Page 62 of Earl
“Did I forget to mention that?” He asked softly, watching her. “I want to marry you.”
“Earl, you have to stop saying those things to me,” her voice had turned husky. “We don’t even know each other. For all you know, I might just be into you for your money.”
“You just told me a whole speech about being independent and not a gold digger.” His brows lifted. “Was that all hogwash?”
“No. But you do not know that. I could be just pretending that I am not after your money.”
“Do you love me?”
“What?”
“Answer the question, please.”
“We just met…”
“Cathy?”
His quiet authoritative voice had her staring at him. “We should wait…”
“Cathy?”
Leaning her head back on the pillows, she stared up at the ceiling, surprised when the velvety sky met her eyes.
“No mirrors?”
“That’s just tacky. I love to look at the stars when I am in bed. It gives me a sense of being outdoors.”
“I love it.”
“I am happy for that.” His fingers on her chin brought her face down. “You are stalling.”
“I am …” she rolled her eyes at him. “I am processing. Earl, be reasonable. We have to get to know each other first.”
“What would you like to know?” He asked soberly.
“Uhm…” She bit her lip and brought his attention to it.
“If you continue doing that, the conversation is going to be over.”
“Uh?”
“I want you,” he rasped. Releasing her chin, he used his thumb to press against her bottom lip. “I am hard for you and it is not something to which I am accustomed. I want to feel you wrapped around me, pulling me into your sweetness. If you noticed, I did not use anything. Are you safe?”
It hit her then that they had not even thought about protection.
“No.”
“I don’t care. I want the chance to spend as much time with you before we start having children, but I refuse to have anything between us.”
“Children?” She croaked.
“Don’t you want to be a mother?”
”I…,” her hand closed around his strong wrist. “I am not certain how good a mother I will be.”
“Because of what your own mother did.”
“Yes,”she whispered. While they were talking, he had subtly drawn closer to her, he was so close that she could feel the evidence of his arousal. “Earl…”