What Now

30. Tonight

I let out a tired breath as I headed towards my bedroom. After everyone's little freak-out regarding Lydia's safety, we spent the next few hours going over the official plan for catching her father. Caffrey explained that there would he undercovers stashed at the gallery and both Maria and Lydia would have on bulletproof vests. I still didn't like this plan. I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that wouldn't go away.

I hesitated when I got to the closed door to my bedroom. Lydia came up here an hour ago to shower. I didn't want to go in there worried. I wanted to go in there and do as I promised her. I wanted to spend the night showing her exactly how much I loved her. I took a few deep breaths before I finally opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hey, beautiful," I breathed when I closed the door behind me. Lydia emerged from my bathroom wearing a robe as she towel-dried her hair.

She threw the towel into the hamper before she smiled and sauntered over to me. "Hey yourself." She trailed her finger down my chest and had a hungry look in her eyes. "I was hoping you would join me in the shower."

The corners of my mouth lifted. "Well, maybe we can just take another one later. Now that I think about it, we haven't taken a bath together in awhile."

A short laugh escaped her and her eyes widened. "Oh, really? You are volunteering to take a bath? I thought you hated them."

I rolled my eyes and placed soft kisses to her neck. "How can I hate them when I get to feel your soft, wet, soapy body straddling mine?" A moan spilled from her lips as she clutched my shoulders. Her head fell back and I continued to kiss and suck at her neck. "I also love the feeling of you tugging at my wet hair while you ride me in the water."

"Take me to bed..."

A deep chuckle escaped me as I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to the bed. I stood her on her feet and removed her robe slowly. The heavy cloth pooled at her feet and I pulled her naked body flush against my clothed one.

She kissed me with a desperation and need I also felt. She pushed my jacket from my shoulders and stopped kissing me long enough to pull my shirt over my head. She crushed her lips to mine again and I felt her working the button and zipper on my jeans. Less than a minute later, I was just as naked as she was.

My heart started pounding in my chest as her eyes met mine. She really was the most breathtaking thing I had ever seen. In all my life, I never thought I would be lucky enough to find someone who was as pure as she was. She had a heart of gold and she deserved the best. Even better than me.

"I want tonight to be slow," Lydia said as she pushed at my shoulders and I sat down on the bed. "I want to savor every minute of it with you."

That sounded good to me. "You are so beautiful, you know that?"

She tucked some hair behind her ear and glanced away shyly. I was still so amazed at how oblivious she was to her own beauty. Anyone could get lost in the chocolatey depths of her eyes. The feeling of her long silky hair brushing against my chest when we made love was indescribable. And her skin...I've never felt anything so soft. She really was unique. There was no one like her.

Even though I didn't have doubts about our relationship, I knew that if anything happened that ended in a breakup, I would never get this close to anyone ever again. It was a feeling I felt deep inside and it wasn't going away.

My thoughts came back to the present when she straddled my waist and wrapped her arms around my neck. I rested my hands on her thighs and looked into her eyes.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked.

"Like what?"

Her breath was barely a whisper. "Like I never want to leave this room."