knew it in the mountains that morning when I woke up,” he whispered. “I knew I loved you and that we’d always…” His throat grew thick, and she quieted him with a kiss.
“I knew it, too,” she murmured against his mouth. “Always you, only you.”
They got lost in another kiss, while everything in the world faded away.
“So, last time. Protection?” he asked when they parted.
“I have all the protection I need right here in my arms.”
“Then let me love you, E.”
Declan was as tender and gentle as he’d been the night she’d given him her virginity. Every touch, every stroke, every delicate exploration was done with the sole purpose of making sure Evie felt safe and pleasured.
Of course they laughed and whispered, like they had on that blanket under the stars. And he slid the rest of her clothes off with the same crazy-slow care he’d used on her jeans that first time, pressing his lips to her as if every new inch of exposed skin was a glorious discovery that he had to taste and inhale and explore.
He let her finish undressing him, then eased them both under the covers with the same confidence he’d rolled out that sleeping bag and cocooned with her inside it.
He left her breathless with kisses, taking his time to let her whole body wind up and grow needy and tense as they rolled and rocked and touched and teased.
“I’m having déjà vu,” she whispered into his mouth.
“If you make a pun now…”
She laughed, turning them over so she was on top for a moment. “I’m serious. I keep thinking of that night in the mountains.” She planted a few kisses on his chest, letting the hair there tickle her lips. “Only you have more muscles now.”
“And I bet I can last longer than two minutes.”
“That was only the first time.” She looked up and smiled as she slid farther down his body. “Plus, it was the best two minutes of my life.” She closed her hand over him and drew her tongue along his abs. “Until tonight.”
He groaned as she stroked him, then pulled her up and turned her on her back, kissing her until she could barely breathe, holding her with those big strong hands. “It was worth the wait,” he said. “Worth every minute of twenty years for right now.”
She wrapped her legs around his hips, so ready to feel him inside her. “Declan.”
“Evie.”
“Now?”
He touched her lightly, making her hips rise, feeling how ready she was. “Now.”
He held her gaze, then lowered to kiss her, connecting their mouths as their bodies did the same, a sweet trick that made her whole being quiver with pleasure.
He moved slowly at first, making her writhe and moan, then they found a perfect rhythm that seemed to match her heartbeat, increasing every second, pleasure lapping at her body, tightening her limbs, but making her feel utterly boneless and lost.
She forgot about the world, the past, the icy years. There was only right now, this very minute, this blissful, intense, perfect connection of two people who had never known anything but love for each other.
New and remembered sensations zinged over her body, hot sparks when he caressed her skin, dreamy waves of pleasure rolling inside her, and tight knots of need that threatened to unravel with each stroke.
He seemed to somehow hold her poised between the most beautiful elevation and a crashing out-of-control spiral that made her giddy and dizzy and free.
And just like that, he kissed her again, held still for two or three heartbeats, and her body gave in. She clung to him, pressing her lips against his powerful shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut as she quaked with satisfaction. She’d barely caught the next breath when he took the same ride, murmuring her name over and over again as he lost every shred of some rather impressive control.
With one last groan, he fell against her, their bodies damp and shaky and sticky and spent.
“So, are you supposed to lie really still or put up your legs or something?” he asked after a moment.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never tried getting pregnant this way.”
He laughed a little. “How’d you like this new, conventional method?”
“You’re no nurse with a syringe, Mahoney, but you’ll do.”
He managed to lean up on one elbow to look down at her. “Was this the right time of the month?”
“Close enough.”
“But we’ll still have to try again.” He kissed her. “And again. And…”
She put her hand on his cheek, stopping the