We stared hard at one another. She was wondering why I had stopped, and I was wondering why she hadn’t answered me.

“Move in with me,” I repeated, gripping her thighs again. She held her lips tightly together, as if she didn't trust what would fly out of her mouth. That just meant I was on the right path.

I always tried hard not to gloat, but if there was one thing I had mastered, it was kissing. I could bring Rae to her knees with my lips alone. I used those talents to my advantage when I shifted my mouth back between her legs. I moved my lips and tongue against her as if it were her mouth and she started to let out a scream, but she slapped her hand over herself to cover the noise. Right as her toes dug into my shoulders, I pulled back again.

“NO!” she shouted. We both froze, waiting to see if we could hear the sound of little feet coming down the hall. After a few silent beats, I smiled up at her.

“Ready to move in with me yet?”

“This isn’t fair,” she moaned, while trying to move her h*ps up toward my face.

“I just need a yes,” I said into her wet skin. I pushed two fingers inside and hooked them at just the right angle. Her eyes rolled to the top of her head and she fell back against the sheets again. The movements of my fingers were slow and sluggish. She would definitely need more to reach the point she was begging for.

“Raegan, you are beautiful, both inside and out. My only regret is that I didn't find you guys sooner. I need you in my life. Kate and I need you. And if you go, Braden goes too and I can’t handle that. I need all three of you. I don’t know how and I don't know why it’s all come so fast, but you three are under my skin. Please, don’t take that away from me.” All of my vulnerability slipped through in that sentence and I wouldn't be surprised if she laughed in my face.

She scrambled up, causing my fingers to slip from inside her. Before I could comprehend her movements, her mouth was on mine and her hands were in my hair.

“This is crazy. This isn’t normal,” she frantically whispered against my lips. I had my pants off and a condom on in the next few beats. She tugged my shirt up over my head and ran her hands down my chest with adoration in her eyes.

Her back hit the bed and my body followed, desperate with want. Everything inside of me was on fire, and I wanted to touch all of her at the same exact time. I needed her skin against my own.

“Hate to break it to you, but nothing about this situation has been normal. Let’s roll with the punches because I’ve damn sure never been this happy,” I said into the crook of her neck.

When she lifted her h*ps up to mine, I couldn't stand it any longer. I pushed off the bed a second time and pulled her body across the sheets. She didn't fight the movement or even appear surprised at my actions, and when I flipped her over onto her stomach, I watched a hint of excitement ignite in her eyes. I tugged her thong down over her legs until it hit the floor beneath my feet.

With her stomach on the bed she was too low, so I tapped her knees, indicating for her to get up on them and she instantly complied. I grabbed my erection and slid into her with as much ease as I could, especially since I felt as if I would explode on contact. Her body sagged in relief and she kept her face on the bed with her hands above her head.

She pushed back on me with a speed I didn't think she could possess in her current position, but I got her point—loud and f**king clear. I rocked out of her and slammed back in, my balls tightening in pleasure.

“Oh God!” she moaned into the bed.

My hand came down between her shoulder blades so I could gain more leverage. I brought the opposite hand around to her breast and pinched her nipple while driving into her from behind. Nirvana. Bliss. She was my paradise.

Her walls began to squeeze tightly around me, and I finally let her fall into ecstasy beneath me. What I wasn’t expecting was the loud scream that ripped from her mouth. I couldn't stop my thrusts—they were on autopilot now—but I moved my hand over her lips. My dick would never forget the sound of her finally letting go.

The doorknob on the bedroom door began to jiggle. “Shit!” I whispered, while pulling out of Raegan quickly and diving for the opposite side of the bed, away from the door. I heard Raegan scramble for the sheets as she ripped them away from the bed.

“Mommy?” I heard Braden say, once he had the door fully open.

There was absolutely nothing for me to use to cover myself up with except for my own two hands. Thankfully, I was hidden on the ground, but if he decided to come around the bed, he was bound to get an eyeful. My dick screamed for relief and I tried to calm my ragged breaths.

“Braden, sweetie, give mommy a few minutes….” She was still breathing just as heavy as I was.

“Mama, what happened? You screamed… loud,” he informed her. I tried to stifle a chuckle because she really had let loose. And we were apparently idiots for not locking the door with kids in the house. Another parenting lesson learned.

“Oh, I just… I’m okay… I just stubbed my toe. It hurt so bad, but I’m okay now,” she breathed out. I heard the sheets rustle and I could imagine her fidgeting nervously in front of him, while trying to cover her body.

“Mommy, why are you na**d? It’s not bath time.”

“I’m just going to take a shower; it’s been a long day. Can you make sure Kate is having fun in your new room?” God, if I wasn't so uncomfortable right now, I would be busting my ass laughing at her obvious discomfort. I guess this is what having a kid was like.

“Mama…” he began.

“Braden, please,” she interrupted. “Ten minutes and I’ll be right out.”

“Okay,” he replied, and I sighed in relief when I heard the door click closed.

“Oh my God! I think he knows!” I heard her click the lock on the door right before she scrambled across the bed and looked down at me on the floor. Her eyes flared when she saw me lying there, holding my condom-sheathed erection firmly in my hands. “God, you look so hot down there…” The speed at which her tone became sultry caused my dick to throb painfully.

“Get. Your. Ass. Down. Here,” I said through clenched teeth.

“So bossy, Mr. Parker,” she replied cheekily, while throwing the sheet away from her body and climbing down off the side of the bed. She stood above me as her legs straddled each side of my body. She continued to peruse my flesh, which was locked up in every possible way because I was trying to hold back my impending orgasm. Another shudder ran through me and I ground my molars to ward it off.

When she didn't make a move to lower her sweet body onto mine, I growled. “Raegan, I’m about to f**king explode. Get. Down. Here.” I gripped her calves and tried to get her to bend. I didn't care about the hardwood floor under my back. All I needed was her inside of me—now. “Sit down, Rae.” My words were stilted because I was a time bomb about to detonate. I could see how wet she was between her legs and I groaned in pain. I couldn't get up because even the air rushing past me would have caused me to come just then. Plus, I didn’t want up, I wanted in.

Mercifully, she began to seductively lower herself, although it was the slowest I had ever seen her move. My eyes watched the bend of her legs and took in every inch of her br**sts as she came closer to home. She didn't make me wait much longer though, because she lowered herself right onto my throbbing erection.

This wasn’t going to take long. I had already been right on the cusp when she found her release earlier. She moaned as I thrust inside of her and I forced my teeth to stay clamped shut.

I grabbed her hand and shoved it between our bodies, right over her sensitive bundle of nerves. Moving her finger in circles, I showed her exactly what I wanted from her.

“I can’t come again, Lane,” she breathed heavily. “That last one was too much.”

“You’ll go again. With me,” I growled. Call me insane but half of my pleasure these last few days had been derived from watching her fall to pieces under my touch.

She started to protest, but I grabbed her h*ps and moved her up so I could rocket in and out of her. Her br**sts bounced above me and her inner walls hugged me tightly. Yeah, I definitely needed to feel her explode again before I could go.

“Shit!” she squeaked and I continued relentlessly. “Lane, it’s too much, it’s too much! Too much,” she begged, but her fingers didn't stop circling.

“Fuck babe, I need you! I’m close,” I called up to her as I felt the all-too-familiar rush. My hand circled around the back of her neck and I pulled her down so we were chest to chest, and I pumped into her with both need and force. I couldn't hold back anymore. Not with her. She brought out the beast inside of me and all he wanted to do was pleasure her.

I whispered her name, as if it were a prayer rolling off my tongue, “Raegan.”

I felt the sharp bite of her teeth in my shoulder and knew she was shattering on top of me. She muffled her cries into my skin this time.

Dear God, she was amazing. I couldn’t ever lose this girl. She meant the world to me at this point and never had I felt a connection to the very depth of my soul for a woman before. She had buried herself in every fiber of my being.

I thrust my h*ps once, twice, three more times until I felt a thrill racing up my spine, and then I was coming long and hard inside of her. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. There had never been anything better than this. My hands wrapped around her back and I held her body against mine. I let my legs fall and my head rested against the wood floor as we tried to catch our breaths, neither of us moving to separate.

“Baby… shit… damn, that was amazing,” I whispered into her hair.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to get up,” she mumbled lazily into my neck. Unfortunately, she did slowly push off my chest and sat back fully on my thighs after I slipped from her body. We both sucked in air at the loss of our connection. Her fingers ran across my chest and down over my stomach, all while her eyes followed the path.

“Lane, you’re the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.” Her whisper was almost inaudible, almost as if her words weren't meant for me to hear. “I think this is my new favorite position, by the way.”

“Baby, far be it for me to ever stop you from climbing on.” I grinned like the Cheshire cat, which made her laugh. I needed to be closer to her. Gently pulling off the condom, I tied the end and tossed it into a nearby trashcan. I sat up with her seductive ass still in my lap and pressed my lips against hers in a demanding rhythm. She melted against me as I pulled her lower lip in between my teeth and sucked.

“We live together now,” I mumbled against her lips. The cocky grin on my face was forcing its way out.

“You’re evil, you know that, right?” She smiled back in defeat.

“I know how to get what I want, baby, and I have a feeling that will always be you.” I kissed the scar stretching over her eyebrow and then moved back down to her lips.

- SIXTEEN -

LANE -

I slipped in through the kitchen door by way of the garage and endeavored to sneak down the hallway without Kate seeing I was home yet. I needed to change and get back outside before she knew I was here. As I pushed open the door to my bedroom, I could hear her talking with Braden in their room.

Rae’s beautiful face greeted me as she strolled out of our bathroom carrying the suit I planned on wearing tonight. I could already tell she had pressed my shirt and picked out her favorite red tie of mine. Her body jolted when she realized I was standing there watching her.

I chuckled when her hand flew up to her mouth. “Hey, beautiful,” I whispered.

“You scared me half to death.” She swatted my arm. “Don’t ever sneak in like that again.”

I hauled her to my chest and breathed in the fresh, sweet scent of her hair. “I’m trying to get out of these old clothes before she knows its time to go. I want surprise her at the front door.”

“Well, she’s ready. She’s been practically vibrating with anticipation all day.”

“Did she get my flowers?” I asked while slipping my pants off and reaching for the new ones.

Raegan’s face melted into a heavenly smile. Before I could get my pants zipped, she grabbed my face and planted her sweet lips firmly against mine. “Lane, that was the sweetest thing. I just wish you could have seen her face.” I smiled and kissed her again. “Oh, by the way,” she continued, “she said ‘yes’ to your date proposal.”

“Whew.” I wiped my hand across my forehead theatrically. “For a second, I thought I was about to be stood up.”

She chuckled and began unbuttoning my shirt for me. One thing Rae loved doing was helping me get dressed. Every morning, before it was time to make breakfast, greet the kids, answer their insane amount of questions, drink my coffee, make sure my briefcase was ready, answer more questions, convince Kate that I would once again be home at the same time I returned every day, and then finally slip out the door for work, Rae and I stole a few quiet moments together.

After we showered, she sat on the countertop next to my sink and talked to me while I shaved and brushed my teeth. Then she would help me button my shirt and knot the tie around my neck. If someone had told me a girl would be doing that with me every single morning three months ago, I more than likely would have broken out into a sweat and felt the claws of suffocation around my throat.

But with Raegan, it was comforting. She’d shown me what it really meant to be cared for and wanted. She wasn’t solely after my looks or the things I could give her. And I had no doubt that if these moments were taken away from me, I would drown in loneliness.