They enjoyed their meal and the walk down the Miracle Mile to do some window-shopping. It wasn’t something they got to indulge in often, and she liked having Emma all to herself. They’d shared an interesting life up to now, and she loved imagining the years that stretched out before them. They rode the rest of the way to their hotel in the car Lou had rented, and they waved to the guards as they closed the door on the suite.

Emma kicked her shoes off. “Turn your phone off for an hour,” she said as she presented her back so Cain could unzip her. “You need to concentrate for the next part of the night.”

“No one is calling tonight—don’t worry about it.”

She stared as Emma let her dress pool at her feet. The matching bra and panties looked like silk and lace, and she wanted to hurry and rip them off her, but she’d go at Emma’s pace. It was hard to not take charge when Emma took her jacket off and threw it across a chair, but she held back.

“Do you remember that beach house you took me to when we first got together?” Emma asked as she ran her hands from Cain’s chest down to her belt buckle.

“I do,” she said and kicked her shoes off, not wanting to get tangled in her pants when they hit the floor.

“You touched me in a way that made me think I’d die if you ever stopped. I was already in love with you, but that weekend you proved to me that I could crave another person. You touched me, and I would’ve done anything for you never to stop.” Emma seemed to love unbuckling her belt. It was like declaring her intentions. “You took my breath away.” Emma started on her buttons next. “And you still do.”

“You do have a way with words, my love, and those early days will always be special to me. I think it was the balance of wanting to ravish you and trying not to scare you.” She waited until Emma was done before taking her shirt off and stepping out of her pants.

“You never scared me,” Emma said, pulling her head down and kissing her. “You are everything I want in a partner, and I love you. Sharing a life with you, having children with you, makes me feel so fortunate. Sometimes I’m afraid of losing a single minute with you.”

She put her hands on Emma’s ass and lifted her up. “I want you to keep talking to me about whatever’s on your mind because I love you, and I want to take care of you.”

“You do a good job at that,” Emma said, “but that little spot in my brain that reminds me how fragile life is makes me want to never let you go.”