button of his jeans. “Unwrap,” she finished for him.
He chuckled into the next kiss, his whole body responding against her. “Ho, ho, ho,” he teased, caressing her back and angling her hips against his. “It’s Christmas in October.”
She kissed him again, a whimper escaping as their tongues touched like the opening notes of a long, beautiful symphony.
Still holding each other, still kissing, he stepped her back like they were dancing. “Hope Judah sleeps heavy, or else…”
“He’s sound asleep. Come.” She walked him to the little suite of rooms behind the back stairs.
It was dark and got even darker when she closed the bedroom door, but she easily guided him to the bed. He set his backpack on the floor, very carefully, glancing at Judah.
“I don’t want to wake him,” he whispered.
“Listen to that dog snore,” she said. “He’s underwater-treadmill tired.”
He smiled. “It works?”
“Like a charm. Christine was mightily impressed. Do you need a light?” she asked.
“Only if you want me to find protection.”
She’d thought so much about this moment, this question, this issue. “How’s your health, Captain?”
“Flawless. Checked constantly. Yours?”
She gave a dry laugh. “I’ve been celibate since my last doctor’s appointment.”
With a moan, he leaned down and kissed her, guiding her to the bed. “Gotta change that situation, stat.”
“Yes, please.” She fell onto the comforter with him, wrapping her legs around him so her skirt slid up, gasping at the way his body fit against hers. They rolled once, then again, refusing to break the kiss as he worked her top over her head, and she did the same with his.
He took a moment to appreciate the pretty lace bra, or maybe what was in it, then easily unhooked it, taking a much longer moment to admire her bare breasts. His gaze seared her, and then he touched her skin, and that burned hotter. He dipped his head to plant a kiss on her breast, nearly taking all her breath away.
“And the protection?” He lifted his head to look into her eyes. “Because, Evie, I want to make love to you with or without…consequences. I want you. Before anything or anyone else, I want you.”
“So, are you saying this is not about a baby?”
“It can be, but…” He stilled his hand, giving her a serious, smoky look. “First and foremost, it’s about us.”
“Declan.” She stroked his cheek, feeling the stubble from a long shift and the face of a man who couldn’t be better, on any level. “I never dared to dream this could happen. Well, that’s not true. I dreamed it a lot. Awake and asleep dreams.”
His eyes shuttered at her words. “Same.”
“And in my dreams, we were always in love.” She couldn’t stop now. She had to tell him the truth. He had to know before they made love. “Not trying to make a baby and not trying to make up for lost time. But you and me…in love.” She sighed against him, kissing him with her lips parted and eyes open. “I wanted that more than I wanted sex.”
He looked at her for a long time, his heart hammering so hard she could feel it.
“Then let’s start this the right way,” he whispered.
She stared back, silent.
He curled his arms under her, elevating her a little bit as he looked into her eyes. “I love you, Dr. Evangeline Hewitt. I loved you then, and I love you now. I might have stopped living for twenty years, but I didn’t stop loving.”
“Oh.” She exhaled the word on a whispery sigh, feeling like she could float on the happiness of that. “You love me.”
“I