By Your Heart (New York City Fixers Book 3)

by Ally Decker

  She lifted her hips, searching for contact, as the heat curled and spread inside her. Her thighs trembled under the light touch of his lips.

  "Please, Dean, come on."

  It was as if she said the magic words, because a moment later he was covering her mouth again and pinning her down with his body. She ran her hands over his back, wanting—needing—to know him all over again. They fit, the same way they always had, edges of their bodies pressed together perfectly.

  It would only be more perfect if…

  "Get in me already," she whispered in his ear and grabbed his ass hard at the same time, pulling him closer still. His erection was hot and wet along the dip of her hip.

  Dean raised himself on his elbows and looked down at her. "Do you still have an IUD? Can I—?"

  "Yes." She nodded quickly. "Yes, come on."

  He kissed her with his eyes wide open, and she felt like it was his intense gaze that was pinning her down more than his body. She surrendered completely in that moment, and when he pushed inside her a moment later, she was torn between shouting and crying.

  God, she had missed him so much. She loved him so much.

  She hid her face in his neck, kissing his collarbone as she blinked the wetness away. But he noticed, of course he noticed. He put a thumb under her chin and made her lift her head.

  "You okay?" he whispered, kissing her on her forehead.

  Marissa nodded, tightening her grip on his back. "Yes. Yes." She thrust her hips up and moaned as his cock slid further inside her. "Fuck, yes."

  Dean kissed her once again and then pulled back only to slam back in. Soon, they fell into a rhythm, and Marissa was close to coming without him even touching her clit. But then he reached between them and found it, and it only took a few rubbing circles before the orgasm hit her. He slowed down as she came, but continued his deep thrusts as he dropped kisses all over her neck and shoulder.

  Marissa was floating in pleasure, but she could still feel the last wall around her heart break down when he came inside her. She closed her eyes and dug her nails in, making him hiss as he pushed even deeper. I missed you so much, she thought over and over, petting his back, as they were both coming down from the high.

  When he slipped out of her and moved to the side, she clamped her legs closed. She wanted to keep him inside longer, even when she could already feel wetness over her inner thighs.

  She reached down, but Dean caught her hand and brought it to his lips. Their gazes met as he kissed her fingers, and the brightness in his eyes made her breath catch. This was Dean she hadn't seen in years—open, sated, relaxed, but also looking at her like he saw her. Like she was important. As if she counted in his world—as if nothing else counted quite so much.

  "I love you," he whispered, lips pressed to her fingertips.

  Marissa smiled so wide she could feel the pull of her cheeks. "I love you too."

  Because here, now, it was just that simple.

  ***

  After the shower, they relocated to the living room, and Marissa pointed Dean to the couch.

  "I'm willing to share my dinner, if you're hungry."

  "Yes, please."

  She took the food out onto a big plate and put it into the microwave. As she waited for it to reheat, she grabbed the empty boxes and put them in the garbage bin. It wasn't until she pulled the glasses from the cupboard that she noticed she was humming under her breath and swaying to the melody.

  She glanced behind her and saw Dean watching her. Of course he saw that. She could feel her cheeks redden and turned around as the microwave dinged.

  She was happy. The realization hit her when she was splitting the food between two plates. Sure, they still had a lot of things to figure out, but they weren't… they weren't done anymore. They had another chance, they loved each other, and damn it, Marissa promised herself she was going to do her best to make it work. She never wanted to see him walk out of her life again. Or to leave him behind.

  She grabbed the plates and took them to the coffee table next to the couch before going back for water. Dean slid onto the floor, and she joined him, handing him the glass.

  For a while, they ate in comfortable silence, only exchanging smiles and small touches. Their knees were pressed together, but Dean would reach out to put a strand of hair behind her ear or brush his shoulder against hers, or run the back of his hand over her thigh as he adjusted his slacks.

  Marissa couldn't stop watching him, now that it was okay and she didn't need to hide. He'd never learned to use chopsticks, claiming his hands were too big to hold them right, so he made do with a fork while she stared at his fingers, remembering his touches against her skin. Then she looked at his forearms. She used to love to drag her nails up and down the veins visible under his skin. It usually led to sex, too.

  Now she just moved her gaze to his shoulders, a little leaner than she'd remembered, but still wide and strong. Strong enough to pick you up like it's nothing, she thought and licked her lips. She glanced up and noticed him smiling at her. Busted again.

  He reached out and ran his thumb over her lower lip. "I hate to say it, but we should probably talk."

  "Yeah." She had to swallow down the urge to lick his thumb. She pulled back to put some distance between them, but twisted to the side to face him.

  He put the plate down and did the same.

  "I want you back in my life," he said when the silence was starting to stretch, and Marissa opened her mouth to fill it, but had no idea what to say.

  "Good." She reached out and caught his hand in both of hers. "I want that, too."

  He nodded. "What else do you want?"

  Marissa actually took a moment to think about it, because she didn't want to give him a flippant answer. She'd spent the last three days thinking about what she was going to do now, but there was no Dean in any of these scenarios. Now, she needed to figure out how to fit him—them—in.

  "I want us to start with dating, because I'm afraid we could get tripped by trying to go off the deep end and pick up where we left off," she started, and when he nodded, she went on. "I need to figure out what to do about work right now. That's what I get for making an emotional decision like that." She tried to smile as she said it, but he had to see right through her, because he tightened his grip over her fingers. "I don't regret it, don't worry. It was the right call, I just…"

  "You can take your time figuring it out," he told her gently.

  She took a deep breath. "I want to be a lawyer. I'm not changing that. I love what I do."

  "Hey, I know that." He leaned his head down to catch her gaze. "I'm not saying you should stop doing it. I obviously made mistakes in the past, if you'd thought… what you told me on Monday." He grimaced and Marissa did as well. She didn't mean everything she said, but… "I want you to be happy, and I know being in the courtroom, helping people there, is what makes you happy."

  "The same way fixing makes you happy."

  He smiled. "Yeah, it does." He glanced down at their joined hands before looking up again. "In the interest of full disclosure, I am glad that you quit that firm. Or maybe relieved is the better word for it." He shrugged. "I don't know."

  Marissa expected to get angry or offended, but she didn't. A month ago, Dean saying that would result in a fight, but now… now she understood. It wasn't about quitting being a lawyer or about his chance to say "I told you so". He was glad she left this particular company after one hit too many.

  "Okay," she finally said.

  He frowned. "Okay?"

  "Yes, okay." She leaned over for a quick kiss that… turned out not to be so quick. But when she finally pulled back, she smiled at him. "I get why you're glad. And I'm still not regretting the decision."

  He reached out with his free hand and ran his fingers over the side of her face. "You're one of a kind, you know that?"

  She grinned, leaning in for another kiss.

  "You're pretty special yourself."

  EPILOGUE

  T
wo months later

  "We're going to be late," Marissa protested when he crowded her against the shower wall, but she curled her legs around his waist when he hoisted her up nevertheless.

  Dean smiled at her. "We have to be quick, then."

  The water was falling all around them, but Dean got lost in the sensation of their bodies being tangled together like this, the taste of her on his tongue, the feel of her around his cock, her small shivers and widened eyes when he hit the right spot inside her.

  It didn't take them long to come, but Dean was reluctant to pull away. When he did, Marissa gave him one more kiss and jumped out of the stall.

  "Come on, I really can't be late on my first day."

  Dean cut off the water and followed her out. "We have more than enough time."

  "Says the guy who's his own boss and doesn't dread New York City's traffic anymore."

  "Oh, I'll dread it forever." He toweled off without taking his eyes off of her as she tucked her towel around her and looked at herself in the mirror. God, he was so lucky. "And I also can't be late. I have a meeting at eight thirty."

  "Hurry up, then."

  Dean smiled, but took the toothbrush she handed him. It was so perfectly domestic, them brushing their teeth side by side in the bathroom, that he wished he could ask her to move in already. But it was still too early, he knew. Even if they graduated early from simple dating to established relationship, moving in would be a big step, bigger than they'd ever done.

  And his apartment might not be far from Tribeca, but it wasn't Tribeca. He was pretty sure he'd have to be pretty convincing.

  "What?" Marissa asked after she spat the foam into the sink.

  "What what?" he mumbled before spitting the foam too.

  "You're grinning," she told him and planted a wet kiss on his cheek.

  "Well, it's a nice day so far." He tossed his toothbrush back into the cup, backed away from the counter, and side-stepped her to head to the door. "I'm going to make breakfast."

  "Waffles," she shouted after him.

  "Whatever you want."

  As they were eating, Marissa's leg bounced under the table until he put his hand on her knee and kept it still. She scrunched her nose.

  "Sorry."

  "No need to be sorry." He kissed her briefly and drowned the rest of his coffee. "But you don't need to be nervous, you know the bosses already."

  Marissa sent him a look. "Being introduced at a party doesn't mean I know them. Sure, they were friendly during the interview, but it's different."

  Dean shook his head. "Not that different. They really are that nice. It's not the same environment than what we were used to at Willis, Palmer, and Singer, you'll see."

  Troy, Cornell, and Linetta had started about the same time as Dean and the guys had, in the same building, but two floors above them. The partners there had been very friendly from the start, and they'd all bonded over the new beginnings. And while they weren't close, they'd been on each other's party guest lists for years now.

  When Marissa had been invited for an interview there, Dean had really hoped this would be the one that stuck. She'd talked to a few companies earlier, but nothing seemed to feel right. She also hadn't heard from a few, which most likely meant her old bosses interfering. He had expected Marissa to be hurt, but she'd told him that the amount of money her aunt and cousin got from the Dalio settlement was the perfect revenge. After seeing the sum, he couldn't argue her point.

  Thankfully, Marissa's interview with Troy, Cornell, and Linetta had gone amazing. They'd made a deal even before she'd walked out the door that day.

  "Okay, come on." Marissa swallowed the last piece of her waffle and stood up. "Time to go."

  Dean fought a grin at her enthusiasm. They had over forty minutes, and in that time, they could walk there if they wanted to. But he didn't protest. Arguing with Marissa now wouldn't calm her down at all. When they got there too early, she could always hang out in the F.Y.U. office. Nate and Shawn finally stopped with their cold treatment, and both Alicia and Claire embraced Marissa quickly. Apparently they had been waiting "for ages" for someone to snap Dean up.

  He wasn't about to tell them there simply wasn't anybody like Marissa out there for him, but from the looks they gave him—especially Alicia—they seemed to get it anyway.

  "Okay, I'm ready, let's go." Marissa came out of the bathroom and grabbed her bag from the couch. Then she raised her eyebrows at him. "Come on."

  Dean had to hide his smile, but put the plates in the sink. He would take care of them after work.

  "Lead the way," he told her, grabbing his jacket and slipping the phone in his pocket.

  The way to work took them fifteen minutes, but Dean managed not to say "I told you so". While he might tease her any other day, today he left her alone. If she kept trying to go in early all the time, then he wouldn't have any scruples.

  He squeezed her fingers as they were waiting for the elevator.

  "You want to come over to the office before going up?"

  She shook her head. "No, I don't mind being early. I'll see you at lunch, though?"

  "Okay."

  They got in, and there were only two other people in the elevator, so Dean didn't let go of Marissa's hand.

  "You'll do great," he told her quietly, and it earned him a big grin.

  "That's the plan."

  Then it was his floor, and it was time to separate. On impulse, he kissed her on the side of her head.

  "Love you."

  Her grin grew even bigger. "Love you, too," she whispered and then waved as the doors were closing.

  Dean stared at the door until he thought he heard a quiet ding two floors up. Have fun, he thought, as if Marissa could hear him, and then headed to his own office with a grin.

  Lunch break would come soon enough.

  ###

  That's the last book in New York City Fixers trilogy! If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review. Reviews help other readers consider taking a chance on a new-to-them author.

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  ABOUT ALLY

  I'm a writer who fell in love with New York City…

  So now I write books about love in New York City.

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  Copyright 2017 Ally Decker

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All person(s) depicted on the cover are model(s) used for illustrative purposes only.

  ***

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