Her dress slid to the floor. Underneath she wore a lacy white bra with matching panties and thigh-high stockings.
“Sarah...”
“Yes, Joe?” she whispered.
“I don’t...” He took a step forward, then stopped, his expression finally showing emotion. Want, fear, love, fear, desire...fear. Sarah’s heart melted. Oh, Joe.
“I’ve been so slow. So selfish.” She unhooked her bra, let it slide off her arms, conscious of her breasts in the cool room air. “So blind.”
He blinked. Swallowed, staring into her eyes, glancing down at her body as if he couldn’t help himself. Then the ghost of a smile. “Thank God I’m not.”
Sarah grinned, hope shooting up inside her like a geyser. That was her Joe. He had come back to life, snapped out of whatever zombie state she’d put him in. Maybe this would be okay. Maybe not too little too late.
Down came her panties. She kept the stockings on, sauntered toward him, helped him take off his jacket. “I have a favor to ask you.”
He made a sound she’d take as an appropriate response.
She put her lips near his ear, loosening his tie. “I want you to kiss me, Joe. Then I want you to make love to me until I beg for mercy.”
He shook his head as if to clear his brain of fog. “I still can’t take this in. I don’t—”
“Shh. Don’t worry. We’ll take it slowly.” She threw the tie across the room, put her arms around his neck and pulled his face down, kissed his mouth.
Deep desire spread through her. She understood desire. She was used to desire. What she wasn’t used to was the sweet depth of emotion she felt along with it.
Joe.
She kissed him again, more deeply this time. His eyes stayed closed, his hands at his side, but his mouth moved, responded.
Then a low groan began in his chest and he enveloped her in a crushing embrace, kissing her as if he’d never wanted to do anything else. The sweetness grew and spread, and with it, hot desire she felt him return from a certain place that for men was a dead giveaway.
“Sarah.” He repeated her name over and over between kisses, sliding his hands up and down her arms, over her back.
She backed up, smiling into his eyes with everything she felt for him, with all her hopes for their future together. In Phoenix or wherever else Joe was. That was where she belonged.
“Where are we going?” He was smiling now, and she knew it was sinking in, that he was starting to trust what she felt, and that the next hour spent in this motel room would be the final proof he needed.
She climbed onto the bed, lay back, inviting him to join her. “We’re going to make my wish on the shooting star come true.”
Joe climbed reverently onto the bed with her, wearing way too many clothes, but they would soon take care of that. He moved over her, pressed his forehead to her forehead, his heart to her heart.
“Trust me, Sarah. Both our wishes will come true tonight.”
15
ADDIE GAVE A LONG, joyous whoop and ran down the riverbank behind the Machias Motor Inn, not caring that her panty hose probably wouldn’t survive the trip. Her heels, she’d left in Derek’s car and who cared about them, either? If she fell, her sleeveless blue silk sheath would be toast, as well. Too bad! She was happy! Incredibly happy! The wedding had been amazing, Paul and Ellen were going to be blissful the rest of their lives and she’d all but decided to chuck her entire existence and spend the next year on the yacht of a particularly hot guy named Derek Bates.
Arms came around her waist and lifted her, shrieking with laughter, spun her around, then deposited her back on terra firma. Terra mostly firma—she hadn’t been shy with the champagne and the world seemed to be tilting ju-u-ust the tiniest bit.
“Mmm.” She kissed Derek’s most ama-zingly awesome lips and threw her arms around his neck, breathing hard from her run. “That was the best wedding I’d ever been to.”
“It was pretty special.” He was looking at her funny. Was she being funny? She didn’t think so.
“They’re going to be together forever, I really feel it. Really. I’m serious.”
He nodded, looking totally hot in his gray summer suit. She couldn’t wait to see him in his yacht captain outfit. She’d bet he looked incredibly hot in that. And naked? She already knew what he looked like naked: amazingly hot. Face it, the guy was hot.