“If you use that to communicate instead of talking, I have another surprise for you.”

“Yeah?”

“You’ll probably like this one better.”

He uncapped the marker and wrote OK on the board.

She reached up and cupped his face in her hand. His cheek was rough with a day’s beard growth and she took a moment to enjoy the texture against her fingertips. She then kissed him tenderly. “If you’re a good boy, I’ll be a very naughty girl.”

VERY naughty? he wrote.

“Very, very naughty,” she murmured and kissed him again.

His gaze caressed her skin in a most distracting fashion. She was determined to get through this meal without pouncing on him, but now that he was here, she doubted they’d make it all the way to dessert. He’d be lucky if she let him finish his appetizer. Or start it.

School? he wrote.

“I’ve decided to finish law school—I have important work to do—but I’ll tell you about that later. Right now, you need to eat. Are you hungry?”

He nodded earnestly.

She removed lids from the containers of food scattered across the table. “I tried to think of things that wouldn’t hurt your throat.”

He watched her reveal one dish after another. You cooked all this?

She read his message and laughed. “No, sweetheart, it’s take out. I wanted you to enjoy it, not have to choke it down and pretend I’m not poisoning you.”

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

“So what are you hungry for?”

You, he wrote.

“That’s dessert.”

Let’s start with dessert.

“Don’t tempt me. I’m trying to take care of you. Help you build up your strength for your concert next week. And our little side trip on Friday.” The one Jace had helped her plan while Eric kept Sed distracted in the recording studio.

His eyebrows shot up. Trip? he wrote.

“You didn’t think I was going to be very, very naughty in the privacy of our own home, did you?”

He grabbed her off her chair and pulled her onto his lap. “How naughty?” he murmured against her throat.

“Unbelievably naughty. But only if you follow doctor’s orders to the letter. No more talking, okay?”

He blinked—meaning yes—and opened his mouth wide.

“You want me to feed you?”

He blinked again.

She reached for the bowl of macaroni and cheese. She turned to straddle his lap on the chair, holding the bowl between their bodies, and offered him a bite from the plastic serving spoon. While he chewed, she took a bite herself. Since she was feeding him, his hands were free to explore her body.

He seemed to like her new pink nightie. He traced the top of the frilled bodice, which was cut so low it barely covered her nipples. And with an expert flick of Sed’s thumbs, it no longer did.

He stroked both nipples in maddening circles while she fed him another bite of overcooked mac and cheese.

After he swallowed, she leaned closer and claimed his mouth in a passionate kiss. “I love you,” she said against his lips. It felt good to say it. Without hesitation. Without regret.

“I—”

“Shhh. Don’t talk. You don’t have to say anything. I feel it.”

He shifted his hips and she really felt it then. Hard, attentive, and pressing against her mound. And since they weren’t in a restaurant, she could ride him at the dinner table like a bronco all night if she felt like it. Jessica fed him another bite and rocked her hips to rub herself against him.

Sed stared into her eyes, his gaze so intense it made her heart throb. “I need to tell you something.”

“Write it down.” She tried to feed him another bite, but he turned his head to one side.

“You need to hear it.”

“Sed, don’t make me resort to duct tape.”

“I haven’t kissed another woman since I met you.”

She snorted with laughter. “Yeah right.”

“It’s true.”

“Sed, I caught you naked with three girls the night we got back together. I’m not stupid.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t have sex with other women, I said I haven’t kissed another woman.”

“Oh.” Her gaze dropped to his chin. Why did he think that was so important? “Why not?”

“I only kiss women I love.”

Her brow knotted with confusion. “But you kissed me that first night in the strip club and then again when you said you hated me on the tour bus.” And pretty much constantly ever since.

“I only kiss women I love.” He cupped her cheek in one hand and pressed his lips to hers. “Only you.”

She supposed that was his way of being true to her. She wondered why he’d waited so long to tell her. “I’m glad,” she whispered.

“Have you?”

When she opened her mouth to speak, he covered her lips with two fingers. “Never mind.”

“You act like you know what I’m going to say.”

“It’s none of my business.”

She captured his wrist with her free hand and pulled his hand away from her lips. “I have kissed a couple of men.” Jessica held his gaze so he’d know she was being serious.

He winced and she was pretty sure it wasn’t due to throat pain.

“But I didn’t enjoy it. There was no passion. Not like with you. Not even close.” She smiled at him gently, as both of his dimples made an appearance. And while she was making confessions… “For the record…” She took a deep breath. “I haven’t had sex with anyone since we broke up.”

“No one?”

Unable to meet his eyes, she shook her head. It was kind of embarrassing to admit how much he’d affected her. How he’d ruled certain parts of her life, even in his absence.

“Not once in two years?”

Her nostrils flared. “No! I said I haven’t. What? You don’t believe me?”

He took the bowl from her and set it on the table before wrapping both arms around her and hugging her against his chest.

“I should have never let you go, Jess. I should have gone after you. I should have fixed it. Whatever I had to do, I should have—”

She pulled back to look into his eyes. His watery gaze drifted to the ceiling as he tried to get a handle on his emotions.

“I have plenty of regrets of my own, Sed, but I’ve decided to let them go. You should too. We can’t change the past, but we can move forward.”

“So much wasted time.”

She shook her head. “No regrets.” She grabbed his chin to gain his attention and gave him a stern look. “And you’re talking way too much. If you say one more word, I’m cancelling our trip next week.”

That shut him up, but it didn’t stop him from expressing his feelings with his hands and lips. He suckled the pulse point beneath her ear and she gasped, her body instantly igniting with need.

“Before you get me too worked up, I should warn you that I have the first draft of a paper to write this weekend, so you’re going to have to entertain yourself while I hit the books.”

He pulled back to look at her, scowling.

“You’re the one who insisted I go back to school. Remember?”

He sighed and nodded.

“But tonight, I’m yours.”

He grinned and reached for the dry erase board. You don’t want to be a nurse anymore? he wrote.

She flushed and shook her head. “I was just afraid to go back to law school. The way Dean Taylor made me feel and that whole failure thing… I’m over it.” She grinned at him. “But I can still be your nurse. Tell me how I can make you more comfortable, Mr. Lionheart.” She ran a finger down the center of his chest.

Feed me, he wrote. Not the request she’d had in mind, but okay.

“What would you like? Mashed potatoes? Cheese soup?”

Something cold.

“Your throat’s really bothering you, isn’t it?”

He nodded. She shouldn’t have let him talk as much as she had. She would be a more attentive nurse from this point forward.

She scanned the table for something cold and soothing. “Gelatin? Or I can get a Popsicle out of the freezer.”

His hand tightened on her hip, telling her he didn’t want her to get up.