Jonathan groaned and dragged her body back down against his, seeking her mouth in a kiss. “God, you’re beautiful. I am the luckiest man alive.”

She smiled down at him. She was the one feeling lucky. This wonderful, smart, gorgeous man loved her. Loved her ridiculously. Loved her even when she was being impractical and frightened. So she kissed him fiercely, trying to show him all the love that she was brimming with at the moment. Her tongue brushed against his lips, and then she pulled back. “How’s that memory coming?”

He reached up and brushed his fingers over the tip of her breast. “Give me a minute. I’m sure it’ll all come back to me.”

“Oh, take your time,” she murmured, arching into his touch. His other hand teased her nipple as well, and she tilted her head back, sighing with pleasure. “I’m in no rush.”

“So you wouldn’t mind if I did this to you all day?”

Goose bumps prickled her skin at the thought of just lying back and languidly letting Jonathan tease her with small touches all day long. “I can’t say I’d mind, no.”

“Mmm. I think parts of me would go crazy before too long, though.” He sat up and dragged her against him. His face pressed against her cle**age and then he was nuzzling her br**sts, kissing the soft skin. The unshaven whiskers on his face tickled and dragged at her flesh, sending a bevy of sensations through her. He tuned in to her shivers, biting and licking gently at her. “I love your br**sts.” He cupped one and lifted it to his mouth, dragging her nipple across his full lips.

“Are they your favorite part?”

“No, your brain is,” he said, and she melted all over again. “But they’re one of the tastiest parts.”

She giggled at that. “It’s good to know that I’m tasty, at least.”

“The tastiest,” he agreed.

“This is all to distract me from the fact that you don’t know any other poetry, isn’t it?”

He laughed, his breath fanning against her skin. “Not at all. This is so I can suck on these beauties for a while.” His thumb teased one nipple before he popped it back into his mouth and began to flick it with his tongue.

Violet moaned, heat pooling between her legs, her pulse pounding a sensual beat in her body. He always made her feel so good, so sexy. It didn’t matter that her br**sts weren’t as perky as they were ten years ago, and her h*ps wider. He made her feel like the most beautiful woman on earth. And maybe in his eyes, she was.

“I’m remembering another line now,” he murmured even as his tongue circled the tip of her breast. “This is definitely helping.”

“Mmm, keep going then. I’m glad I could be of help.” Her fingers dragged through his hair lazily, brushing along his jaw, the stubble, any tactile experience she could derive from him. She could touch him all day and never get bored.

“‘Rich love knows nought of thine that is not mine. Both have the strength and both the length thereof, both of us, of the love which makes us one.’”

“That’s beautiful,” she told him softly, and for a moment, crushed him to her chest as if she could somehow drag him against her and give him some of the love that was pouring out of her heart. She was terrified, but she was on cloud nine nevertheless. For some reason, now that she’d accepted Jonathan’s love, she knew he’d never hurt her again. It went against everything he was.

“It’s true,” he told her, and looked up into her eyes with his own intense, solemn gaze. “‘The love which makes us one.’ When I’m with you, I feel whole again.”

“Me, too.” Violet tilted his face so she could kiss him, and he rolled them backward onto the bed. She lay on top of him for a moment, the kissing continuing, and then he rolled them both once more until Violet was under him, and he was on top of her.

“I want to see you naked, love. I want to put my mouth on all of you.” His kisses moved from her mouth, to her jaw, then down to her br**sts. All the while, his hand tugged and pulled at her skirt.

She wriggled under him, drowning in his touch. She wanted his mouth all over her, and just the thought of his lips delving into her pu**y sent her moaning. She guided his hand to the zipper at her hip, and he began to slowly pull it down. It stopped halfway, stuck, and he swore an oath and ripped it the rest of the way down.

She didn’t even care. “I want your mouth on me, Jonathan. Now. Please.”

He bit the tip of her nipple in response, and she nearly came off the bed at the sweet shock of pleasure mixed with the hint of pain. “Patience. I’m still unwrapping my present.”

“Unwrap faster,” she told him, raising her h*ps wantonly. “I need you.”

“We have all the time in the world, love.” His tongue licked slowly at her nipple, soothing away the small bite he’d given it.

“But I ache for you,” she told him in a low, pleading voice. “I’ve been dreaming about you, you know. Every night.”

He groaned and buried his face against her gently rounded stomach, giving her skirt another tug. “Have you?”

“I have.”

“I was a little afraid I was the only one still madly obsessed once you left me. I kept thinking that you just wouldn’t care.”

“That’s not true,” she said in a soft voice, sucking in when his tongue dipped against her belly button. She’d had no idea she was ticklish there, but his tongue was making her want to squirm and writhe with every licking caress. “I dreamed of you every night.”

“Dirty dreams?”

“Very dirty,” she told him. “Erotic, sweaty, blissful dreams.”

“Mmm, tell me more.”

She didn’t remember much of them. All she knew was that she had his face in her mind, his body pressed against hers, and when she woke up, her panties were wet and she was aching with unfulfilled need. “They’re never as good as the real you, but I woke up every day and ached for you.”

His fingers slid under her skirt, still hitched around her hips, and cupped her mound through the silk of her panties. “Did you ache here?”

She moaned. “Yes.”

One finger pushed against her slit, dragging against it through the now-wet fabric. “Is all this wetness for me?”

Violet spread her legs wider, encouraging him. “Oh, Jonathan, that feels so good.”

“How good?” He continued to rub, pushing down against her flesh like she was a sculpture he was molding under his fingers.

“D-decadent,” she panted, making a mewing sound every time his fingertips dragged over her clit.

“Mmm, I like that word. I do think decadent makes me think of sweet, delicious things. And are you sweet and delicious, Violet?”

“Why not taste me and find out?” she asked breathlessly, raising a knee until she was sprawled wide open against him, her open legs beckoning.

“Oh, I will. I’m just saving my dessert for a little while longer.” His hand lifted from between her legs and he raised it to his mouth, licking his fingers. She watched as his eyes closed in delight. “God, you taste good.”

“Still savoring?” Her h*ps rolled uselessly against the sheets at the hot look in his eyes. “Or is that just an excuse because you can’t get my skirt off?”

He threw back his head and laughed. “I admit nothing.”

Violet grinned and slid her hand to her skirt, working it down her h*ps with a bit of creative wiggling. Why, oh why, had she chosen to wear such a tight, inflexible fabric this morning? Sure it looked good on, but it was hell to take off. When she had the skirt down to her knees, though, he grabbed the material and hauled it off her legs, flinging it to the ground. She was left in nothing but her silky pink panties, the crotch damp from excitement, and he gazed down at her, studying her. Automatically she parted her knees and presented herself to him, waiting for more.

To her surprise, he put his palm on her stomach, just below her belly button, and gave her a thoughtful look. “Have you . . . thought about the future much?”

She sucked in a breath, suddenly flattened. “You mean, a baby?”

He nodded, his hand caressing her skin.

Oh, wow. Blinking back sudden tears, Violet forced a small shrug to her shoulders. “Earlier I did, of course. Now . . . I don’t know.”

“I think I’d like to see you carrying my child,” he said in a soft voice, and leaned down to kiss her stomach again. “Maybe not right away. We still need time for us. But maybe in a few years.”

Violet nodded, overcome. “I’d love that,” she said, aching. It wouldn’t replace the baby she’d lost—that unnamed child would always hold a special place in her heart—but they could start a family. Start fresh. Try again.

She loved the thought of that. Her hand went to his hair and she brushed it off his forehead with a loving touch. “Maybe we skip the condoms tonight, then.”

Jonathan looked up at her in surprise. “Are you still on the pill?”

“I am. One step at a time. No baby yet, but . . . I want to feel all of you inside me.” She wanted that bond that having his flesh against hers would bring them. The intimacy of knowing that nothing separated them from each other, that they’d made this commitment to each other’s bodies.

“All right,” Jonathan said softly, and his hand slid down to her panties again. This time, he pushed his fingers under the band and sought out her flesh underneath the fabric. “But I want your hands all over me, Violet. I want to feel every ounce of your skin against my own for every moment.”

“I can do that,” she told him in a low, sweet voice. “It’d be my pleasure.” Her hand went to his cheek and she cupped his face as he placed his hand over her mound. He wanted her to touch him? She’d like nothing better. Her fingers trailed down his neck and over one muscular shoulder even as she felt his fingers push between the slick lips of her pu**y, seeking out her deepest warmth.

He groaned at the feel of her. “God, you’re dripping wet for me, Violet. I can’t wait to get in there and drink you up. I want that sweet honey of yours coating my tongue.”

She whimpered at his words. If that was true, then why were her panties still on? It was the last item of clothing she wore. He, meanwhile, was fully dressed. She dragged her fingers against the collar of his shirt in a silent plea. Skin. That was what she wanted. Hot, delicious, bronzed skin against hers.

His fingers pushed deeper, and she felt him sink one into her core. Violet moaned, bucking against his hand. “Oh, yes!”

“You’re so wet and tight for me, Violet.” He thrust his finger deep into her again and ground his palm against her cl*t in a motion that sent thrilling shock waves through her body. “God, I love how wet you get for me.”

She moaned, pushing her h*ps against his hand. “Naked, Jonathan,” she begged. “Want you naked.”

“In a minute,” he told her. “I can’t wait any longer to taste you.” His fingers slid from her warmth and she whimpered a protest. A moment later, his face was pressing between her legs, her panties bunching under his chin as he pushed his face down to lick her pu**y. His hands framed her mound, pushing her panties back and pushing her lips wide, exposing her clit.

Then he leaned in and took a long, slow taste.

Violet nearly came off the bed with pleasure. “Oh!”

“I’ve missed this sweet taste,” he murmured against her flesh. “I want this every day for the rest of my life. Morning, noon, and night.”

She moaned when he tongued her cl*t again. “Jonathan, please.”

“Please what, love?” Even his breath against her skin was driving her wild.

She sobbed at having to state it aloud. “Please make me come.”