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“Why?” She looked up into his eyes and he found he couldn’t look away.
He told her the honest truth. “Because I’m not ready for you to leave yet.”
“Why?” She smiled and that simple curve of her mouth tugged at something inside him.
He gave her a reluctant smile. “Going to make me say it?”
She tipped her head to one side in that move he was so fond of, and said, “Yes. I think I am.”
“Fine.” He nodded, swallowed hard and let the desire pumping inside him have free rein. His body tightened; his heartbeat thundered in his chest. “You’re right about this, too. I want you, Sadie. I want you all the damn time. Every time I have you it only makes me want more.”
“And that’s a good thing, right?” she asked, and made her only reference to what they’d talked about just that afternoon.
Best thing that had ever happened to him, not that Ethan was going to be admitting that anytime soon.
“It’s a damn gift is what it is,” he ground out.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “Well, what’re we standing here for?”
“Good question.”
* * *
He swept her up into his arms and Sadie felt a bone-deep thrill rush through her. He held her close to his chest, looked down into her eyes, and she read the hunger shining there. Clearly, he was done trying to pretend that what was between them could be ignored or pushed aside. That hunger radiating from Ethan fed what she was feeling, making her tremble with reaction.
It had been days since they’d been together and Sadie had wondered if they ever would be again. She knew Ethan so well and had realized that over the last few days, he’d questioned himself, what had happened, and tried to work out every possibility, up to and including never touching her again. He was a man with a hard inner line that he didn’t cross on a whim. But here he was, holding her, looking down at her with a promise of what was to come, and Sadie silently acknowledged that she still loved him. Would always love him. And it wouldn’t matter if she left. Didn’t matter if she tried to find someone else to make a life with.
A part of her would always be here. With Ethan.
“You accused me of overthinking, but I can see the wheels in your mind turning,” he said as he walked toward the stairs. “Changing your mind?”
“Not at all.” Caught, she scrambled for something to say that wouldn’t give away what she was feeling. So she went with humor. “I was just wondering how quickly you could take the stairs...”
“We’re about to find out,” he said with a grin, and made it to the second floor in seconds.
“Impressive,” she said, and dragged her nails against the back of his neck.
He inhaled sharply and turned toward the master bedroom. “I’m just getting started impressing you.”
A sizzling knot of anticipation settled in the pit of her stomach and made her blood fizz like champagne. Reaching up, she stroked his cheek and he gritted his teeth in response.
There was no sound from the baby’s room, thank goodness, because Sadie didn’t want an interruption. Not even from the cutest baby in the world. All she wanted now was Ethan. She would always want Ethan.
When he carried her into his bedroom, Sadie took a moment to look around. In all the time she’d known him, she’d never seen it before. Over the years, when she’d come to his house, it was for business, and she’d worked with him in his office downstairs or in the main room or even outside on the patio.
Now, it was personal, and she felt as if she were being given a glimpse into the man.
The room was massive, of course, as she’d expected for being in a mansion. There was a huge TV hanging on the wall opposite the bed. A wide bank of windows looked out over the backyard and the ocean beyond. She guessed that in daylight, the view would be gorgeous. Now, though, she saw only the dark with the pale wash of solar lights on the lawn.
Beneath the TV was a fireplace, cold now, and twin comfy chairs pulled up in front of it. There was a long, low dresser on another wall and tables on either side of a gigantic bed that was covered in a navy blue duvet and mounded with pillows in shades of blue and gray.
