“Take all the time you need.” As she said the words, she wondered where this new, evolved Sam Holland was coming from. With any other guy she would’ve shown him the door. However, this guy, this one was different. “But I do have one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“If you decide to give us a chance, you can’t do this to me again. I can’t be worried every time something goes wrong at work that I’m going to have to come home and fight for us, too. Either we’re going to do this or we’re not.”

“Fair enough.”

“How much time are we talking?”

He reached for her, brought her in close to him, and kissed her forehead. “I don’t know. The only thing I know for sure is that I love you. I found out today just how much.”

Closing her eyes tight against the rush of emotion, she slipped her arm around him and burrowed into his embrace, painfully aware that sometimes love—even this kind of love—wasn’t enough. “I’m sorry you were so scared. If anything like that ever happens again, I’ll call you as soon as I possibly can so you’ll know it’s not me.”

He replied by tightening his hold on her.

She nibbled on his neck. “You want to finish what we started?” she asked, forcing a lighter tone.

“Do you?”

She curled her hand around his arousal. “Mmm.”

His lips found hers for a soft, sensual kiss that was all about gentle seduction. The usual fire simmered just below the surface as he worked his way from her lips to her neck.

Sam buried her fingers in his hair and closed her eyes, floating on a cloud of sensation despite the nagging worry that this could be their last time. If he walked

away. No. He wouldn’t. Hadn’t he just said how much he loved her?

He cupped her breasts and tended to each nipple, his tongue darting in teasing circles.

Sam arched her back seeking him, wanting him desperately. “Nick.”

“What, baby?” he whispered against her breast.

“Now.”

He moved up to capture her mouth in a deep, carnal kiss and entered her in one smooth thrust.

Steeped in sensation, Sam rode the wave, knowing deep in her soul that no one else would ever make her feel this way. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close and slowing the pace to make it last as long as possible.

Their eyes met in the inky darkness.

“I love you,” she whispered. “Only you. Always.”

“Samantha.”

She could tell by the tight set of his jaw that he was close. Her body tingled and surged, trying to meet him at the top.