He laughed, the sound light in the air. “Hurt me. Please. Have your evil way with me. I won’t complain. I swear. I’m yours.”
“Oh yes, you’re mine,” she breathed. “All mine.”
She twisted above him, taking him whole as she bucked over his hips. She threw back her head, her breathing coming in harsh, ragged spurts.
With one hand on his shoulder, she slid her other hand between them, her fingers finding her clit.
“Last one there is a rotten egg.” She looked at him, her eyes glittering with intense arousal.
He gripped her hips and ground her downward. It was fast, and she was slick. His worry of hurting her disappeared as she met him thrust for thrust.
Her fingers slid rapidly over her clit and she tightened around him.
“Oh no you don’t,” he muttered.
Her throaty laugh flowed over his skin, frying every one of his nerve endings. He felt her in the deepest part of himself. With a shout, he surged upward, just as she let out an intense cry of her own.
His released exploded from his groin, so fast and so furious that he lost focus. He acted instinctively, taking her, owning her in the most primitive way a man could own a woman.
But it was her doing the possessing. She had his heart in her hands. She owned his soul.
He arched one last time. Her hands flew to his shoulders and her fingers dug painfully into his skin as her body shook and trembled violently over him. Then he gathered her tight in his arms and collapsed back against the couch. They were sprawled, a tangle of bodies and arms and legs, and he struggled to catch his breath.
“I think we have to call that one a tie,” he said raggedly.
She smiled against his neck and then kissed his pulse point. “I’m good with that.”
“Thank God. I’d hate to think we had to call a do-over. You damn near killed me,” he groaned.
Her body shook with laughter but neither made an effort to move.
Finally she lifted her head so that she could look into his eyes. “I missed you.”
He was suddenly so overwhelmed by the depth of his feelings for this woman. The days he’d been away all came to this. Her back in his arms. There was such a sense of rightness and belonging that he found the words tumbling out.
“I love you, Lily.”
Her eyes widened but joy burst into her expression with the radiance of a Colorado sunrise over the mountains. If he lived to be a hundred, he’d never forget the shine in her eyes as she stared wordlessly back at him.
It hadn’t come out the way he wanted. He would have preferred a moment where he could better put to words his feelings and his utter contentment. But there it was, in the aftermath of the best sex he’d had in his life. His woman in his arms, warm and sweaty from loving. Maybe there was no better time than right here and right now.
“Oh Seth,” she whispered.
She hugged him to her, holding on for all she was worth. Her heart beat wildly against his chest, and she squeezed. He could feel the emotion boiling within her as she struggled to maintain her composure. For some reason that satisfied him all the more.
She didn’t return the words, and he wasn’t threatened by that. He knew they had a lot to work through. It was enough that he’d offered her the gift of himself. In time she’d come to trust in that offering and she’d return it in full measure.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Lily! I’m so glad to see you,” Holly exclaimed as she opened the door.
Lily smiled, now quite used to the other woman’s exuberant hugs.
“Come in, come in. Hello, son,” Holly said as she gave Seth a kiss on the cheek. “Your fathers are waiting for you out in the barn. They need help rounding up the stuff they’re taking to Michael’s to start work on his house.”
“I know when I’ve been dismissed,” Seth said with a grin. He bent to kiss Lily. “We’ll probably be gone all day. Dillon’s going to meet us out there after the lunch crowd dies down at the pub.”
“Oh, I’ll take good care of her,” Holly said.
“Where’s Callie?” Lily asked after Seth had left.
“She’s still sleeping. She didn’t get off work until after two this morning. I try to let her sleep as long as she will. It’s not good for her to keep running on only a few hours of sleep a night,” Holly said with a frown.
Lily took a deep breath and worked up the nerve to ask Holly, “Would you happen to have a notebook or blank paper and maybe some colored pencils? Or even just a pencil would do.”
Holly looked curiously at her. “Oh, I’m sure we do. I still have a ton of stuff left over from when the boys and Callie were children. The guys tease me about never throwing away anything, but I figure one day I’ll have grandchildren and all that stuff will come in handy.”
Lily flinched and hoped that Holly didn’t hear her quick intake of air.
“I’d love whatever you have,” she said softly.
“Have a seat and give me a minute. I have it all boxed up in one of the storage closets.”
Holly hurried away and Lily sank onto one of the couches in the spacious living room. All around her were signs of the big, boisterous family. Pictures—tons of them—all laughing. Surrounded by big smiles and loving gazes. Everyone looked so happy. She wanted that. Now more than ever.
And then she smiled because she was happy. Seth loved her. Michael and Dillon wanted her. She wanted them. It was okay to be happy. Her grin grew broader until her cheeks hurt from the sudden attack.
Not only did she have three wonderful, delicious men, but she had a large, close-knit family who seemed to think nothing of pitching in when they were needed
That was what families were all about. They didn’t bail at the first sign of adversity and they didn’t place blame.
After a few minutes in which Lily sank back on the couch and hugged her newfound knowledge to her like an overstuffed teddy bear, Holly came back in carrying an armful of papers, notebooks, art books and a box full of colored pencils, crayons and markers.
She dumped them onto the coffee table in front of Lily and said, “It’s all yours.”
Lily latched onto a large tablet of blank paper. A child’s art book. But it was perfect for what she wanted. Then she grabbed a handful of the colored pencils, examining the points of each.
“Would you mind too much if I walked down to Callie’s Meadow?” Lily asked. “There’s a surprise I want to do for Callie.”
It was obvious that Holly was dying to ask at least a dozen questions, but instead she smiled and said, “Of course. You know the way. Just don’t be gone too long. I’ll have lunch ready for when Callie gets up.”
Lily raised her eyebrow.
Holly frowned ferociously. “Okay, okay, so Ryan made lunch and left it for me to warm up.”