Kara’s arms snaked around his body, her hands wandering beneath his t-shirt, her touch setting fire to his already-hot skin. He groaned as she plastered her body against him, stroking his back, rotating her hips against his swollen cock.
His mouth next to her ear, Simon growled. “No contracts. Nothing between us. Not now. Not in the future. You’re mine. You’ll always be mine.”
Her irresistible fragrance surrounded him, drowning him in desire, his body begging his mind to take her. Feral need engulfed him and he pulled her head back gently by her ponytail, covering her mouth with his as she parted her deliciously tempting lips to argue.
Kara whimpered a sweet little sound of need as his mouth devoured hers, Simon swallowed the noise with hungry lips, desperate to claim his woman, to brand her with his touch until she could think of nothing but him, needed nothing but him. She tasted like coffee, peppermint and pure carnal desire, and it nearly drove him mad. He plundered, taking her mouth, groaning as her tongue slid along his, claiming him. His heart thundered against his chest wall, wanting to tell her that she had owned him forever, since the first moment he saw her. Probably, if he was honest, long before that. He had waited a lifetime for the woman he held in his arms, and he would never let her go.
Releasing her lips reluctantly, Simon buried his face in the side of Kara’s neck, panting for air and struggling for control over his rampant covetous emotions. His hands slid down to her shapely ass, cupping it, pulling the heat of her core against his swollen cock.
“Simon,” Kara moaned in her husky f**k-me voice, her warm breath wafting over his ear.
Animal instinct slammed him in the gut, uncontrolled and wild. Nothing, absolutely nothing, was important at that moment except the driving desire to satisfy his needy mate.
“I love you,” she panted restlessly, her teeth biting gently at his neck.
This time, her words went straight to Simon’s heart, the pleasurable pain striking him directly in the chest. “I love you too, sweetheart.” Resting his forehead against her shoulder, he closed his eyes, floored by the strength of her emotions, humbled by the fact that this woman truly loved him. Him. The man. Not the billionaire or the material things he could give her. He bore the scars of his past, inside and out, but Kara never seemed to see anything except a man worth loving. She was a miracle, his miracle. “No more talk about prenuptial agreements, okay?”
He felt her silky hair brush against his jaw as she shook her head, pulling back slightly to meet his eyes. Frowning at him, she answered, “We have to talk about it.”
Nope. They sure as hell did not have to talk about it. She could drop the whole ridiculous idea and just kiss him again. And again. Simon wasn’t about to make the most incredible, happiest event of his life into a f**king contract. “You know I already revised my will. We went over it.” He’d made damn sure Kara would always be taken care of, no matter what happened to him.
She nodded slowly. “It’s one thing if you leave me unwillingly by death. But what if…”
“Not happening,” he replied swiftly, his jaw tightening at the thought of losing Kara. “This is forever. I’m not signing a damn prenuptial agreement. You and I are not a f**king business deal. This is about you and me. Together. For the rest of our lives.” Simon’s green-eyed monster was clutching at him, irritated at the possibility that anything could take this woman away from him. Not happening.
Pushing against his chest, she wriggled out of his hold. “I want you to know that I’m not marrying you because of your money.” Her voice wobbled and her lower lip trembled.
Oh, f**k. No. “Don’t cry. I don’t like it.” Actually, he hated it. Seeing her cry practically brought him to his knees, made him want to give in to just about anything she wanted. Luckily, she rarely cried unless it was tears of joy and Kara never used his weakness at seeing her cry as a weapon. “And it’s always been quite obvious that you aren’t after my money.” More than obvious.
Giving him a wide-eyed, astonished glance, she replied hotly, “How can you know that? You supported me while I finished nursing school, paid my expenses, buy me outrageously expensive gifts. I want you to be able to trust me completely.”
Shit! Seriously? The woman knew every one of his dirty little secrets, things that he had never revealed to another soul, not even his brother, Sam. “I’ve trusted you with every detail of my life, Kara. I trust you. I wouldn’t be marrying you if I didn’t. I don’t need a prenuptial agreement. I don’t want one,” he rasped, trying to squelch his anger, his hurt over the fact that as much as he had poured out his soul to her, she still didn’t completely trust him or the fact that their relationship would never come to an end. “If you had enough faith in me, you wouldn’t need it either.”
It took Simon about a nanosecond to regret the words, wanting to take them back the moment that they left his stupid mouth. Kara’s beautiful face fell, every ounce of hurt showing in her expressive eyes that were filling with tears. Shit. What kind of dumbass statement was that? Instead of appreciating the fact that Kara wanted him so much that she was willing to give up any financial gain from their marriage just to show him how much she cared, Simon had slung the hurtful words at her out of frustration and more than a little fear. And the words weren’t the least bit true. Kara had always had faith in him, even when she probably shouldn’t have had any, even when he hadn’t had faith in himself. Problem was, he wanted more, needed her to believe in them as a couple. Although she balked whenever he bought her something because of her past financial situation, Kara had never seemed to question the fact that they were soulmates, destined to be together forever…until the last few weeks. Her recent hesitance scared him, terrified him into starting to consider that maybe it was she who might want out some day. Her notion that she owed him and didn’t want to share everything, especially his wealth, bothered the shit out of him. It made every lingering insecurity he had jump up to bite him in the ass.
Spearing a hand through his hair with a remorseful sigh, he told her softly, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
He watched her carefully, his heart breaking as Kara angrily swiped away a tear that escaped from her liquid blue eyes as she answered, “You wouldn’t have said it if there wasn’t some truth to it. Maybe you’re right. Maybe this is all a mistake.”