"There's something I need to tell you," she went on, an anxious note to her voice. "Something I should have told you days ago."

Another knock, this one more insistent, demanding that Steve find out who was at the door. "Damn it," he growled in pure frustration, suspecting that Liz was on the verge of saying something profound. "Hold on to that thought a second."

Steve stalked into the foyer and yanked open the door, prepared to tell whoever was standing on the other side of the threshold to get lost. But it was Liz, haloed in the buttery glow of the porch light, her green eyes shining with hope and affection and confidence.

She disconnected her cellular unit. "What I have to say needs to be said in person and not over the phone. This is the best part of the fantasy, because it's become my reality." She held his gaze, her expression glowing with the kind of promises he longed for with this woman. "I trust you, Steve Wilde. With my heart and soul, and I'm ready to give you both, completely and unconditionally. I need you in my life, and most importantly, I love you."

Fearful that she'd change her mind, that all this was a figment of his imagination, he pulled her inside his house and kicked the door closed. In seconds they were in his bedroom, right where she belonged.

Framing her face in his hands, he kissed her, a long, deep, soulful joining that expressed his own feelings for her. When he finally lifted his head, they were both breathing hard, and he couldn't wait to get inside her, be a part of her. He removed his shirt, then stripped off hers as well. She wasn't wearing a bra, and he cupped her breasts in his hands, caressed her nipples with the brush of his fingers over the hard tips.

Closing her eyes, Liz sighed blissfully and arched into his touch. "I know you're not looking for marriage, but for as long as this lasts between us, I want to be with you."

He'd forgotten about his vow never to marry again, but he'd changed over the course of their affair, just as Liz had, too, and he needed to rectify that original impression. "I love you, Liz, and I intend for it to last forever."

Liz's lashes snapped back open, and she stared at him in confusion.

He smiled and explained. "I'll admit that I didn't go into this relationship looking for more than an affair, but it happened, and what I feel for you is so much richer and more mature than anything I've ever felt before. But you have to want it, too, not just physically but emotionally. I've discovered that I'm a very greedy man, and I want it all."

"What does 'all' encompass?" Her eyes were wide and brimming with anticipation as she waited for his reply.

"I never thought that a woman could make me want to get married again, or start a new family, but I want that with you," he said, his own heart beating rapidly in his chest. "Marry me, Liz."

"Yes, I'll marry you." Tears of joy shone in her eyes. "I want you to be that shoulder for me to lean on, and it's your smile I want to see every morning, to get me through the day. And I need your hugs to soothe my fears and let me know that I'm not alone."

He remembered asking Liz who would be that person for her, and he was so glad it was him. "I'll be there for you. I promise."

"I want to be all those things for you in return." She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his mouth to hers in a silent, heartfelt affirmation of their feelings for each other. He laid her back on the bed, and their kisses grew more amorous, more aggressive and eager as they fumbled with their clothing, until they were both naked and excruciatingly aroused.

He moved over her, fitting himself between her spread thighs, feeling her hot and wet against his shaft. So ready for him. But he didn't enter her, not just yet. For the moment, it was enough just to have her beneath him, the tip of his erection sliding against her lush sex.

She pressed a hand to his jaw and smiled tenderly at him. "I have to tell you, your proposal couldn't have come at a better time, considering I'm homeless."

"Excuse me?" He frowned, certain he'd misheard her.

"I told Valerie to find another place to live, and when she refused, I told her she could have my apartment, and I left."

He chuckled, amazed at how far this woman had come. And thrilled that she'd made the decision to come to him. "I'm so proud of you."

Her chin tipped upward, a feisty show of the wild spirit Steve had always known she possessed. "I was pretty proud of myself, actually."

Growing serious, he finally slid into her, a perfect fit, and gave her yet another promise to believe in. "This is your home now. Here. With me."

Janelle Denison