All because of Lucy, the not-quite-naked nymph now sprawled out right next to him on the king-size bed, a luxurious canopy of white gauze overhead.

“You rock, Cunningham,” he said in between gulps of air. He let his head roll to the side, laying a cheek on the mangled bedsheets so he could look right in those beautiful eyes.

“Tired yet, coach?”

“Hell no. I’m not even warmed up.”

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that.” Lucy jumped on top of him again and started kissing him some more, and Theo wrapped his arms around her and squeezed so tight he heard something pop.

“Hey! I’m not choking on Milk Duds at the moment! Lighten up!”

Theo laughed and rolled with her until their intertwined feet brushed the floor and they were nearly falling off the bed.

“I want to see you completely naked.”

“I’m working up to it.”

Theo laughed. “You swore, Lucy. And I’ve been naked for at least two hours. Or maybe you haven’t noticed.” He loved how Lucy’s eyes flashed and her cheeks flushed.

“Oh, I’ve noticed.”

Her sweet, soft hand stroked his cock, and Theo could hardly believe it, but he was already responding to her again. Maybe there was something to be said for going without sex for months at a time, though he hoped to God that period of his life was gone for good.

“Do you like this?” Lucy whispered, looking into his eyes as her hand caressed him to full length and breadth once more, then dragged her tongue along the underside of him.

“I love it-I love everything about being with you.” Theo arched his head back and groaned with pleasure, and suddenly her hand was gone and so was her tongue.

Lucy had gotten up. She stood on the floor over him, wearing a little blue tank top thing and nothing else.

Her hair was messed up and her skin was pink and her lips were wet and she was a vision-a vision of lus-ciousness and lust and paradise. It was a good look on her.

Lucy reached over and flicked on the bedside lamp. Theo had no idea what time it was-probably about seven in the evening-but the shadows had already started to fill their comfortable bungalow. The light flowed over Lucy and showered her skin in gold.

Without a word, Lucy reached for the hem of the tank top and pulled it up over her head, then dropped it to the floor. There she was-this woman he knew almost as well as he knew himself-and she was giving him the ultimate gift.

Her trust.

Theo sat up on the edge of the bed and let his eyes travel over Lucy. She was curvy and firm and ripe. Yes, it was obvious her body had been through a dramatic transformation, and there were marks on her skin, especially on her belly and hips, like road markers from her journey. He loved those marks. He’d been to every one of those places with her. He remembered every day.

“I’ve always known you were beautiful.” Theo reached out and put his palms on the front of her hips, his fingers splayed open.

She gasped.

Theo had to say his favorite part of Lucy’s body was still her neck-it was elegant, perfectly designed-but now that he was allowed to do more than window-shop, there were several other specifics he appreciated as well.

He loved the delicate curve of the inside of each of her thighs and the tiny vee of space-between her legs, just under her sweet pussy.

He loved the graceful curve of her strong upper arms, the faint arch of her eyebrows, the delicate twist of her wrists, the tapered strength of her ankles.

“Please turn around for me, Luce.”

She did, and he loved her gorgeous ass and the two little dimples at her base of her spine, and her shoulders-so straight and strong-and the way her waist curved in just at the flare of her hips. He loved the tender skin at the back of her knees.

He stood up from the bed and embraced her from behind, then walked with her to the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the dressing room of their suite. On the way he flipped on the overhead light.

“This is new and different,” Lucy said, smiling as she leaned her head back against his chest.

“Do you see how good we fit together? How good we look with each other?”

One of Lucy’s eyebrows arched high.

“Lucy, do you see the woman I have in my arms?”

She gave him a little nod and a nervous smile.

“What do you see?”

She paused, and Theo watched her consider his question carefully. “I see a pretty woman who is physically strong and who owns her own business and is very much in love-for the first time in her life.”

Theo nodded, and kissed the top of her head.

“Do you see a slump buster looking back at you?”

She frowned. “I do not.”

He squeezed her tight and held her gaze in the mirror.

“You’re my slump buster, Luce. My own personal slump buster.”

Her mouth fell open and he felt her body go rigid.

“And this is a very good thing-let me tell you all about it.”

In a flash, Theo had one arm under the back of her knees and one arm around her waist and he’d lifted her off the floor. Theo walked with her to the front door of their little cave retreat by the ocean. “Can you grab the doorknob?” Lucy did, still glaring at him, and he walked with her onto the deck.

The sea breeze was warm and wet and the sun was setting behind them, and Theo was glad this haven was designed for total privacy. It’s why people came here.

“You saved me from my slump, Lucy.” Theo sat down in a comfortable canvas chair and held her in his lap, stroking the smooth skin of her naked back.

“When exactly were you in this slump, Theo? I must have been napping.”

He chuckled. “My heart was in a slump. I’d turned it off, set it aside. I was in the biggest, baddest love slump a man could be in, until you walked in my door.”

A little smile curved at her succulent lips. “And I changed all that?”

“You absolutely did.”

“I’m glad.” Lucy nodded, her hair slipping down over half of her face. “I am not perfect, Theo.”

“I’m not, either.”

“Tell me about it. You have a temper. You’re a workaholic and overly responsible. You don’t tell the woman you love that you actually love her. Those are all significant shortcomings.”

“Yeah. And I’ve got a scar over my left eyebrow, too. Someday I’ll tell you how I got it. It’s a pretty romantic story.”

“I bet.”

Theo cupped that beautiful face in his hands. “I love you, Lucy Cunningham. I love you so much that sometimes I wonder if I’m dreaming, and how I got lucky enough to have you in my life, and I suppose I’ve avoided saying this to you because it’s a little terrifying for me.”

“Terrifying? Why?”

“Because I’m afraid if I start telling you how much I love you, I’ll never be able to stop.”

She gave him a little closemouthed smile and whispered, “I’m eating this up, you know. Please go on.”

“I love you. I want you to be my lover and my best friend and live with me and Buddy. And someday soon we’ll get married.”

“We will?”

“Yes. And we’ll have kids, OK?”

Lucy scooted around on his lap and puckered her lips in thought. “I have this one nagging question…”

“I bet I have the answer.”

“Maybe you don’t, Theo.” Lucy looked out over the water and the breeze blew into her face and she closed her eyes. He knew what was coming, and he was ready for it.

“How will I ever know for sure that it’s the real me you love-not just the one-hundred-thirty-nine-pound Frankenstein of fitness?”

Theo choked and laughed simultaneously. “Frankenstein of fitness, huh?”

“You know what I mean.” Lucy adjusted herself so she faced him, and placed her hands on his shoulders. “You didn’t love me when I weighed two hundred and thirty pounds, did you?”

“No, I did not. But that’s not exactly a fair question, Lucy. I liked you back then. You intrigued me. You made me laugh. But I didn’t know you well enough to love you, and you changed so fast that for me to love you at your starting weight it would have to have been love at first sight.”