He should probably talk to her now, but he couldn’t stop touching her. His lips needed to be on her and his hands needed to feel her.

Later, he promised himself. We’ll talk later.

He swept her into his arms, picking her up and eliciting a whimper of surprise from her. Effortlessly, he carried her down the hall to his bedroom. “You damn well belong in my bed.”

She stared at him wide-eyed as he deposited her on the bed and stood back to undress.

“I’m an ass, Dena. I’m an overbearing, know-it-all, selfish ass. And I’ve hurt you. I’ve made you feel unwanted, undesirable, and unloved.” His shirt fluttered to the floor, and he went to work on his pants. “Let me make it up to you. I can’t come close and it’s not nearly enough, but it’s all I have.”

She sat up and started to take her shirt off.

“No,” he said. “Let me. I don’t want you to do anything but let me bring you pleasure.”

“Damn it,” she said, and she took her shirt off anyway. “What will it take to make you understand that serving you brings me pleasure?”

She amazed him. She always had. And he didn’t deserve her. But if she wanted him, he wasn’t going to argue tonight.

“That’s the way you want it?” he asked.

“Please. Sir.”

He grew harder, and he forced his voice to remain low and soft as he spoke the words he knew he needed to give her. “Come to me, my Angel.”

Her eyes darkened and her breath hitched. One lone tear streaked down her cheek, but she rose to her knees and made her way to him.

“Don’t cry,” he said, taking her in his arms. “Please, don’t cry.”

“Say it again.”

He brushed his thumb under her eye, capturing a new tear. “Angel.”

She sighed, and her breath was shaky. “Thank you.”

“You will always be my Angel.”

She looped her arms around his neck, and he dropped his lips to hers. He wanted to show her how much he still needed her after all their years apart, and suddenly he couldn’t touch enough of her. He kissed her like a hungry man, drinking in the smell and feel of her, relishing in the warmth of her skin.

He gently pushed back on her shoulders so she rested on the bed, and he held himself over her. She stroked his cheek softly. The hole she’d made in his heart by leaving didn’t feel quite as empty anymore.

He nuzzled her neck, knowing it was one of her most sensitive spots. He was just getting ready to nibble her ear, another favorite spot, when the phone on his nightstand rang. Dena stiffened under him.

“Ignore it,” he said.

“Phone calls this time of night are never good.”

He shifted to the other side of her neck and peppered it with kisses. “Then I won’t answer. Ignore it.”

“What if—”

“Relax, Angel. I’ve got everything under control. Nothing’s going to interrupt us.” He ran a hand down her body, tracing her curves.

He continued teasing her with his lips and touch. He’d once known every inch of her. He’d known how and when to touch her. When to stroke. Where to bite. The places she loved his fingers. And the parts that went wild for his tongue.

Gradually, he felt the tension leave her body. Just as gradually, her arousal grew and her breathy sighs became moans of pleasure. He dropped his head and suckled a nipple, remembering her taste.

She clutched his hair in her hands. “Harder. Fuck, Jeff. So hard.”

He obliged, giving her exactly what she asked for. When she writhed against him, he slipped a hand between them and teased her wet entrance. “I’m going to take you now, Angel. I’m going to sink inside you so deep, I may never leave.”

She didn’t say anything, but he saw the need in her eyes, the longing and the desire. Even more, he saw want and acceptance. He nudged her knees farther apart and settled himself between them.

Her eyes remained on his as he gently pushed inside her. It took most of his self-control not to thrust in completely, all at once, but to take his time and to ensure they each felt every movement of his penetration.

“Oh my God, yes,” she said as he went deeper and deeper.

“Never again,” he whispered as he moved within her. “You’ll never be without me again.”

He kept his thrusts slow and purposeful, watching as her pleasure grew while keeping his own need in check. Even when he finally started moving faster, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She raked her nails down his back, and he groaned in his own pleasure.

It had been too long since he’d had her, and neither one of them was going to be able to delay their release. As he drove them both toward their climax, he knew no other woman would ever satisfy him. Just her.

His Angel.

He thrust harder and faster, dropping a hand between them to tease her in a way he knew would have her coming within seconds. She closed her eyes, and with the next pass of his hips, she gasped and stiffened as her climax rippled through her.

Jeff wasn’t far behind, his own release following on the heels of hers. He was panting when it was over, and he wasn’t sure he’d ever come so hard.

Afterward, she was soft and pliable in his arms. She nuzzled his chest with her head, and he wrapped his arms around her, more content than he’d been in years. He kissed her forehead and was interrupted by the phone.

“Damn it,” he mumbled, and whipped the handset off his nightstand. “What?” he nearly shouted.

“Mr. Jeff Parks, please.”

“You’ve got him. Make it fast.”

“Mr. Parks, this is Amy, the nurse caring for your father. I know you’re planning to come here, but I want you to know you should probably come as quickly as possible. He doesn’t have much longer.”

Chapter Eleven

Present day

The afternoon of the following day, everyone met at Daniel’s house for lunch. Nathaniel and Abby had planned to stay a few more days, but when they learned about Jeff’s father, they decided to head back to New York earlier. Jeff was surprised to see Sasha there, but Daniel caught his quizzical look and took him aside to explain after everyone had finished eating and they stood around chatting.

“Julie was shopping with Sasha this afternoon when I called her. I assumed she wanted to say good-bye to Dena, but Julie told me she thought Sasha was kicking around the idea of rejoining the group.”