Page 70 of Fake It Till You Make It

“You feel perfect for me.”

“Yes.” The words washed over her. Warm water covering her head, her heart. She plunged deeper, and deeper still.

“It’s true,” he whispered. “I don’t ever want us to end.”

Wave after wave pushed her farther yet somehow drewher closer to him. Instead of drowning, Amarie floated, stroked in the direction of the building current pulling her body into a depth unknown before Eli. For the first time in her life, she knew what it meant to be worshipped. Poems rewrote themselves. She understood the great sonnets anew. The sound of love echoed in her voice, powerful, transformative, reborn. She felt the beauty of being connected to another life outside of her own. Eli groaned. Her pleasure had fueled his. It gave her confidence. Amarie, after years of hiding what she wanted, took what she needed. She knew that if she lost herself in the darkest of oceans, he would find her because he marked every trembling inch of her flesh. And Eli, well, he thanked her, over, and over, and over again.

Chapter Nineteen

ELI WISHED HE’Dlit the corner fireplace in his bedroom. Amarie didn’t seem to mind the cooler nights, but he wanted her to feel safe and warm in his arms. He’d lived a life of control. Controlled by rules, first his father’s, then the military’s. As the oldest son, he had a duty of responsibility to his family, to his community, and to the Calvary legacy. But with Amarie, he felt the rush of his blood, could taste the hunger to claim her on his tongue.

Amarie required nothing of him. Freedom came in many forms. After hours spent in her company, she’d taught him the beauty of giving—educating others, answering questions from strangers wanting to care for their beloved pets, quizzing her about the nursing process every night—not out of duty, but for the joy of helping the next person.

He was simply Eli, not a son, not a brother, not a business owner. Amarie gave of herself. And Eli, he wanted to share with her everything he hid from the rest of world, his fears, his doubts, and his heart. With her, he could be a man loving his woman.

“You make me happy. I more than need you, I—I want you, Amarie.”

With his confession, a window he’d sealed away after the divorce opened.

With Amarie, he had it all. Family. Career. The support of a compassionate and capable woman. For the first time, his life and his love were focused in the same direction, the direction that led to Amarie. No longer did he have to do life alone. Amarie shared his values. Heck, she’d given him a new vision for his future. And it included her.

Amarie shared his vision. Heck, she’d shaped his vision. Their minds synced, and now, their bodies hummed. With his body, Eli tried to show Amarie how much she mattered, how she completed him.

He pushed himself harder. She dug her nails into his back, spurring him. He loved her enthusiasm in and out of bed.

“Is this what you want?” he asked.

It was a loaded question not just for him but for her.

“Yes.” The softest yes hit him the hardest, a hammer to his heart. Eli absorbed the blow and used it to power them closer to completion. The added roll of her hips had Eli biting into his lip in ecstasy.

“I want to be with you.”

“Thank you,” he breathed. He lowered his head, inhaled their comingled scent. The combination of sweet and spice heightened his arousal.

“For what?” she breathed.

“Being uniquely you always.”

Interlocking his fingers with hers, he pushed them toward the pleasure they both craved. When they tumbled over the edge, light exploded out behind his eyes and he poured himself into her, feeling her muscles tighten around him.

Minutes passed, Eli lay there, drawing and repaintingthe portrait of their lovemaking. Panting for air, he rolled to his back, then dropped his feet to the floor.

“Eli?” Amarie placed on hand on his back, her tongue soothing, her tone questioning. He twisted to face her.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever come into my life. I meant what I said, too, about us being real. This is our beginning.”

She regarded him with those wide doe eyes, and then nodded.

“Me too.”

He scooped her up into his arms, the sheet tangled around her feet.

“Hey,” she exclaimed with a hoarse rasp to her voice. “Where are we going?”

“The next round will happen under the stars.” Eli walked out his front door onto Calvary land with his woman in his arms.

Hours later, Eli collapsed onto his back, chest heaving from exertion. The night had grown cooler, the stars overhead shone brighter. Next to him, Amarie hummed another tune from her Prince playlist. He’d downloaded the artist’s greatest hits compilation after their day on the farm, so he recognized the melody. But most important, he was learning when she was happy. He wondered if she was aware of the brush of her toes against his as she hummed off-key with a dizzying array of rising and falling octaves. Eli had never been much for playing footsies, but he would walk across burning sand for more nights like this one. The heat from Amarie’s lush body, with all its curves free for him to enjoy, felt too far away. He reached for her, a satisfying rumble in his chest when she saddled up to his hard planes.