Liam’s breath caught audibly, his eyes darkening as he lifted one hand to cup her cheek. “I love you too,” he replied, thumb brushing the delicate skin beneath her eye. “More than I thought possible after Kate. Different, but just as real, just as deep.”
His honesty— naming Kate, acknowledging the different shapes love could take — was the final piece clicking into place for Sunny. This man would never pretend his first wife hadn’t existed, would never ask Sunny to compete with a ghost. Instead, he was making room for both loves in his heart, distinct but equally valid. It was exactly what she had hoped for as she’d sat by Kate’s grave that morning.
“Sunny,” Liam said, his voice deepening with emotion. “I need to ask you something.”
She nodded, her pulse quickening at the intensity in his gaze.
“Can you imagine building a life with me? With us? Not just for now, but…for the long haul?”
The question was carefully phrased, tentative in a way that told her he wasn’t proposing marriage — not yet — but rather testing the waters, ensuring they were aligned in their visions of the future.
“I’ve never wanted anything more,” Sunny answered without hesitation, her heart full to bursting with certainty. “You, the girls, this life we’re creating together — it’s everything I never dared to hope for.”
The smile that transformed Liam’s face was like sunrise breaking over mountains — gradual, then all at once dazzling in its brilliance. His hand slid from her cheek to the nape of her neck, drawing her closer as his lips found hers in a kiss that spoke of promises, of futures, of coming home after a long and difficult journey.
Unlike the desperate, hungry kisses they had shared in moments of passion or crisis, this was slow, deliberate — a savoring rather than a claiming. Sunny melted into it, her hands finding their way to his chest, feeling the steady thud of his heart beneath her palm.
When they finally broke apart, Liam’s forehead resting against hers, his breathing as unsteady as her own, Sunny knew with absolute clarity that they had crossed a threshold. The careful distance they had maintained since her return, the hesitant rebuilding of trust — all of it gave way to something new and yet familiar, like returning to a place you’ve only visited in dreams.
“The girls will be asleep for hours,” Liam murmured, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down her spine.
Sunny drew back slightly, searching his face in the soft lamplight. “Are you sure?” she asked, the question encompassing far more than the immediate moment.
In answer, Liam stood, extending his hand to her with quiet certainty. Sunny placed her palm in his, allowing him to draw her to her feet and lead her from the study to the master bedroom at the end of the hall.
She had been in this room before, of course — to deliver laundry, to fetch something Liam needed, to wake him for early morning practice. But never like this, never as a lover invited into the most private space of his life.
The room was quintessentially Liam — masculine without being austere, comfortable rather than showy. The king-sized bed dominated the space, its navy duvet neatly made, a testament to his military-like precision.
Their lips met again, the kiss deeper now, charged with weeks of longing finally given permission to express itself. Liam’s hands grew bolder, slipping beneath the hem of her sweater to find the warm skin of her lower back. Sunny arched into his touch, desire spiraling through her body with an intensity that left her breathless.
Clothing was discarded with reverent care, each newly revealed expanse of skin explored with tender attention. When they finally came together on the wide bed, sheets cool against heated skin, Sunny felt as if something within her chest had cracked open, making space for a kind of joy she had never allowed herself to fully imagine, let alone experience.
Liam moved above her with exquisite care, his eyes never leaving hers, his every touch communicating something beyond physical desire. This wasn’t merely sex — it was reconnection, the physical expression of promises too profound for words alone.
Liam’s hands slid lower, fingers curling around the soft curve of her hips as he drew her closer, their bodies pressed flush against each other. The heat of him was intoxicating, and Sunny felt her breath catch as his lips brushed the hollow of her throat, lingering there before trailing downward. He paused at her collarbone, kissing the sensitive skin with a reverence that made her tremble, then continued his descent, his mouth finding the swell of her breast. His tongue flicked over her nipple, warm and deliberate, coaxing it to a taut peak as she arched into him, a soft gasp escaping her lips.
“God, Sunny, I missed you,” he murmured against her skin, his voice rough with desire yet laced with awe, as if he couldn’t quite believe she was here beneath him. His hands moved with purpose now, one sliding between her thighs, parting them gently as he settled himself there. His fingers brushed against her, teasing the slick heat of her core, and she felt a jolt of pleasure ripple through her, her body responding instantly to his touch.
He explored her slowly, tracing her folds with a tenderness that belied the growing urgency in his tightening grip, his thumb circling her clit in a rhythm that made her hips buck against his hand.
Sunny’s hands clutched at his shoulders, nails digging faintly into his skin as she surrendered to the sensation, her breath coming in shallow pants. “I missed you too,” she whispered, her voice a plea and a promise, and he lifted his head to meet her gaze. His eyes were dark with need, yet soft with something deeper — love, trust, a shared history reignited in this moment.
He shifted, positioning himself above her, the hard length of him pressing against her entrance, hot and insistent. For a heartbeat, they held there, suspended in the anticipation, their breaths mingling as he searched her face.
“I need you,” he said simply, and with her nod, he entered her, slow and deliberate, filling her inch by inch. The stretch was exquisite, a delicious ache that made her moan softly as her body adjusted to him, welcoming him home.
He stilled once fully seated, buried deep inside her, and the intimacy of it — the way they fit together so perfectly — made her chest tighten with emotion. Then he began to move, a steady, languid thrust that sent waves of pleasure coursing through her, each stroke igniting her nerves.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him deeper, and he groaned, the sound vibrating against her ear as he nuzzled her neck. His hands gripped her thighs, holding her steady as he rocked into her, the pace building gradually, each thrust more deliberate than the last.
She could feel every inch of him, the way he pulsed inside her, the friction of their bodies igniting a fire that spread from her core outward. Her fingers tangled in his hair, tugging gently as she tilted her hips to meet him, matching his rhythm, their movements a dance of give and take.
The air grew thick with the sounds of their lovemaking — the soft slap of skin against skin, the ragged cadence of their breathing, the quiet whimpers she couldn’t hold back as he angled himself just right, hitting that spot inside her that made her vision spin. “Liam,” she gasped again, her voice breaking as the tension coiled tighter, her body trembling beneath him. He kissed her then, deep and hungry, swallowing her cries as he drove into her with a steady, unrelenting pace, his own control fraying at the edges.
When she came, it was with a shuddering cry, her walls clenching around him, pulsing in waves that left her breathless and dizzy. Liam followed moments later, his thrusts faltering as he buried himself deep, spilling into her with a low, guttural moan.
He collapsed against her, his weight a comforting anchor as they rode out the aftershocks together, their bodies slick with sweat, hearts pounding in unison.
