Page 98 of Nixon’s Promise

I pushed my joggers over my hips, and in a very uncoordinated move, I freed one leg then the other. I was in a daze and maybe if he hadn’t already exposed some of his skin, I would’ve had a mind to try and make the show sexy. But I didn’t have a mind to do anything other than peel my clothes off as quickly as I could. With my panties and cami on the floor next to his boots, I noted I liked the way that looked.

His and mine on my bedroom floor in a mess. I was still looking down when his cargos and socks joined the pile. I didn’t look up until the plaid button up landed on top of his pants.

My eyes lifted, taking in his strong thighs, then higher to his heavy, thick cock already standing at half-mast, to his stomach, chest, sinewy neck, and finally his lust-filled eyes.

“Jesus,” he growled and stepped to me, hoisting me up until my legs wrapped around his waist. His mouth lowered to mine and finally he kissed me. A real, deep, wet kiss. One that had my heart jackhammering in my chest and my skin heating.

He wrenched his lips from mine and smiled. “Goddamn, you can kiss. I’ve been countin’ down the hours.”

“Until?” I prompted, my breath coming out in gasps.

“Until I could see your pretty face. Until I could see your smile. Until I could hold you. Until I could taste you.”

Lucky for me he wasn’t waiting for me to say something, because he’d taken my ability to cogitate. Nixon moved to the bed, and with my legs still wrapped tight, he placed a knee on the mattress and heaved us up and over until my back hit the comforter.

Nixon was staring down at me, slightly leaning to the side on his elbow to take some of his weight.

“Unlock your legs.”

I shook my head and smiled.

“Babe, I can’t taste you with your heels diggin’ into my back.”

“I just wanna look at you for a minute.”

I watched, up close and personal, so close I couldn’t miss it. I saw it first, his features soften, his eyes widen before they gentled. Then I felt it. Every muscle in his body relaxed, all but one. An extremely stiff one that jerked between us.

“Goddamn,” he whispered. “Just when I think I’ve hit the good stuff and I couldn’t fall any further, you say something sweet and I realize I’ll never be done. And I can’t say knowing that I’ll be spending the rest of my life falling for the woman I love is a bad thing.”

The gurgling sound that tore from my throat was not pretty, nor was it ladylike, but I couldn’t stop it.

Did he just say he loved me?

“What?”

His thumb wiped away the moisture leaking from my eyes and he muttered, “Change of plans.”

He pulled back a fraction, his hand left my face, went between us, and I felt the head of his dick at my entrance. The tip slipped in and he held himself still.

“Shoulda told you sooner, but I hadn’t found the right time.” He pushed in a little farther and his back started to arch. “Couldn’t tell you when it happened. Might’ve been that first day when I saw you struggling with a bag of dog food.” He gave me more of his dick and my legs started to tremble. If he had something important to say he better spit it out because it was becoming harder and harder to focus. “I saw you when you were walkin’ out of the store. I watched you strut your fine ass across the lot and heave those bags into the back of your rusted-out truck, thinking to myself, now there is the perfect woman. Strong, capable, independent, and looking so Goddamn sexy while showing the world how tough she was.”

Nixon was driving me crazy. Short shallow thrusts that along with his words were building an inferno. “I got out of my truck, and as I was walking your way, I did it thinking that if I was ever to find a woman I’d want as my partner she would be you. So, thinking back, it might’ve been in that moment I started falling in love with you. And every day since, even when you ghosted my ass, I was falling more. So when I tell you I love you, babe, I mean, not only am I in deep, but every time you look at me I fall harder.”

“Nixon,” I whispered.

I didn’t get to finish my thought because he drove down hard and my hips surged up and my world turned hazy. It would be a long time after he was done bringing us to new levels of ecstasy when I’d finally catch my breath. And longer still until he’d righted us in my bed and tucked me to his side. After he’d gotten me where he wanted and I settled one arm over his muscular chest, and threw my leg over his thigh, I was able to finally articulate my thoughts.

“I love you, too, Nix.”

He remained silent and gave me a squeeze.

“Would you like anything special for breakfast?”

Nixon’s body shook with silent laughter, and I closed my eyes tightly and savored the moment. Feeling it was almost better than hearing it.

38

Over the next few days, Nixon tried but failed to quell the foreboding in his gut. It was churning like acid, and as the days slipped by, he tried to remind himself Miller was dead and he couldn’t hurt McKenna or her siblings.