All Or Nothing (The Alpha Brotherhood #2)(24)
Author: Catherine Mann

“I’m just damn lucky I landed in Salvatore’s program. I owe him more than my life, Jayne.” His voice strangled off with the emotion clogging his throat and squeezing his chest. “I owe him my self-respect.”

Wordlessly she slipped her arms around him and pulled him to her. He pressed his forehead into her shoulder and drew in the pure, clean scent of her. She was too good for him, always had been. There just hadn’t been anyone in her life to warn her away from him the way his teenage girlfriend’s dad had.

“Conrad, Colonel Salvatore couldn’t have built something within you if the foundation and all the essential parts weren’t already there. You’re a good man.”

He didn’t know how long they sat there, and a part of him knew he should let her go back to bed before he took anything more from her. But having her this close again felt better than he’d remembered, different, too. The glide of her fingers along the back of his neck soothed as much as they aroused. She was such a mix of contradictions, everything he wanted and all he didn’t deserve.

She turned her face to graze a kiss across his temple before taking his face between her hands and looking him in the eyes. “I think we’ve both been hurting long enough.”

Oh, God, this was it. The moment she would send him packing for good. She wouldn’t wait around for him to sign the papers. She would pursue the divorce without his consent, an option that had always been open to her due to their lengthy separation. He hadn’t realized until now how much hope he’d been holding on to. Like a sap, with every day that passed and no divorce, he’d allowed himself to believe there was a chance they would reconcile.

Now he had to face up to the fact that it was over between them, and she would move on to live the life she deserved. The one he’d never come close to offering her. She would find the man she deserved who would give her a real home and cute babies.

Forcing out words to set her free damn near split him in half. “Jayne, I never wanted to hurt you.” He clasped her wrists, holding on to her for what would be the last time. “I only want you to be happy.”

She angled back to stare deep in his eyes. “Then make love to me.”

Eight

Leaning forward, her hip digging into the sofa cushions, Jayne skimmed her mouth over Conrad’s, praying he wouldn’t push her away again.

Desperate to see this through.

His admissions, his outpouring from deep in his soul only confirmed her conviction that he was a much better man than he realized. And regardless of whatever else had happened between them, she wasn’t turning back from right now, right here with Conrad.

She sensed his restraint, his lingering concerns about protecting her from her dream or from herself. Whatever. To hell with holding back. She poured all her frustration and bottled emotions into the way her body ignited around him. Arching upward, she swung her leg around and over until she straddled him, bringing her flush against the hard length of his erection. She rocked once, twice, her hips to his until she felt the growl rumble in his chest. His arms shot up and around her, locking her to him.

A purr of relief spiraled up her throat.

“Jayne, are you sure this is what you want?” he asked between possessive kisses.

“Absolutely. We’ve both waited long enough. Stop talking and take me, damn it.”

And thank heaven he listened and agreed. Angling her back onto the sofa, his solid body pressed her into the welcoming pile of pillows. He hooked a finger along the lacy edge of one sleeve, sliding along her shoulder and around until he skimmed her breast, launching delicious shivers of anticipation.

Desire surged liquid heat through her veins in a near-painful, all-over rush. She’d laid awake so many nights, aching for him, tempted to reach for the phone and just hear the sound of his voice. The rumbling timbre of him speaking her name then and now sent her spine bowing up toward him, as she wriggled to get closer.

She thumbed the buttons on his shirt free and yanked the fabric off his shoulders, sending it sailing to rest on a water bottle. Sighing, she splayed her fingers over his chest, up along his shoulders to pull him to her again. The heat of his bare flesh seared through her nightgown, her br**sts tingling with awareness. How had she made it through the past three years without him, without this?

Her hand slid between them, down the front of his jeans, stroking his erection straining against his fly until he throbbed impossibly harder against her touch. She fumbled with the top button then eased the zipper down. Her fingers tucked inside his boxers, and he groaned low in his throat.

The steely length of him fit to her hand, familiar even after years apart. Although in some ways it seemed like no time at all, given all the hungry dreams she’d had of him coming to her bed again. Or in some of her more uninhibited fantasies he’d come to her in other places. Whisking her away from work to make love in the car. Joining her on a beach walk where they slipped behind a sand dune together. Or appearing next to her in a dark theater…

But she always woke up alone, unfulfilled and knowing he would never come for her. She had to move on with her life.

God, her thoughts were running away from her, threatening to steal this moment from them again.

Conrad shifted on top of her, and she gripped his shoulders to hold him in place. “Where are you going?”

“Jayne, I’m not leaving.” His hands never stopped moving and arousing her even while he talked. “I packed a box of condoms in my suitcase, because even though I didn’t just assume we would sleep together, I sure as hell wasn’t going to lose the chance due to poor planning.”

“Guess what?” She slid her hands around, digging her nails into his bu**ocks. “I’m a good planner, too.”

“Then lucky for us, we have plenty to get through the night.” He slid off her and stood, wearing nothing but his jeans, open and low slung on his hips in a tempting V. “So do I go get mine and come back, or do we move to the bedroom?”

Her brain was so fogged just staring at him that she struggled to form an answer. She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to feel him over her, moving into her. But if they stayed here, there would be the awkward moment afterward when they pulled themselves together afterward and walked to separate bedrooms—which was insane, since she was his wife. For now at least.

And she realized exactly what she wanted. To be in his bed, to make love there and sleep in his arms.

“Let’s go to your room.”

Before she could say another word, he swept her against his chest in such a macho show of strength she smiled just before she flicked his earlobe with her tongue then drew it between her teeth, enjoying the slightly salty taste of him.