Oopsie.

“Sorry. That happens sometimes. I’m an active sleeper.”

“So you’ve said.”

I snuggled deeper into him and wrapped my arm around his abs. I closed my eyes, my cheek against his shoulder.

“What are you doin’?” he asked.

“Going to bed, I’m sleepy.”

“What happened to being jazzed?”

“No more jazzed,” I murmured and settled in, “sleepy.”

He turned and one of his hands went to my hip and pushed it back. My body went with it and I opened my eyes.

His hand went from my hip to smooth over the material of the robe at my ass.

I looked at him. It was dark but I could still tell his eyes were warm and intent.

Mm.

I took a not so wild shot in the dark. “You’re still jazzed.”

“Totally pumped,” he answered then his mouth connected with my jaw and ran the length of it and dipped down to my neck.

His hand went under the robe, encountered the garter and froze.

I’d forgotten.

“Um… I had a little surprise planned for you before I fell asleep,” I told him.

His fingertip followed the garter down to where it attached to the stocking.

“Yeah, I can feel.”

He turned away from me, the bedside light went on, all soft, romantic lighting was gone.

“Lee, the light…”

“Quiet,” he said, “I wanna see.”

He untied the robe and spread it wide. I kind of felt like an idiot. I mean, I actually bought this underwear to wear. I found stockings more comfortable than hose. The underwear had never been used for this purpose.

Lee looked down at me, then up and his eyes locked with mine. There was a hint of what I saw in the locker room at his offices and I got a thrill at the sense that he was just barely hanging onto his control.

“It’s like Christmas,” he said.

He traced the lace over my breast with his fingertip. Then his hand went away and his tongue traced the lace.

I found instantly I wasn’t sleepy anymore.

Lee’s mouth came up my chest, over my chin to my mouth.

“Is there sentimental value to this underwear?” Lee asked.

My brow furrowed with confusion. I wanted to kiss him and he was talking about sentimental value to underwear. Was this a jealous-possessive thing? Did he think some guy bought me the underwear?

I twisted into him and wrapped a leg around his waist, my arms around his back and I pressed against him.

“No, I bought it for myself, entirely utilitarian,” I answered.

“So if I rip it off, I can replace it and you won’t have a tantrum?”

Oh… my… God.

I looked into his eyes. The control was slipping and Lee Beast was coming out.

I didn’t trust myself to speak so I just nodded my head.

“Good,” he said.

* * * * *

When we were done, I was on top, straddling him, my knees tucked into his sides, my upper body pressed the length of his and my face in his neck.

When I got my breath back, I whispered, “Am I too heavy?”

“No.”

His hands were idly running up and down my back and over my bottom. I was glad I wasn’t too heavy because I was considering staying where I was for the rest of my life.

His hands came up and with both of them he gathered my hair in a bunch and gave it a gentle tug.

I lifted my head and looked at him. His eyes moved over my face and then a slow grin spread on his.

“What?” I asked.

“I like the look on your face after I’ve finished with you. You look happy, relaxed…” he paused and the grin grew into a smile, “satisfied.”

I gave my head a tug and he released my hair. It fell over both of us and, as I nuzzled my face in his neck again, he swept my hair away by running his fingers through it at the side of my head.

“Cocky,” I mumbled into his neck.

I felt his body move with laughter as his arms came around me again.

“I like that,” I said sleepily.

“What?”

“Feeling your laughter. You used to laugh all the time, you don’t do it so much anymore.”

“You were avoiding me, I wasn’t around you that much.”

“So, you’re saying you laugh all the time I just don’t see it?” I asked.

“No. I’m sayin’ I used to laugh all the time because I was with you. You’re crazy, you’re funny. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

My entire body froze.

“What did you just say?” I asked.

“You’re funny.”

“No, the last part.” He didn’t answer so I lifted my head and looked at him. “One of the things you love about me?”

We locked eyes.

“Yeah,” he said.

“What else do you love about me?”

He had that soft look, his eyes were melty and he had his own satisfied expression that was supremely sexy but I had the feeling that he was very alert.

“I love your ass, your hair and your legs,” he answered.

“That’s it?”

“No, I also love your eyes.”

The eyes he loved narrowed. “That’s it?”

“Maybe I should say I especially love your ass.”

I pulled up but he rolled me over and pinned me under his body.

“I just wanna make sure I know what’s happenin’ here,” he said. “Is this sleepy after-sex talk and you’re gonna drift away to dreamland any second or are we havin’ a serious conversation?”

We were having a serious conversation all right. I wasn’t sleepy anymore, I was freaking out and my heart was hammering in my chest.

“We’re having a serious conversation,” I told him.

“Okay, then now I wanna know if you’ve had the opportunity to throw up the defenses or are we gonna have an honest conversation, one you’re gonna participate in?”

Hmm, that was a much more difficult question to answer.

He looked at me.

“I didn’t think so,” he said.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

“For what it’s worth, I’ll share my intentions. You and me, we aren’t practice for the real thing. It isn’t that too much is at stake with family and friends, it’s because I love you. You’re funny, beautiful and you care about people. I like the way you look at me, especially when you think I don’t notice it. I like that we have history and our kids will have a big family and share that history because there was never a time when their Mom and Dad weren’t together. If you were a terrible lay, I might have second thoughts but you and I are dy***ite together. I intend to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. If that freaks you out, tough, because now that we’ve started this, there’s no goin’ back.”