"I deserve that."

"Take it however you want."

"Then Julien Bonds came to town."

"Did you tell him he'll have to deal with you on the patents?"

"We didn't discuss them," he replied. "We talked about you."

"Me?"

"Well, me."

"You?" she asked.

"You as well."

"I'm lost."

"So am I," he confessed. He dragged his hand through his hair.

She didn't relent and invite him in.

"I've let events of my past drive my decisions, without realizing that I've never been capable of moral ambiguity. Even before my father's death, I would have never allowed myself to cheat on a woman."

"I believe that about you. You're honorable."

He winced. "After the way I've behaved, I'd need to prove I've earned that label."

"Okay, you're honorable in that you don't cheat."

"Julien suggested I look to my grandparents' relationship when it comes to love, and not that of my parents. After I pulled my head out of my a.s.s-"

"Must have been the popping sound I heard."

"I talked to my grandfather about you. About us. He told the story again of how hard he'd had to work in order to win approval to marry Libby. And he said, some fifty years later, he'd do it all over again." He dragged a hand through his hair. "My focus has been f.u.c.ked up, Lara."

"Back to the part about my dad," she prompted, her heart thundering just a little louder with each word he said. She heard the cellophane crinkle as her hand shook.

"I realized, this time on my own, that something significant must have transpired for his change of heart and for you to call off our wedding. I wanted to know what it was. He told me he couldn't let you settle for a marriage that didn't start with love. Then there was this story about all the stuffed animals you owned as a child."

Heat chased up her cheeks.

"And the way you would choose the ones that had something wrong with them. You'd pick the one missing an eye, or if the stuffing was coming out."

"Childish stuff," she said.

"No. It's about your heart, the love you have." He glanced at the flowers. "For the neighbor's dopey dog."

"Hey! It's not her fault she grew so big and got abandoned."

"And it's about the way you offered to sacrifice your future for BHI. It took that for your father to realize what he'd allowed to happen. It took being alone, missing you, for me to know that I wanted what you offered, what I'd so foolishly sent away. I owed it to you to protect the gift, and I didn't. If you'll give me the chance, I'll spend my life making it up to you. I love you, Lara Bertrand." He lowered himself to one knee. "Will you honor me by being my bride?"

"Oh, Connor..."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."

He stood and gathered her into a hug that smothered the past hurts and promised a future. This was what she'd dreamed of. Connor. His love. Nothing to do with the business, just them.

She heard the sound of clapping and an excited woof. She shook her head.

"Now can I come in?" he asked.

"I'm thinking you'd better," she said.

He picked her up then carried her across the threshold and kicked the door closed behind him. "Is that Indiana Jones on the television?" he asked.

"It could be," she said.

"Tell me you love me, little Lara."

"Or else, Sir?" she teased.

He jostled her and she grabbed hold of him with a frightened squeal. He tossed her over his shoulder and as he strode down the hallway, he swatted her a.s.s, hard.

"Say it," he warned, the words all but a growl.

He tossed her on the bed, then climbed on top of her, forcing her legs apart while simultaneously pinning her hands above her head.

For her, all joking vanished. She was with the man she loved, and he'd broken through years of wounds to offer his heart. "I love you, Connor. I will spend a lifetime showing you just how much."

"How important is a big wedding to you?"

"Are you thinking the same thing I am?" she asked.

"The marriage license is still valid. I want to marry you tomorrow afternoon, before you come to your senses and tell me you won't marry me."

"We could have a reception where we invite all our friends and family at a later date?"

He nodded.

Her heart was pounding, unable to believe all this was happening. "Does this mean we're eloping?"

"The only thing that matters is what you want. If you want a big ceremony with half of Houston in attendance, that's fine." He stroked her hair back from her face so he could read her expression.

"You know, the only thing that's important to me, really? Living here rather than downtown."

"Only if we have a big, stupid dog in our backyard," he countered.

"Done." She couldn't help but smile. "Are you serious?"

"Suzy-Q chose us, I'd say."

Connor released her to pull down her shorts, and she reached for his belt. In seconds, their clothes were scattered across the bed and all over the floor. She wasn't sure he'd ever been so unrestrained. "Please, Connor. f.u.c.k me," she said.

He touched her p.u.s.s.y, and she moaned a little. She was already wet, ready for him.

"I need you, Lara."

"Do it. Do me. Now."

Responding to her urgent, emotional demand, be entered her with a single thrust, joining them, giving her what she craved.

He leaned down to capture her mouth.

Feeling as if a fevered pitch clawed at her, she lifted her hips and wrapped her legs around his waist. He f.u.c.ked her hard, satisfyingly, making up for lost days, and the fact her heart had been broken. "Connor...Connor!"

"Come, Lara," he whispered.

His words, his claim, made her o.r.g.a.s.m. She held onto him, the way he'd always encouraged.

Then, the urgency harnessed, he changed the pace, setting a more sensuous mood. He changed the kiss to match, and he slowly devoured her.

She followed his lead. The lovemaking wasn't as intense, but it was somehow more pa.s.sionate for it.

He lifted off her a bit to capture her gaze. He silently mouthed, "I love you."

Inside her, his c.o.c.k stiffened. His strokes grew shorter, harder.

Unbelievably, she felt the first tendrils of another o.r.g.a.s.m unfurl in her.

His gaze riveted her, and he said was rough as he said, "Wait for me this time."

She felt desperate, but she held back, fighting her own responses to give him what he demanded. "Yes, yes, yes," she said as he changed position, placing his shoulders against the backs of her thighs so that he could keep her spread wide while he claimed her.

"You're mine, Lara."

"Sir, there was never any doubt."

Connor could not be more awed by the sight of Lara.

She opened her office door when he knocked, and she stood there, wearing the purple dress she'd bought that Sat.u.r.day afternoon at the downtown boutique.

"Perfect choice," he said as his pulse turned thready.

Just like the first time she'd walked into his office, she was a vision of cla.s.sic beauty. The dress flowed over her body as if designed for her. He hadn't remembered it being that exquisite.

In addition to the dress, she wore silk stockings and three-inch stilettoes.

He leaned forward and inhaled the barely perceptible trace of magnolia. "I've suddenly got another suggestion." He lifted her hair to kiss the side of her neck.

"I'm betting it has something to do with skipping the wedding and going straight to the honeymoon."

"Potentially."

She moaned softly. "You..."

With his tongue, he circled her earlobe.

"Oh, Connor..."

"We can let Joshua know we'll be late. The idea of doing you on your desk in your wedding dress has a certain appeal."

"Then we'd have to reschedule the ceremony again, you'd show up to pick me up, and you'd get all turned on again," she said. "See the problem?"

But her eyes were still closed, and he knew that if he caught the hem of her dress and pulled it up, she wouldn't protest.

"Or we can get it over with and you can have me naked in less than two hours."

"I've never been more tempted to speed up a clock," he confessed.

Reluctantly, he released her.

He'd never spent this much time thinking about a woman. Then again, he'd never been with a woman who'd pierced his defenses and worked her way inside them. Her love, and the courage to confess it, had changed him.

She gathered her purse, and he picked up her bag.

"No cracks about it."

"Wouldn't dare. Besides, I've stepped up my weight training."

She glared.

He appreciated the easy camaraderie. How had he thought his future would be better without it?

"Do you have the rings?" she asked.

He'd offered to buy her a different one, but she'd said hers was perfect. And after fifty years, the cost per wear would be less than a dollar a day.

The elevator stopped at the twelfth floor to let off another pa.s.senger. When the doors closed and he was alone with her, he took the opportunity to place a hand on her rear. He felt the faint outline of straps from a garter belt. "You could have worn pantyhose."

"But then I wouldn't have the pleasure of knowing you were going crazy picturing me with a bare a.s.s."

"Which means you aren't wearing underwear?"