Page 36 of Marriage & Mockery

Family emergency. Won’t be back at the studio until tomorrow.

“Emergency? Isn’t that laying it on a little thick?” Laina asked.

“Not at all,” I denied before shoving the phone back in my pocket, not bothering to wait for his reply. “Now that I know you’ve forgiven me, it is absolutely vital that I make love to you in our bed.”

“Absolutely vital, huh?” she echoed with a soft laugh.

I brushed my thumb over her cheek. “It won’t feel real otherwise.”

“Oh, Bennett.” She twined her arms around my neck with a sigh. “That’s so sweet.”

“It’s the truth, baby.”

I slid an arm under her knees and lifted her against my chest. She made a quiet surprised sound and locked her arms around my neck, but she didn’t tell me to put her down. I carried her through the kitchen and up the stairs, turning in the direction of our bedroom. Finally.

I set her down beside the bed carefully, like the moment might break if I moved too fast. But she didn’t have the same hesitation. Fisting the front of my shirt, she fell backward onto the mattress and took me with her.

She giggled. “There, much better.”

I braced myself above her on my forearms, taking in the sight of my wife back where she belonged. Her brown hair was spread across our pillows, her sweater had slipped further off one shoulder, exposing the soft curve of her collarbone, and her eyes were clear in a way they hadn’t been since the night everything fell apart. But they were also filled with heat.

“I think I can make it even better yet.”

I lowered my head and kissed her again. Slower and deeper. Her lips parted under mine, and I tasted the faint sweetness that was purely Laina.

Her hands slid under my shirt, warm against my skin, and I shivered at the contact. It spurred me on to get her undressed, but I forced myself to take my time. I wanted to savor every minute.

I eased her sweater up over her head and tossed it aside. Then I kissed the newly bare skin of her belly, the tops of her breasts above her bra, and the soft place where her neck met her shoulder. She tipped her head back with a quiet sigh that went straight through me.

I moved lower, unbuttoning her jeans and sliding them down her legs while I pressed open-mouthed kisses to the inside of each thigh. She watched me the whole time, her fingers drifting through my hair and occasionally tightening when I found a particularly sensitive spot. When she was left in only her bra and panties, I sat back on my heels and simply looked at her.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.”

A faint flush rose on her cheeks. “You’re biased.”

“Doesn’t make it any less true.”

I reached behind her and unclasped her bra, sliding the straps down her arms with deliberate care. Her breasts filled my hands, and I bent to take one nipple into my mouth, sucking gently and swirling my tongue around the tightened peak while my thumb stroked the other.

She arched into me with a soft, needy sound. “Bennett.”

“I’ve got you.”

I switched sides, giving it the same slow attention until both nipples were wet and flushed, and she was shifting restlessly beneath me. Then I kissed my way down her stomach, over the soft curve of her belly, and lingered at the sensitive skin just above the waistband of her panties. She lifted her hips without being asked so I could draw them off.

When she was completely bare beneath me, I stretched out over her again and kissed the spot just below her ear that always made her shiver. “I love every part of you. The ones the world never gets to see. And the ones I was stupid enough to think I could borrow from without consequence.”

She cupped my face and brought my gaze back to hers. “I know. I believe you.”

Those five words nearly undid me. I hadn’t been joking when I’d said I was lucky. Laina was incredible, and I didn’t deserve her forgiveness, but I’d work every day to make sure she didn’t regret giving me a second chance. “Thank you.”

I kissed her again while my hand slid between her legs. She was already slick against my fingers. I stroked her slowly, parting her folds and circling her clit with the pad of my thumb the way I knew she liked. Her breath hitched, and I eased two fingers inside her and curled them, finding the spot that made her thighs tremble.

I kept the pace deliberate, building her higher without rushing while I watched every shift in her expression. When her inner walls started to flutter around my fingers, I leaned down and took her nipple into my mouth again, sucking in time with the strokes of my hand.

She came with a long, soft moan against my mouth, her body tightening around my fingers and her back arching off the mattress. “Bennett, yes! Oh yes!”

I worked her through her release until she was boneless and panting beneath me, her eyes glassy with pleasure.