Page 36 of Austin (The K9 Files #29)

R ox’s toes curled, her breath came out in short cries and gasps, and, when Austin finally lifted his head, she whispered, “God, it’s been so long.”

“I know, Jesus.”

She stopped, stared at him, and he nodded.

“Yes, because, as far as I was concerned,… I was still married. It’s just that my wife was very stubborn.”

She grinned. “Yeah, I think very stubborn is quite true.” She pulled him down and gave him a searing kiss of her own, setting free all the pent-up emotions, frustration, and love that she’d been holding back for so long.

Before she realized it, they were both completely nude, stretched out on the bed, her arms over her head, as he carefully worked to awaken all her sensitive spots that had been dormant for so long, and now were springing to life with a vengeance.

“Good God,” she whispered, twisting in his arms.

“I know,” he whispered, “hold on.”

“No, I’m not going to wait any longer.”

“I’m here,” he whispered, shifting in her arms, and then he was inside her, exactly where he belonged. He froze above her, and she froze beneath him. They looked at each other, and tears came to her eyes.

He lowered his head, kissed away the tears, and whispered, “Why the tears?”

“Because I waited so damn long for you to come home, and now you’re here,… and it feels so damn right.”

She cried out as he surged deeper into her and set a pace that was crushing, until she felt ripped apart in his arms, wondering at the safety of the port he offered amid the craziness of her world.

When he collapsed beside her, she whispered, “Please don’t ever leave me again.”

“Never,” he murmured back, “not even if you send me away.”

She looked over at him. “I’m so sorry.”

“I know, and so am I. We were both at fault, and neither one of us was ready to make amends, and now?… We’ve both grown, and we’re here together, ready to rebuild our lives.”

She wrapped her arms around him and whispered, “Only if you’re in it with me. I only want a future that has you right beside me.”

“Done,” he declared. “That is the perfect plan for both of us.”