Chapter Twenty
TWENTY
NEVAEH
The second Ethan is done telling me what he did to make me safe, I’m on him, needing to be close to him, needing to touch him and kiss him and make love to him.
I’m in shock and awe at what he’s done for me, and not just risking everything to bring Logan and Felix down, but also legalizing his businesses.
I’ve learned from being with Ethan, his love is shown through his actions.
It’s easy to say the words, but Ethan shows me every day in some way or another how much he cares about me, how much I mean to him.
He puts me first and loves me with his entire being.
At first, Ethan goes with the flow and I think he’s going to finally give in and give me what I want—all of him. He kisses me back and lets me remove his shirt and then his pants. But when I attempt to lower my pants, he stops in his place.
“Nevaeh,” he groans, knowing all too well where I’m heading. “No.” He kisses me softly, trying to lighten the blow, but it still hurts.
“Ethan, please,” I beg. “I love you and I want you to make love to me.”
“Not until marriage,” he argues, peppering kisses along the flesh of my collarbone.
“Aren’t you the one who told me there’s more to life than that list?
” I say, throwing back the words he said to me last week when he joined me for a shower and I mentioned it was too bad we couldn’t consider it rain, so I could check off getting kissed in the rain.
He laughed and told me if I keep living my life by that list, I’m going to miss all the amazing moments that aren’t on it.
Ethan chuckles. “Twisting my words isn’t going to make me change my mind.
” He kisses my forehead. “Waiting to make love to you until marriage isn’t about your list. It’s about your beliefs.
You’re letting your hormones take over, but I know you and I know after we make love, you will regret not waiting. ”
“That’s not true.” I huff. “I could never regret making love to you. You’re my forever.”
Ethan’s brows rise to his forehead. “I’m your forever,” he repeats softly, as if he’s in shock I could really want to spend my life with him. I hate that he feels that way, that Kelsi and his mom leaving him has made him insecure. On the outside, he’s strong, but on the inside, he’s vulnerable.
“You know you are,” I tell him truthfully. “I love you and want to spend my life with you.”
“Are you sure that’s what you want, Nevaeh? To spend every day for the rest of your life with me?”
“Yes,” I answer immediately, not needing to think about it. I know it’s what I want. I want Ethan right now and forever.
His eyes light up and his lips curve into a beautiful smile. “I love you, Angel,” he murmurs. “And I’m going to spend the rest of our lives making you happy.”
I grin at his words, thinking he’s going to give in.
“Then make love to me, please. That’ll make me happy.”
He assesses me for a long moment, and whatever he’s looking for, he must find, because he nods once and kisses me passionately.