He hesitated; then disappointment crashed over his face. He clenched his jaw and finally nodded. “Do you have any objections?”

“Have you read the annulment papers?”

“Yes.”

His tone gave her more hope. “You spit that out like a bad word.”

Luc anchored a hand around her waist, then brought her closer to him. Their bodies nearly touched . . . but not quite. Then he lay his forehead on hers, his breath tightly controlled. “It is. Ending our marriage is the last thing I want.” He took a deep breath and stepped back. “But I’ll respect your decision, whatever it is.”

He left everything to her, put the power in her hands. If he cared only about himself and his chance to become a parent, he’d never do that. Ever. He’d push and coerce, threaten, cajole . . . anything but let her make the ultimate decision.

“I love you,” she whispered.

The next split second of silence terrified her, especially as both hope and disappointment mingled on his face. What was he thinking?

“I love you, too. So much I . . .” Luc sighed and cupped her cheek. “I’m empty without you.”

To others, it might sound like a greeting card, but she knew exactly what he meant. He’d helped to heal her past wounds, fill in her tomorrows. Luc had made her whole. If she did the same for him, she’d rejoice and hold him close for the rest of her days.

“Ending this marriage is the last thing I want, too,” she confessed.

To prove her point, she gripped both the annulment petition and custody papers, then ripped them both in half. She dropped them to the ground between them.

Luc glanced at the torn documents, then up at her. His eyes flared, burning fiercely, as he grabbed her and kissed her as if nothing would ever mean more to him.

Not opening to him was impossible, and he sank deep into her mouth, the burn between them his own brand of possession. Though it had been less than a month since she and Luc had shared a bed, the ache racing through her after this one kiss made her feel as if it had been forever. She needed this, needed him.

Tears burned her eyes as his lips worshipped her. There would be important events in their lives together undoubtedly, their coming child—and maybe others someday—but Alyssa knew deep in her gut that nothing would ever mean more to her than this moment and their love.

When he lifted his head, she looked at him and melted.

“I need you,” he admitted hoarsely. “To love you. As much as you’ll give me. I need to feel that you’re really mine. Please say you want that, too.”

Alyssa nodded. “I do.”

Caressing his cheek, she pressed her lips to his and swept into his mouth. When he rewarded her with a slow kiss full of devotion, she trembled.

Not even lifting his head, he laid her across the sofa, her back warmed by the buttery leather as he covered her body with his own, wrapping his arms around her. She felt safe, loved, as she sighed against him, desire growing. He compelled her to touch him in return—his face, neck, taut shoulders and back.

Soft demand filled his next kiss, seeming to reach deep inside of her to embrace all of her, even the broken parts. Luc brought light to the places in her soul that had been dark since Joshua’s attack. He made her whole again.

His next kiss started like gossamer, then grew more urgent with every brush of lips, every swirl of his tongue, until it was deep, hard, burning. Alyssa couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think of anything but Luc and the silent promise of devotion between them. She opened to him and gave him everything inside her, secure that there were no more secrets between them.

Drowning in Luc’s hungry kisses, she trembled as he slowly removed her top, her jeans, her frilly under things, then spread kisses all over her body. He sucked her aching nipples, palmed her hip, stroked her needy clit. She burned. Luc always had that effect on her. From the moment they’d met, Luc had impacted her as no man had.

Alyssa was dying to have the same effect on him.

With a gentle nudge, she persuaded Luc to roll onto his back. Without a word, she removed his shoes, his shirt, his pants, and everything beneath. Then she was staring at his gorgeous, naked body, masculine shoulders, rippling abs, and hard, imposing cock. She shivered, and her mouth watered.

Kneeling beside him, she threw her hair over one shoulder and bent to him. Luc tensed. When her tongue curled around his dick, she tasted him, harsh and hot and so salty male. Then she took him deeper with a moan.

“Sugar, yeah,” he hissed, filtering his fingers into her hair and anchoring against her scalp. “Damn, you’re incredible.”

So was he.

Alyssa savored him, reacquainting herself with his body and the pleasures of feeling him hard in her mouth. He arched his hips, sinking his stiff flesh deeper, and she gladly took every long inch of his urgent thrusts, loving the fact she could make him so hot.

Moments lapsed into long minutes. His need grew, and he began to shuttle into her mouth with deeper, faster strokes, writing, moaning, needing. He pulsed against her tongue.

Then suddenly he cursed and stopped.

“No.” He lifted her away from him suddenly, and his expression told her that he refused to take pleasure from her, but insisted on sharing it. “I want to be inside you, sugar.”

Yes. The sooner, the better.

When he rose to his knees and eased her to her back, she went more than willingly, parting her thighs for him without hesitation. Luc groaned, then leaned over her, on top of her. But she hesitated, holding him back, pressing a hand to his chest.

They had one more bridge to cross . . .

“Wait. I—I trust you.” Her words trembled.

His dark gaze caressed her with gratitude and love. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

As he tried to envelop her in his embrace again, she stayed him once more. “Luc. I trust you with everything that used to scare me. Cure me of it. Replace it with something better.”

For a moment, his thoughts raced; then understanding dawned. “Sugar, are you sure? We don’t have to do this now—or ever if you don’t want.”

Alyssa didn’t hesitate. “I want to. Please . . .”

Luc reached for his belt and pulled it through the loops of his pants. He secured it around her wrists and pulled tight, then tilted her body down to loop the other end under the leg of the sofa.

Her breath caught. The restraint was more symbolic than binding, but for her, for a first start, it was enough.

“Are you scared?” he asked.

She sent him a tremulous smile. “Not with you.”

“I’ve loved you for so long. I would never hurt you. Ever.”

His whispered vow made her heart beat even harder. “I think I fell in love with you that first night. After Deke left, and you made love to me for hours . . . I knew there was something special about you that was meant for me.”

His lips skated across her cheeks, her lips. “I probably fell for you that night, too. I was just too damn scared to admit it. I’m so glad you forced me to live up to my obligation, canceled my hotel room, and seduced me. I’m so glad that a miracle happened for us.”

As he caressed the tiny baby bulge just starting to grow, she smiled. “Me, too.”

In the next moment, Luc lodged himself in the cradle of her thighs and began to plunge inside her slowly, deeply. She was wet, eager to take every hard inch of him now. But he surged in by degrees, maddeningly slow, and she gasped as his cock scraped every sensitive part of her flesh until he finally buried himself to the hilt.

It was impossible to have him so deep inside her and not feel pleasure so extreme, it almost defied words. And what passed between them now was even more breathtaking for its sheer honesty and tender passion. He unleashed a firestorm of need with his slow thrusts that quickly had her gasping and tightening around him. Luc brushed her lips with his own, then melded their mouths together. In its own way, having her wrists bound and being completely helpless to Luc’s touch was freeing.

She’d never felt more alive.

Alyssa didn’t just feel Luc’s passion, but his silent promise to be the best husband possible to her each and every day. It came from his soul as he drove into her with measured, relentless strokes that quickly brought her to the brink of a blinding, breathless orgasm that had her tightening her legs around him and bucking beneath him in exquisite pleasure. Shouting her name, he followed, emptying himself deep into her.

“Please don’t ever leave me again,” he panted against her lips.

Never. “Whatever happens in the future, we’ll work it out. I promise.”

Luc unbelted her wrists, then took her hands. “Thank you for your trust.”

“Thank you for healing me.”

His thumbs caressed across her fingers; then he looked at her hand and frowned. “Where’s your wedding ring?”

A glance told her that he’d never taken his off. She bit her lip, then fished around the floor for her jeans. When she found them, she reached into the pocket and pulled out the large, sparkling diamond.

He took it up from her with shaking fingers and a smile. “Mrs. Traverson, would you do me the honor of remaining my wife?”

As he slid the ring back on her finger, tears of joy fell down her cheeks. “I will. Always.”