He sucked her, drawing the small nub into his scorching mouth, and licking it again and again, rolling his tongue over it until her back arched off the bed and her hands clawed at his shoulders, demanding her release.

It came with a force she wasn’t prepared for, ripping a keening cry from her throat as her hips fell back to the mattress.

A few moments later, in a delicious fog, she looked down to see Sebastian staring up at her with a smug smile on his lips. He moved back up her body, taking her shift with him. He pulled it over her head and tossed it on the floor. He paused, letting his eyes skim over her naked form. Then he pushed her legs apart with a strong knee and entered her in one swift thrust that made Veronica cry out again in pleasure.

“Tell me you want me,” he demanded in her ear as he slowly pulled out and thrust in again.

“I want you,” she admitted, already feeling the pressure build again as he slowly maneuvered his hips against hers.

“I want you, too. So much,” he groaned as he increased the tempo.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and her hips met his, thrust for thrust, until she was wild again. His hand moved swiftly between their bodies to find that sweet spot once more. He rubbed her, sending her over the edge for the second time before he took his pleasure, thrusting into her one last time before shuddering inside of her, her name a growl in his throat.

Sebastian rolled away from her, but he grabbed her hand, holding it and bringing it to his lips to kiss in a sweet gesture that made unexpected tears spring to her eyes. How was he able to break through her defenses so easily? So quickly? So completely?

“You’re holding my hand?” she finally ventured once their breathing had returned to rights.

“Yes, do you object?” came his reply in the candlelight.

“No,” she said simply, not entirely certain how she felt about it…or how she should feel.

“I’ve missed you, Veronica.”

Her breath caught. What was he doing? The sex had been intimate enough. But this…this. Why was he doing this?

“I want you by my side,” he continued.

The lump that had formed in her throat was so large she couldn’t swallow. She lay there, staring unseeing at the shadowy ceiling, thinking of the lovely dream that had shattered so many months ago. She closed her eyes, the pain nearly palpable. He missed her? He wanted her by his side? His words made her wish for things, wish it could be as simple and lovely as the picture he painted with those two short sentences. As if they could just pretend none of it had happened and they were still the couple they had briefly been once. But his words were too similar to the ones she’d heard Father say to Mama a hundred times. They couldn’t just pretend none of it had happened…could they? She closed her eyes and just for a moment, a second or two, she let herself pretend she was already with child from their lovemaking. What if they truly had the family and the life she’d thought they would have when they first married? What if they weren’t pretending? How wonderful would that be?