Loving True (41 page)

Chapter Thirty-Three

True’s
hands flew to cover her mouth as it fell open in shock. The card she had been holding floated to the floor to lie beside her feet. Tears of joy quickly flooded her vision making it impossible to see
Hayward
kneeling on the floor. This couldn’t be happening to her. Did I hear him correctly? Her hand fell from her mouth; she held it out to him. “Yes, I will marry you,” she screamed.

“God!”
 
He said, and she noticed a slight quiver in his voice. “You scared me too death.” She marveled at the shaking in his hand as he slid the Tiffany heart shaped diamond engagement ring on her finger. Looking into her eyes he said, “I thought you might say no.” He stood up and gently pulled her into his arms.

Wrapped in the comfort of his embrace, True tilted her head back, and stared into his chiseled face; for some reason tonight, she realized his eyes looked more bluer than usual. With the tips of her fingers, she traced the dimple in the center of his chin. His warm skin sent a quick tingle through her
body,
She jerked her hand back and placed both arms around his neck. “This came as a total surprise to me,” True confessed.

Her hands played with the ends of his rich ebony hair, she loved the fact that it always brushed his shirt collars. Pressing her body closer, True inhaled the musky scent of his cologne and she admitted, “I didn’t think you would want to get married again after Brooke.”
 

Hayward
rubbed his thumbs across her perfectly formed high exotic cheekbones, and sighed.
 
“How did I get so damn lucky?”
 
He cupped her upturned face in the palms of his hands and stared down at her. “You’re the most perfect woman I’ve ever seen.”
Hayward
said, and he heard the quick catch in her voice at his heartfelt words. “I never thought I would find someone like you,” He placed a quick kiss at the side of her left temple.

“Kitten, now that I’ve found you, I would l be an idiot not to propose.” With a lazy smile, he ran his hands boldly down her bare arms, his grip tightened on her elbows.
 
“Woman, once you got into my blood there was no way I was letting you slip through my fingers,” he declared. The deep rumple of his voice sent shivers down her back. He leaned closer, so their lips almost touched, “Would you mind if we skipped dinner and celebrate our engagement,”
Hayward
whispered.

Rising on her tiptoes,
True
brushed her fingertips across his firm bottom lip, she had lost count of how many times his talented mouth had pleasured her. True shrugged one shoulder; “It all depends on what you have in mind,” she asked playfully, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes. She smiled at the low growl that erupted from the back of
Hayward
’s throat. Well, he likes it when I tease him? Hmmm…Maybe, I should tease him another way.

 
True’s
hands dropped to the V-neck opening of
Hayward
’s dark azure shirt, she played with the wisps of dark hair that peeked out. She shivered when his big body jerked under her light touch. “See, whatever you have in mind better
be
a whole lot better than the sweet, tangy aroma coming from the kitchen, or I can’t agree,” True teased, with a shake of her head.

Hayward
swept her slight frame into his corded arms, “I promise we’ll create something far more
sweet
in our bedroom than you would find in the kitchen,” he whispered into her ear. He turned and went out the door. Her body bounced in his arms, as his footsteps raced down the hallway taking the stairs two at a time.
Hayward
headed up the spiral staircase, “I’ll make this a night you won’t ever forget,” he said. She heard the promise in the low tone of his voice. Doesn’t he know that I’m already pleased beyond my wildest dreams?
 
              

She rested her head against his shoulder and waited while he pushed the red stained oak door opened with the palm of his hand, “Kitten, I love you more than I thought I could love a woman,” he admitted in a low smooth voice. He slid her down his body until she was standing in front of him.
 
An intense tingle started right below her bellybutton, and it slowly worked its way up to her heart. She was completely free of her past! Suddenly hot tears burned at the back of her eyes, but True blinked them away.
 

Tonight,
Hayward
’s declaration finally wiped away all her insecurities placed there by
Dalton
. She flattened her palms against his shirt; he clutched both her hands in one of his and pressed her closer to him. The warmth from his body comforted hers, “It doesn’t matter how many times you say those words to me, I’ll never get tired of hearing them,” True replied as she watched the play of emotions on his face.

Hayward
’s long fingers rubbed her back possessively. She loved his light caress against her heated skin.
 
“Baby, you’ll hear the words
I love you,
each and every day before and after we get married.” His voice was thick and unsteady; “I won’t let a moment go by that you don’t know how much you mean to me.”

True removed one of her hands from his and wrapped it around the back of his well-defined neck; she brought
Hayward
’s face down to hers for a quick kiss. He automatically tried to deepen it with the tongue, but she pulled away. “Hey, stop trying to take over my kiss.” True teased, and then she moved out of his arms. A hint of peppermint lingered on the tip of her tongue.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist and spun her back around, she was jerked back against a rock hard chest, “Honey, you know how much your tender kisses turn me on,”
Hayward
whispered. His moist tongue flickered over her earlobe. She bit her bottom lip to keep from moaning; the slow swipe of his tongue sent shock waves of pleasure through her. Eager fingers started working the zipper down on the back of her dress.

“No.” True gasped, she reached behind her and pushed his hands away.

“Why not?”
He asked
,
she heard a trace of alarm in his voice.
 
Her eyes flew up to his face. She noticed his eyes were filled with hurt. His brow drew together in a worried expression, “Have I done something wrong,” he asked, looking down at her.

True shook her head. “No, I want to undress you this time,” she confessed pressing her palms flat against his shirt.

Blood raced hot through his veins and his heart pounded erratically under his ribs,
True
wanted to undress him? He felt beads of sweat break out on his forehead, and slide down the sides of his face. His hands clenched and unclenched. A muscle twitched in his
jaw,
however he couldn’t get control of his excited body. He swung his gaze down to her, she stood in front of him, and her big brown eyes stared up at him with love and understanding. Can I give up control? It meant he would hand over the last piece of his heart that he kept hidden for the past three years to True with no questions asked.

Am I truly ready for this?
 
Yes, he would do anything for this amazing woman in front of him.
Hayward
wound a hand in
True’s
hair and sighed, he breathed in her unique intoxicating scent. “I’ll hold on long as I can, Peaches,” he muttered.
Hayward
watched her eyebrow shoot up. Surprise remained etched on her delicate features. He hid a smile; True knew all too well about his control issues. “If it gets too much for me I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it, however I’m yours for the taking.”
Hayward
spread his arms out wide as he could barely wait. The prolonged anticipation of her touch was almost more than his tortured body could handle.

True’s
hands moved up his chest and her French manicured nails pushed
his
 
jacket
off his shoulders. It landed on the plush carpet behind him with a soft thud. “Do you want me to turn off the lights,” she asked him.

“No!” He hissed. “Let’s leave them on.” He wanted to watch her small fingers strip the clothes from his body. Lowering his lids,
Hayward
observed her from underneath his lowered lashes; she started at the top of his shirt and worked each clear button from its hole. After three were undone True kissed his chest licking each nipple in the process.

“Isn’t this fun,” she asked.

He recognized a little added smokiness in her voice, “Fun for whom,” he replied. He heard a tiny whisper of laughter as she pushed the shirt off his shoulders; it pooled to the floor to lie beside his jacket

She reached for his pants and his belt, “Hmmm… can I have a little bit of help?” True asked, drawing her eyes from his face down to his black dress shoes.

Hell, he would do anything to hurry her up, “I’ll be more than happy to help you,”
Hayward
replied and he kicked off his shoes.
 
All those light teasing touches were wreaking havoc on his senses.
 
She looked him straight in the eye, while her hand slid the leather belt from his pants.

“T
hank
so much for your help,” she whispered. True tossed it over his shoulder and his belt found its way to the floor with his other clothing. “I’m love your body,” she whispered by his ear. Her soft breath made his body ached for her touch. True pressed her firm breasts into his chest, he couldn’t hide the shiver that came from his body. Damn, she was trying to drive him crazy.

Hayward
swallowed hard, “Baby, you need to stop playing around and finish what you started,” he groaned. Her hard nipples felt like little stones poking into his chest.

“Come on, you’re a big boy,” she taunted, brushing her lower body over his; if it was possible he felt his erection grew harder. It throbbed with the need to be inside her.
 
He heard her gasp and tried to take a step back, but he didn’t think so. He cupped her tight butt in the palms of his hands and drew her back until not an inch separate their bodies. A shudder passed through her,
Hayward
smiled at the effect his body had on her.

“Kitten, stop teasing me or I’ll take over.” He planted a quick kiss on her mouth and gently shoved her away from him.

His fingers itched to strip the snug dress from her luscious body, but he would keep his word and wait. She needed this moment to define herself as a woman and he would give it to her.
 
Hayward was very aware of
True’s
hand working the black suit pants down his legs and when the back of her of knuckles brushed over his erection and he nearly screamed with pleasure.
 
After she pushed them down his legs, he kicked them out of the way.

“Wow!” True whispered as her gaze was on his erection and he heard the awe in her voice. “You’re so hard.” Her fingers skimmed over him through his white boxers. She rubbed her palm against him and his control snapped.

Hayward
picked True up; his long steps ate up the short distance to the four-poster bed. He flipped her down on the mattress. She tried to lean up on her elbows, but he pressed her down on the bed with his. “Enough!” he growled into her hair.
 
He was fighting hard not to take control of the situation,
Hayward
bite back a curse as
True’s
fingers glided between their bodies, her left hand closed around the length of him. Unconsciously, he moved against her hand and moaned.
 
He was caught off guard but reveled in the feel of having his erection cupped in her hand. Her touch surprised him; it wrapped itself around his heart like a warm blanket.

“
Hayward
, you feel so good,” she murmured.

He raised desire filled eyes to hers. “You need to stop playing around. If you don’t, I’m going to lose control.”
Hayward
reached down and removed her hand away from him; instantly, he missed the warmth of her hand. He placed a kiss on the inside on her slim wrist and placed it beside her head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

She didn’t realize the spark of excitement that he received anytime the idea of making love to her crossed his mind.
 
“I have always been very careful with you whenever we make love,” True took his earlobe between her teeth and nibbled. “Maybe I want you to lose control this time.”
 
She confessed. She used her thumb to caress the tip of him.

His control snapped with the brush of her thumb.
Hayward
jerked True body to a sitting position on the bed, “God, I can’t help it. I need you more than I have any other woman.” He shoved his tongue deep into her mouth and his fingers worked the dress from her body until she was naked in his arms.

She kissed him back with a hunger that expressed all the passion she felt. Raising his mouth from hers,
Hayward
gazed down into
True’s
eyes. “I love you.”
 
He was shocked at the rush those words sent through his entire body. Reclaiming her moist swollen lips,
Hayward
crushed True to him.