London’s dimples popped, and her eyes sparkled. “If you say so,” she giggled.
I carried her to the elevator and used my elbow to hit the call button. “I want you to only use the elevator when you’re pregnant, London,” I instructed her, slipping into my “professor” mode, the one that demanded obedience.
London’s expression turned thoughtful, and she placed a hand on her belly. “If I get pregnant,” she responded.
The elevator arrived, and I shook my head as I stepped into the small car. “There’s no if, baby girl.” I set her down and pressed the button for the first floor, then drew her into my arms. Her head fell back so she could look up at me, and I stared into her deep green eyes. “If I have to, I’ll tie you to the bed and spend twenty-four hours a day filling you with my come until you’re knocked up.”
“Yes, you’re such a martyr. I’m sure that would be an incredible sacrifice,” she sassed with a dry smile.
I threw my head back and laughed so hard tears began to leak from the corners of my eyes. I struggled to catch my breath, but when I managed to speak again, I hugged her closer and murmured, “Damn, I love you.” Then my mouth fell on hers, and I gave her a hot, fierce kiss. I was about to press her up against the wall and shove up her skirt when the elevator slowed to a stop, and the door slid open. Lifting my eyes to the ceiling, I took a slow, deep breath and tried to get myself under control.
She needed food for what I had planned, I reminded myself. I glanced at her face and nearly groaned at her blissful, dazed expression. Food. I dropped my arms from around her but laced our fingers together and led her over to the island. After lifting her and setting her on one of the stools, I leaned in close to whisper in her ear, “Sacrifice isn’t the word I would use, but incredible is completely accurate.” I’d placed my fingertips on her back, and I felt her small shiver beneath them. I grinned and glided my lips from her ear down to trace her jaw. My beard left the smallest amount of reddened skin behind, and I pictured the burn I’d seen on her inner thighs earlier. Licking my lips, I anticipated having my tongue in her pussy again. Fuck, I needed a distraction.
Before I got carried away, I pushed away from her and headed toward the refrigerator. As I pulled out what I needed to make one of her favorite meals, I gave her a brief summary of who I was. Finally, I got to my choice to move to the States. “I was tired of the life I’d been leading. I wanted to slow down and have less stress, and I’d always thought about teaching. And I had this feeling that something was waiting here for me.”
I checked on the biscuits in the oven before walking back over to London. Her face had a dreamy quality to it, and her eyes were fixed on my mouth. I smirked because it was obvious that she’d gotten lost in my voice again, and it was cute as hell. However, I wanted her to hear what I said next, so she’d know I was serious about what was happening between us.
“London, I need you to focus,” I told her softly as I took her face between my hands. “Are you listening?” London blinked a few times, then her emerald eyes locked with mine, and she bobbed her head. “It wasn’t something waiting for me; it was someone. It was you, baby girl. Everything in my life has been leading me straight to you.”
Her eyes had grown large, and her mouth had puckered into a little O. I stayed quiet and let her absorb my words and their meaning. After a minute, she cleared her throat, and her eyes briefly darted away. When they returned to my face, her cheeks were pink, and her dimples were popping from the minute lift at the corners of her mouth. “Does that mean you meant it?”
I furrowed my brow as I contemplated her question. “Meant what, baby girl?”
“When you said you loved me. Before. You weren’t just caught up in the moment?”
Sighing, I bent my head so our foreheads touched. I honestly hadn’t even registered that I’d said it until she reminded me right then. “That wasn’t exactly how I imagined telling you for the first time. But yes, I loved you the first time I saw you sneaking into my class late.”
London giggled, then she tipped her head back and stretched up to place her lips on mine. I let her set the pace of the kiss, no matter how much I wanted to sweep her up into my arms and devour her whole. The kiss was sweet, just like her. When she retreated, I barely stopped myself from chasing her lips for another taste. “I don’t know how it’s possible,” she whispered as her hand stroked my beard, “but I love you, too.”