Back to You(106)

And then Lauren did something her heart had wanted her to do from the second she saw him standing in the vestibule of Learn and Grow holding his little girl.
She kissed him.
She felt his hand curl into a fist behind her back, gripping the towel, but his lips remained gentle as he lifted his chin and kissed her back.
The second their lips touched, every hair on her body stood on end. It felt like an electric current was running through her, from the crown of her head to the bottom of her feet, and she pressed her body against him, bringing her hands to the side of his face.
“I should have pushed,” she said. “I should have pursued you.” As she spoke, her lips ghosted over his. “But I thought that you didn’t want me,” she whispered. “And I was too hurt and too proud and too stupid.”
She brought her mouth back to his, and he made a small noise in the back of his throat as he kissed her again, this time with a hint of the urgency she could feel in the fist that was still clenching the towel tightly behind her back.
Lauren pulled back slightly. “So it was my fault too,” she said softly, and Michael shook his head, shifting his weight as he released his hand from the towel. He slid it up under her hair, gently winding it around his hand before he pulled lightly, forcing her to tilt her head back. When she felt the heat of his mouth on her throat, her eyes fluttered closed.
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he whispered against her skin. “We’re right where we’re supposed to be now.”
And when Lauren brought her head back down, their mouths met in a searing kiss that confirmed what he had just reassured her of.
This was exactly where she belonged. Because the way he was holding her, the way his mouth felt on hers, made ou"> shoulder everything else she’d ever known of contentment feel like a sham.
She felt his fingertips curl under the hem of her shirt, and when he slowly slid it up her abdomen, she broke contact and lifted her arms, allowing him to peel the soaking garment from her body.
“Michael,” she breathed as she came back to him, and he exhaled heavily as his hands came to the sides of her waist.
“Should we…?” he asked, glancing down the hall.
“No,” she sighed, kissing him again. “Here. I don’t want to wait anymore.”
Michael wrapped one arm securely around her back and supported her head with the other before shifting his weight from the couch and lowering them onto the floor.
“That night with you,” he said, kissing across her collarbone. “Nothing compared to it. Nothing ever came close.”
“I know,” she breathed. And she did. Because they hadn’t done anything but kiss, and she could already feel it. The thing that was missing with every other man. The thing that made her heart come alive in her chest and her body thrum with emotion and her soul feel like it was home.
Michael kissed a slow path across her chest and down the line of her stomach, and by the time he was unfastening the button to her jeans, she could feel the rapid beat of her heart pulsing throughout every part of her body.
He slowly peeled away her sodden jeans before bringing his hands back to her body. He was touching her like she was porcelain, looking at her as if she were sacred, and she laid there, trembling beneath his hands while he reacquainted himself with her body.
When she couldn’t stand it any longer, she sat up and began removing his clothing. She tried to be as gentle as he had been, but her need for him had taken over entirely, and she found herself jerking the garments from his body in rushed, clumsy movements.
He grinned at her, helping her remove the last of his clothes before he lowered her back to the floor.
Lauren brought her hands to his waist, looking up at him. “This is real?” she asked.
It seemed like such a silly thing to say, but having everything she wanted fall into place, especially after so long, felt too good to be true. She wasn’t even sure what she was asking him: Were they really about to do this? Was he feeling what she was feeling? Was everything about to change?
He rested his weight on his elbows as he cradled her head in his hands. “Yes,” he whispered, as if in answer to all three.
She closed her eyes and tightened her hold on him.
“Open your eyes. Look at me,” he whispered.
She did as he asked, and in one slow, smooth movement, their bodies were connected.
“God,” he breathed, dropping his head to her shoulder, and she tightened her legs around his hips, urging him forward.
As soon as he began moving, Lauren was completely overcome. On the one hand, she had waited so long to be with him again, but at the same time, it seemed like they had never been apart, like there had never been anyone else but him.