Chapter 13—Vanessa

I picked up the ring and looked at it. It was a silver band with a topaz offset by two small diamonds. It was beautiful. I clutched it in my hand and rushed out of Jessica’s office, nearly knocking her over on my way out. I thought I heard her calling my name, but I didn’t stop.

“Connor!” The front door of his bungalow was wide open. I went in. “Connor?” Please let him be here. I walked into his bedroom and stopped. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, legs apart, elbows on his thighs, and head in his hands. I stood in front of him.

Neither of us spoke for several moments.

Connor put his arms around my waist and rested his head on my stomach, but he didn’t look at me. I hugged his head to me, the ring box still clutched in one hand, and chewed on the inside of my cheek to stop from crying again. Connor sniffled and that’s when I knew he was crying. I kissed the top of his head, and he squeezed me a little tighter. On my way over here, I’d had so many things in mind to say to him, and now I was at a complete loss for words.

Connor slipped his hands under my shirt, lifted it enough to expose my belly button, and pressed his lips to my stomach. “Please don’t take this from me, Vanessa.” My breath hitched. He stood, raising my shirt with him until it popped off over my head, and then he kissed me.

I tasted the saltiness of tears, but I didn’t know if they were mine or his. I let the ring box fall from my hand to the bed and threaded my fingers in his hair. “I’m sorry, Connor. I’m so sorry for how I acted,” I said when he came up for air.

His response was another toe-curling, breath-stealing kiss. I clawed at his shirt, tearing at it until the buttons popped off and hit the floor. This was my Connor—hot, strong, passionate, and able to make me burn for him with nothing more than a kiss. I guided his shirt from his shoulders, and he groaned when I ran my fingernails down his chest. There were no words, just our need for each other amidst a flurry of denim, cotton, and silk as we removed what remained of our clothing.

Connor lowered me onto the bed and took his rightful position between my legs, his body claiming mine as his cock filled me. He shifted his weight into his forearms, his elbows rested on either side of my head, and he stroked the hair from my face. His kisses were timed perfectly to every forward thrust of his hips. It was hotter than any other time we’d been together.

“God I’ve missed you, Vanessa.” Kiss and thrust.

The low, seductive sound of his voice stoked my internal fire to an unmanageable level.

“The way your lips taste.” His tongue licked over mine, flaming my need for him. “And the way you feel beneath me.”

“Connor.” I dug my nails into his back, and he pushed me closer to the edge.

“I’ve missed the sound of your voice crying my name when I make you come.”

“Connor, oh God, Connor.” I writhed beneath him, my body succumbing to his as I gave into my orgasm, riding wave after delicious wave until my vision blurred.

“Yeah, that’s it sweetheart.” His voice rumbled in my ear. “Ah, Vanessa.” His teeth nipped at my shoulder as he came, his orgasm shuddering through his body. Hot, ragged breath tickled my neck while Connor tried to catch his breath. I grazed my hand along the nape of his neck, content to just hold him for as long as he’d let me.

“I was scared, Connor. I’m still scared,” I said softly.

He shifted his weight into his arms again and peered down at me. “I love you, Vanessa. I’ve loved you for eight years.”

I swallowed back a sob. “I love you, too, Connor.”

Connor eased out of me and got up. I watched him pick up the ring box from the floor, open it, and take the ring out. My heart raced. He smiled. “I bought this ring because it reminded me of your eyes,” he said, twisting it between his thumb and forefinger.

That was one of the sweetest things I’d ever heard. I wrapped a blanket around me and sat beside him. “It beautiful.”

“I want you to wear it, Vanessa. I want to be your husband because I love you, and I want to spend my life with you. No other reason.”

I cupped my hand over my mouth as silent tears rolled down my face. “Yes.”

He looked at me with shocked excitement. “Yeah?”

“Yes,” I said again with a smile. I threw my arms around his neck and showered his face with kisses.

Connor put his hand on my stomach and grinned. “We’re really going to have a baby?”

I nodded.

“You’ve made me so happy, Vanessa. I swear to you I’ll never let you down again,” he said, guiding me down on the bed, his arms firmly wrapped around me.

I closed my eyes, a faint smile on my lips, and I drifted off to sleep in Connor’s arms. I may have lost my company and my house, but I’d gained so much more. And I’d never felt safer.