Healed (3 page)

“I love you so much, Em.”

“I love you too.”

He slid his hands out from underneath my shirt and took my left hand in his, kissing right above the ring on my finger.

It was beautiful. A Princess cut diamond, set into a sleek platinum setting.

When he’d gotten down on his knee, time had frozen. I couldn’t believe he was kneeling in front of me, asking me to marry him. Somewhere in the back of mind, I guess I’d suspected it, but for it to actually happen was a completely different story. I had to really concentrate to hear what he was saying to me. It was a dream come true, and I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else.

“Come sit with me,” Andrew said, taking my hand and leading me to the couch.

“What’s a matter?” It seemed weird that one minute he was kissing me like he was going to take me to the bedroom and screw my brains out, and the next he wanted to sit on the couch.

“Nothing’s wrong. I just want to sit and cuddle for a minute so that I can enjoy the feel of my fiancée in my arms. We have all night for everything else I’m going to do to you.”

His words sent heat blazing through me and I snuggled deeper into his embrace. “As long as we’re going back to your bedroom later, it sounds wonderful to me.”

Andrew’s fingers softly traced my arm while he rested his chin on my head. “I know we just got engaged today, but we’re going to keep having to answer the same questions we got bombarded with today about when we plan on getting married. Any ideas?”

“I don’t know. I guess after Angie and Caleb’s next summer? Angie has no one else, and being her maid of honor I need to help her as much as I can.”

“Another reason I love you. You may not show it to everyone, but you have a soft side.”

I scoffed. “I’m not sure I would call it soft, so much as protective.”

“True.” He chuckled. “So after Angie and Caleb’s. What about an April wedding?”

“A spring wedding. Hmm . . . I think I like that idea a lot. We can talk to our parents about—”

I froze.
Oh my God, our parents.

“Em, what’s wrong?”

“Did you already talk to my dad about this?”

My dad would flip out if he found out that Andrew proposed without talking to him first. The old traditions mattered to him. Considering the fact that he had two daughters, I guess I couldn’t blame him. What father wouldn’t want to meet the man who was going to take care of his daughter for the rest of their life? Actually, I could see Andrew being the same way if we were to have kids.

Kids.
Wow, was I getting ahead of myself. I needed to focus on the problem.

Andrew slipped his fingers under my chin and lifted my head to look at him. “Do you think for one moment that I wouldn’t talk to your dad and ask him for permission before I asked you to marry me?”

One look at him and I knew my fears were unfounded. I shook my head. “No. Sorry, it just freaked me out for a minute. I can only imagine how my dad would have reacted if you hadn’t.”

“You can’t imagine? You know as well as I do that he would have kicked my ass from here to next week.”

I giggled at the visual. “Yeah, he would have.”

“Besides, I drove over there two weeks ago to talk to him. I’ve just been trying to find the right time since then.”

“Two weeks? I’m not
that
scary.”

He cupped my face with his hand and gently stroked his thumb across my cheek. “No, but your stress levels have been through the roof. I didn’t want to propose on the run. I wanted us to have a day like today, where you could just relax and enjoy it.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, but don’t thank me yet. Your mom made me promise that we would have brunch with them and my parents after I asked.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course she did. Then we better have a specific date in mind, otherwise she won’t let us leave until we’ve picked one.”

He laughed. “Pretty much,” he said, leaning down to place a soft kiss on my lips. When he pulled back his eyes hadn’t left my mouth. His lips parted and he took short, shallow breaths, and within seconds his arms wrapped around me holding me tight to him, his lips plundering mine as if he’d never tasted them before. Turning fully in his arms, I slipped my leg over his until I was straddling his lap, the hard length of him pressing into my core, creating a burning sensation all over my body. This man could set my blood on fire.

And he was mine. Forever.

Gripping both sides of his face, I slipped my tongue past his lips and let the dance begin again. The groan that tore from his chest made it clear that he wasn’t pulling away this time. Instead his arms slipped beneath my ass, lifting me with him as he stood up from the couch. With careful steps, he slowly made his way down the hall without lifting his lips from mine, and when we reached the end of the bed he lay me down, following so that his body was covering mine. The weight of him on me felt delicious, although, it would have been better without so much clothing.

It was like Andrew read my mind because he pulled away. “I’ll be right back to rid you of this troublesome clothing.” Getting up, he shut the door, locking it. Nick was his only roommate, but he’d been known to sleepwalk. The likelihood of that only increased the more Nick drank—something which he had done plenty of tonight.

The fire burning in Andrew’s eyes as he walked back to me took my breath away. Reaching down he grabbed the hem of his shirt, pulling it off over his head to reveal the toned, firm muscles I loved so much. Just the thought of using my tongue to trace the ridges of his abs had me squirming on the bed. It still surprised me that his skin was flawless, not a tattoo in sight. All of his friends, and most of the football team, had tattoos, so it amazed me how he’d never succumbed to temptation.

He pinned me with his stare and it was like he was holding me captive. I couldn’t move, nor did I want to.

“Are you going to stare at me, or are you going to come back over here and touch me?”

The smirk that rose up on his face said it all. I was in trouble. “Oh, I’m going to touch you all right, but for that little comment I think you deserve a little torture.”

My insides clenched at the thought. Andrew had a way of sending my body into a frenzy, but he always knew exactly when to back off, pushing just enough to keep me on the edge.

When he was next to the bed, his hands moved to the buckle of his pants and, taking his time, he undid it, sliding it out one loop at a time before dropping it to the floor. Trying to focus on anything else was impossible. My vision closed in until all I could see was him, the slow drop of his pants and boxers, his erection springing free, the jeans, boxers, and shoes all pushed to the side with his foot. All I wanted was to feel him inside me. When I leaned up and reached out for him, he shook his finger at me and told me to lie back down. Knowing he would stay out of my reach until I did so, I let my head drop back onto the pillow.

As graceful as a panther, he climbed up onto the bed, his body once again covering mine. Starting at my belly he kissed a path up my chest, pushing my shirt up with each touch of his lips. When it couldn’t go any farther, he lifted it over my head, his mouth taking possession of mine the second the shirt passed my lips. My pants and flip-flops were the next to go, leaving me in only my bra and thong. With a moan of appreciation, Andrew sat back on his heels, just staring down at me. He was lucky that kind of thing didn’t embarrass me, otherwise I would totally kick his ass for doing it. Instead it made heat race through my body, each little piece of me feeling like it would combust if he didn’t touch me soon.

“Oh, baby, you are so gorgeous.”

Licking his lips he pressed his body between my thighs, nothing but mischief in his eyes, and my arms and legs started to tremble in anticipation. The feel of his tongue as it slipped along the fabric of my thong was pure torture, and even though I knew it was coming, my body wasn’t prepared for it. No matter how hard I tried to resist, he always reduced me to begging. My hips bucked up toward his mouth, hoping his tongue would slide past the small barrier and touch every place I needed.

“Do you want me to taste you? To lick you ’til you’re screaming my name?”

Unable to answer the sensual promise I heard in his voice, I simply nodded, begging with my eyes.

“Your wish is my command, my sexy-ass fiancée.” His head lowered between my legs, and moving the fabric aside with his tongue, he held it out of the way with his fingers as he whispered against my skin, “I think it’s so much more fun to torture you with your underwear still on. For some reason, it makes you that much more responsive.”

“Mmmm,” I hummed, waiting.

The first lick of his tongue against me had my back arching off the bed, need coursing through me. The swirling sensation as he circled, but never touched, my clit was everything I needed, not everything I wanted. To keep myself grounded, I fisted my hands in the sheets as Andrew continued to weave his sensual spell around me. My body was trembling, yet every time I could feel the stirrings of the orgasm I was so desperately reaching for, he would pull his mouth away to kiss my inner thighs. Every nerve ending in my body was screaming for release.

“Andrew, please . . . I can’t take any more,” I begged, squirming. All I needed was a few more seconds.

“Aww, baby, have you had enough?”

I whimpered. It was all I could do with my body wound so tight.

Leaning over me, he pressed his lips to mine. “Are you sure you don’t want me to torture you some more?”

“Yes, just . . .
please
.”

“Your wish is my command.” Once again he lowered his head, sucking my clit into his mouth and with another quick flick of his tongue, my body tightened and pulsed as wave after wave of sensation sent me into oblivion. I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel the pulses, making me tremble all over, Andrew continuing to tease me with his fingers, slowly gliding in and out as I rode out one of the most spectacular orgasms of my life.

When my body finally started to relax Andrew slid into me, his lips returning to mine, his body moving within me.

In.

Out.

Every movement sending me spiraling toward ecstasy once again.

“You feel so good,” Andrew whispered in my ear. His lips ghosted down my neck at the same time my hips lifted to meet each of his thrusts. The driving tempo of his hips faltered and, plunging into me twice more, Andrew came with a groan.

There was a strain in his muscles as he tried to hold himself over me, our breaths coming out in pants, mingling together.

Eventually Andrew regained enough strength to move to the side. I pushed him over onto his back so that I could relax into his embrace. Even hot and sweaty, being in his arms was my favorite place to be. The sheet lay pooled at our feet. Andrew grabbed it and pulled it over top of us and we lay there in silence, just enjoying each other’s company, his fingers playing with the ends of my hair, my hand tracing circles on his chest and abs.

“So what did you think?” he asked.

My hand froze. “I can’t believe you just asked me that!”

Immediately his fingers stopped moving and his head dropped down to look at me. “What do you think I mean?”

I gave him a look that left no room for doubt.

“Oh.” It was amusing to see Andrew blush, considering that less than a half an hour ago he was doing his damnedest to keep me in a state of unfulfilled sexual tension. Now he was going to blush at a little innuendo? “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

I smiled. “I know, but life would be so boring if I didn’t pick on you every once in a while.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want life to be boring. You may pick on me whenever you want.”

“I like that idea,” I said, continuing the small movements of my fingers and hands. “What did you actually mean?”

“I meant about having the wedding not next April, but the one after that. It would give us two years to not only plan our wedding, but help Angie with anything she needed for hers.”

“How about the first Saturday?”

He squeezed me tighter to him, like he couldn’t get enough. “I like that idea.”

“Good. That’s one question down, but Mom will probably have a hundred more.”

“That she will. Now get some sleep—we can call them in the morning,” Andrew said, shutting out the bedroom light.

Snuggled into the warmth of his body, it wasn’t long before I was sound asleep.

The next morning when I awoke, the other side of the bed was empty. Andrew wasn’t anywhere in sight and I couldn’t hear the water running in the bathroom.

Where was he?

Rolling over onto my back, something caught my attention. That boy was absolutely amazing. I sat up and wiped the rest of the sleep from my eyes. There on the nightstand was a tray with coffee, a bagel and cream cheese, and a red rose in a vase. It was obvious Andrew had set this up, but I still had no idea where he was. That’s when my eyes landed on a small little note with my name on the front. Picking it up, I unfolded it to read what he’d written.

That man was so freaking sweet it was unbelievable. Reaching over I grabbed the cup of coffee. It was still warm, meaning Andrew hadn’t been gone long. Usually his runs took about a half an hour, sometimes a little more. It would give me enough time to eat, shower, and call my mom.