Her clothes were off in two seconds flat. I sucked her gorgeous tits, biting down until she let out a sound that was a cross between a moan and a yelp. God, I fucking missed her. Missed being inside her. Missed burying myself so deep that my cum couldn’t find its way back out. It was surreal how much I wanted this woman. Needed this woman. Craved this woman—even when I hadn’t wanted to.

Taking her mouth, I mumbled against her lips. “I fucking love you.”

I felt the smile even if I couldn’t see it on her face. “I fucking love you, too.”

I kissed along every exposed piece of her skin I could reach while unzipping my pants. When my boxers joined them on the floor, my erection bobbed against my abdomen.

It took every ounce of willpower in me to slow things down. I stood and looked her in the eyes. “You okay? Your breathing’s okay?”

She responded by gazing down between us, running her thumb over the glistening head of my cock and then bringing her finger up to her lips to lick. “Mmmm... All good. How about you?”

I groaned and fisted my cock, bringing it between her legs to test the waters and finding her gloriously wet. Feeling ready to explode before we’d even started, I pushed inside in one long, hard stroke and kissed the living shit out of her until I started to get concerned about her heavy breathing.

She smiled up at me, panting, but looked perfectly fine. I returned the sentiment as I began to move—slow and steady—never breaking our gaze as I pumped in and out of her.

God, this woman. I’d spent half of my life building a million obstacles to put in the way of love. Yet when I met Annalise, all the hurdles did was show me how much she was worth jumping over every one of them.

I tried to hold back, squeezing my eyes shut tight to avoid seeing how beautiful she looked. But when she whispered my name like a prayer, how could I not watch.

“Bennett. Oh God. Please.”

There was no sweeter sound than the woman you loved moaning your name. It was also sexy as fuck. That was it. I broke.

My thrusts sped up, and I began to fuck her harder and harder. Every muscle in my body tightened while she clenched around me, her nails digging into my back as her orgasm hit. Watching my cock go in and out of her was the most stunning sight. But knowing she loved me made it that much sweeter. God knows why the hell she’d given me her heart, but I had no intention of ever giving it back.

When her body began to go slack, it only took a few pumps for me to find my own release. I kissed her lips and wrapped her in my arms, careful not to put too much pressure on her chest.

Leaning my cheek against the top of her head, I felt almost content. Almost. Just one little thing bothered me.

“So I didn’t hear a definitive yes as your answer.”

“What was the question?”

“Move in with me?”

Annalise pulled her head back. “But what would I do with that nice cowboy hat you gave me the second day we met if I stayed here in California?”

“I’ve been fantasizing about you wearing that thing and riding me for months. You’ll be wearing it plenty.”

She giggled, but she’d be finding out soon enough that I wasn’t joking. I couldn’t wait to watch her play cowgirl.

“So is that a yes?”

“Yes. I’ll move in with you.” She stopped the spread of my smile when she held up her pointer. “But under one condition.”

I raised a brow. “A condition?”

She nodded. “I’m paying half the costs. Considering I’m the only one who’s going to be employed pretty soon, I want to pay half…or more if I can afford it, while you look for a new job.”

No way I was letting her pay anything—not in the traditional sense anyway.

“Actually, I’m not going to be looking for a job.”

She furrowed her brow. “Why not?”

“Because I have something better in mind.”

“Okay…”

“And I was hoping maybe you’d be interested in a new position as well.”

She tilted her head. “A new position? Let me guess…on my back or all fours?”

I smirked and tapped her nose with my finger. “That wasn’t what I was thinking—but I like where your mind is, my dirty girl.”

“You’re being very sketchy, Fox. Spit it out. What’s going on?”

“I’m going to start my own agency. I want you to come work with me.”

Epilogue

* * *

Annalise

Two years ago on this day, I’d been devastated.

I lit the last two candles and dimmed the lights in the living room. Perfect.

The fireplace was going, the table was set with the china my mom had given me when I moved out, two dozen candles set the mood for romance, and I had Bennett’s favorite meal in the oven. I looked around and smiled. Finally this man would have a date with a girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.

Last year I’d planned a special February fourteenth, but like most things since I met Bennett Fox, our night didn’t go as expected. We got a call that morning from Lucas. He was at the hospital with his grandmother. He’d woken up to find her unresponsive and called 911. Turned out she’d had a stroke.

A week later, she passed in her sleep while still in ICU. And our lives took an unexpected turn once again.

Two years ago, my boyfriend of eight years had dumped me on Valentine’s Day. Today I’m raising a teenager with a man who makes me want to simultaneously strangle and straddle him. Yet I’ve never been happier.

The day after Fanny died, Bennett petitioned the court for temporary custody. We filed for permanent custody a few months later. I pushed for Lucas to talk to a counselor, concerned he might be struggling with the loss of the second woman in his life to have raised him. As his guardian, Bennett went with him for a few sessions, and he wound up also seeing the counselor on his own a few times to work through his lingering guilt over the loss of Sophie. It did them both a lot of good.

I picked up the framed photo on the bookshelf in the living room and ran my finger over Sophie’s smiling face. “Don’t worry. They’re happy. I’m taking good care of your boys.”

Over the last year I’d found some solace in talking to her at different times—when Lucas was acting out, or when Bennett frustrated me with his incessant overprotectiveness. I felt eternally indebted to her for the beautiful life I had today, and I told her so often.

I heard the key in the door and leaned over the kitchen counter, exposing an eyeful of cleavage as I waited for my crazy man to come in. He opened the door, and his eyes immediately zoned in on what I displayed. Tossing his keys on the counter, he set down two bags. His eyes flickered up to mine and back down to my cleavage twice before he even noticed the apartment was filled with candles.

“Where’s Lucas?”

“Sleeping at his friend Adam’s,” I said with a coy tilt of my head.

A wicked grin crossed Bennett’s face. He walked toward me with such an intent look that goosebumps broke out over my arms. I had to work to stand still and not squirm with anticipation.

He slipped one arm around my waist and tugged me flush against him, while the other gripped the back of my neck. “I’m going to make you scream so loud, the neighbors might call the police.”

His kiss knocked the breath out of me. I had no doubt he intended to make good on his threat.

We’d had to take our sex life at home down a notch since we became full-time parents to a teen. While before we’d had sex all over the apartment—up against the wall, on the living room floor, kitchen counters, in the shower—after the arrival of Lucas, our activity needed to be somewhat confined, as did its volume.

Although that didn’t stop Bennett—he just became more creative. He’d send the entire staff home early so we could have uninhibited sex in the office. That tended to happen after the two of us had argued over how a certain account should be handled. We might be on the same team now, but a heated disagreement still made my man frisky. Sometimes I rattled him on purpose for just that reason.

“How did the meeting with Star go today?” I asked. “Did you tell Tobias I said hello?”

Bennett’s eyes flashed.

See? Just like that. One of the easiest ways to get him riled up was to poke the jealous lion. It had always been a sore spot that Star had changed their mind at the last minute and gone with my campaign. Tobias had convinced the others it was the way to go, and that had only fanned the flame of envy Bennett carried. Oh, and by the way, Pet Supplies & More went with my campaign, too. Which meant I’d won two of out three, and it would’ve been Bennett wearing the cowboy boots. But it all worked out in the end. I’d taken both my new accounts and a whole bunch of others with me when I left Foster, Burnett and Wren and went to work for The Fox Agency.

“You’re just asking to walk funny tomorrow, aren’t you, Texas?”

The nickname had stuck.

I smiled. “Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart. We broke your streak.”

Bennett’s brows drew together.

“You never had a date with a girlfriend on Valentine’s Day, remember?”

“Ah. It’s Valentine’s Day.” He smiled mischievously. “I totally forgot about that. Hate to spoil your plans.” He looked around the room. “Seems like you went to a lot of trouble. Such a shame.”

I frowned. He forgot Valentine’s Day? Other plans?

“Really? We have the entire house to ourselves for a night and you made plans on Valentine’s Day?”