He growled, stood up, and then leaned across the table. His fingers grabbed hold of my jaw, pulling me toward him. Lips pressed to mine, pouring passion into them, biting my lower lip as he pulled back.

His thumb swept across my bottom lip, then the back of his fingers caressed my cheek. “I’m trying to be good here, baby, but if you keep this up I will pull out my c**k right here, onlookers be damned.”

“You should know by now that whenever you want me I’m yours.”

He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips, placing light kisses. “I know, baby, and don’t think I won’t take full advantage of it in the future. In public, in private, I’ll take you when I want.”

I wiggled in excitement for that day to come. He sat back down and stared at me with a heated look.

As we worked on our dinner, conversation flowed, fingers caressed, and happiness surrounded us. It was the lightest I’d ever felt.

I wanted every day to feel like this.

The outdoor heaters kept the chill out of the fall air, along with the wine in our system. Nathan no longer objected to the wine since I wasn’t on any medications that could have bad interactions with it.

“Come on,” he said, getting up from his chair and walking over to me.

“Where are we going now?” I asked as he scooped me up in his arms.

He smiled at me and kissed my forehead. “Dessert.”

“The bedroom?”

He laughed out loud at my comment and shook his head. “No, I have something else planned before I take you there and have my wicked way with you.”

Nathan carried me down a small path toward the pool house. The lights were off, a soft glow was created by a candelabra sitting on a small table with a bottle of something and a covered plate. There was a double-wide padded lounge chair covered in blankets that Nathan sat me on before pulling the blankets around me.

He then pulled the cork off what turned out to be champagne. He poured two glasses, handing one to me, then sat down under the covers next to me. It was so romantic, and nothing I could have foreseen happening to me in my life. I sipped the bubbling wine while he pulled the plate and a couple of napkins over. He took the cover off, and I licked my lips in anticipation; there were chocolate covered strawberries filling the dish.

He picked one up, placed it at my lips, and I bit into it, the juice from the berry leaking out and dripping down my chin. Nathan took care of it, his head leaning down, tongue lapping at the trail, following it back up to my lips where he kissed me.

I grabbed one and mimicked him, placing it in front of his mouth. He flicked his tongue at the end and smirked at me before biting into it.

I wanted to be the berry.

I leaned forward and kissed him before he was even done, catching him by surprise. He moaned against my lips and leaned into me, his fingers caressing my neck.

His lips moved against mine, his tongue seeking mine as a strong, slow pace settled over us, and it was different than any other time. His strong hands held the feverishness of his touch, but they were lighter, almost reverent, as they moved along my skin.

“Feel how much I want you, how much I need you. It’s all for you, baby, only for you,” he whispered, planting kisses along the length of my neck.

It was petting, making out, warming up. Normally we were so worked up that we passed the bases and exploded. He was taking over my body, wrapping me in his warmth, his love.

We stayed under the stars cuddled under the blanket, reveling in each other deep into the night. We were enjoying being together without anything holding us back for the first time.

CHAPTER 16

Finally, after so long, my cast was off. My ankle was very stiff, and I’d lost some muscle, but I could walk on my own, shower without the blue boot, and my freedom returned. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as we left the doctor’s office, regardless of how much cave woman leg hair was revealed under that damn thing. Nathan was chuckling at me. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close as we walked to his car.

“If I’d known it would make you this happy I would have ripped that damn thing off of you weeks ago. It got in the way,” he whispered in my ear, nipping at my lobe.

“Mmm, yes, but we managed just fine.”

He smirked at me. “You didn’t get knocked in the head by it multiple times. Really ruins the mood.”

I swatted at his arm. “It didn’t seem to stop you regardless. And seeing as you had a lobotomy, no harm done.”

We stopped in front of the car and he pulled my body flush with his. “Yes, well, I was inside you for the first time in over two months. Do you really think anything, including the ending of the world, could have made me stop?”

I smiled up at him, biting my lip. “Come on, let’s go home.”

“Excited about something, baby?”

“Yes! A shower without the blue boot!”

He stared down at me, balking. “A shower?” He pouted.

“Yes, but you know very well what can be done in the shower.” I winked up at him. “Thanks to all those handles you installed.”

His eyes darkened, his fingers clenching. “Shower it is!”

I giggled, yes giggled, at his excitement and got into the car.

Life had taken a definite turn for the better. I was happy for the first time ever.

I had freedom since my cast was removed and was in physical therapy to help gain back strength in my leg. It was incredible to be able to walk on my own and get around, doing everyday simple tasks I took for granted before.

My next step was to drive, and I couldn’t wait to do that again.

I’d already planned how it was going to go, but I hadn’t told Nathan. I turned to him after work on a Friday before sitting down for dinner. “I’m going car shopping tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. Let’s eat,” he said, pulling my chair out for me.

“Without you.”

He held his breath and looked at me in what seemed like slow motion. “Why?” The word was drawn out.

“I want to do this with Andrew. You know I love how possessive you get, but I need to focus on buying a car tomorrow, not worry about how worked up you might get when a slick car salesman gives me a look that has nothing to do with desire and everything to do with making a sale.”

“I wouldn’t –”

“You would, and you do. Andrew’s more reserved and doesn’t react like you do. Even if he did, it wouldn’t matter, because I don’t feel that way about him.”