Luna
FIFTY-THREE
“Let’s get you inside,” he whispers, finally breaking away with a beautiful smile on his face.
All the worry and fear from the last twenty-four hours vanished the moment I saw him.
He came back to me.
Grinning, I run to get my bag out of my Jeep before following him to his vehicle, where he grabs his phone off the front seat.
“I need to text Mae real quick, so she’s not worried about either of us,” he says once we are out of the rain and sheltered by the roof over the stairs.
“I hate that you both were worried about me,” I frown, as he sends a quick text message before pocketing his phone.
“None of that matters now,” he says, shaking his head and walking toward me. His hair clings to his forehead as water droplets drip from our bodies, leaving a water trail on the pavement. “All that matters now is that you’re here with me.”
Butterflies flutter in my stomach as he picks me up, and my legs wind around him.
Carrying me up the flight of stairs, my lips find his neck as I breathe him in deep.
“God, I’ve missed you,” I whisper, burying my face in his neck.
“You have no idea how hard it was to stay away,” he says, quietly.
“What happened yesterday? Why did you stay away?” I ask, wanting to understand, so I can be there for him.
Giving him my key, he inserts it, and we step inside, shutting the door behind us.
“Later, I’ll tell you everything you need, but right now I just need to know you're alive,” he scrapes out, his voice raw and desperate as my back hits the door and his lips crush mine.
Our bodies mold together just as my fingers dive into his hair and our tongues collide. It’s been two days since I’ve felt his touch. Two days of wondering if I’ll ever be able to feel him this way again.
He’s hard beneath his grey sweats as he presses further into me before pushing off the door and walking us down the hall.
When we enter my master bath, he kicks off his shoes and reaches in to turn on the shower before we step under the warm spray.
He slides me down his body, and the second my feet touch the floor, our hands are everywhere at once, clawing the clothes off each other.
It’s not until we are fully naked and pressed against each other that we slow down.
“I shouldn’t have pulled away,” he swallows, his knuckles trailing down my body. “I should have come straight to you. I should have realized sooner that I can’t do life without you.”
“I’m not mad at you,” I say softly. “I was worried and upset…afraid that you couldn’t give me all of you, but I wasn’t mad at you.”
“When I couldn’t find you…” His voice cracks, and I put my hand on his heart to comfort him.
“All I could think about was how much I loved you and how many days I wasted not telling you every single moment we were together. I don’t want to waste any more time with you.
” He brings my hand to his lips as they graze the underside of my wrist. “You have me, little moon. You have all of me, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving it to you. ”
Tears blur my eyes as I smile at the words I’ve longed to hear.
“You just gave me my wish,” I whisper. “You and Scarlett were my two wishes.”
His eyes no longer hold the scars of his past. All I see when I look at him is love.
“The reason I gave you my wish was that I had everything I needed right beside me.”
His lips find mine again as he picks me up. The white tile is cool against my back as he holds me tight against it.
There’s an instant connection that ignites between us the moment he slides inside me. Our souls knew long before we ever met that it was always supposed to be us in the end.
My legs tighten around him as my body welcomes him home.
One hand leaves my waist as he trails it up my side before cupping my breast. I arch into his touch as my desire starts to build. Trailing up my collarbone, his hand clasps my throat, and I feel my pulse accelerate as I close my eyes, sinking my nails into his back.
“Open your eyes, little moon,” he softly demands, and I’m pierced with those greens that are now a heated blaze. “I want to see those beautiful eyes of yours.”
He plunges in deep, and I moan as my body sits on the verge of letting go.
Moving my hand between my legs, I feel our bodies joined together. My fingers run over his flesh, hot and swollen, sliding against my skin before thrusting deep inside.
“We fit so fucking good together,” he groans, looking down at my hand that’s skimming across his skin every time he plunges deep.
“Cayden,” I moan, as my orgasm swells inside me. He flicks his eyes to mine and holds me there as I completely let go for him.
I pulse against him, bringing him with me as he releases on a rush.
“Luna,” he rasps, pouring inside me until our bodies stop trembling against one another, sated and spent.
“I love you,” I whisper, as our foreheads meet. “I won’t ever stop loving you.”
“Good,” he smiles. “Because you’re stuck with me, now. Not a chance in hell I’m ever letting you go.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” I grin.
We’re wrapped in each other’s arms hours later, listening to the sound of the rain’s heavy tapping on the roof. My head lies on his chest as my finger traces the dark tattoo on his skin.
“Tell me about her,” I whisper.
His hand stills on my hair before slowly stroking it again.
“What do you want to know?” He finally asks.
“Anything,” I smile, looking up at him. “She’s Scarlett’s mother and someone important to you. I just want to know her.”
He rubs his scruff before a ghost of a smile touches his lips.
“She could never keep a plant alive,” he chuckles.
“Not one?”
“She once killed a cactus.”
“How do you kill a cactus?” I softly laugh.
“I still don’t know how she did it.”
I smile against his chest as he recalls more memories.
“She would sing loudly in the car, but never knew all the words,” he smiles. “And when she was pregnant with Scar, she used to dance around the house. She would tell me that our daughter is going to dance before she walks.”
“Really,” I grin.
“Yeah,” he smiles. “She would be really happy to know her daughter is dancing.”
“I think so, too,” I whisper against his chest.
I lie there in his arms as he tells more of his favorite memories. With every memory he shares, I feel another piece of him heal. It brings us closer together in a way I can’t explain.
His words eventually fade away with the last memory.
Silence settles between us.
“Thank you,” he says quietly.
“For what?” I ask, gazing up at him.
“For wanting to know her.”
“She gave you Scarlett,” I smile. “The beautiful little girl who stole my heart the moment I saw her. She’s a part of her, and I’d never want Scarlett to feel like she can’t talk to me about her mother.”
His arms tighten around me as I burrow deeper against his side.
“Scarlett asked for you last night,” he says, breaking the silence.
“She did?”
He nods his head, his hand softly moving down my back.
“She wanted you to read her bedtime story.”
“The ballerina one?”
“That’s the one,” he chuckles.
“She told me in her sleep that Mommy sent us the moon,” he says quietly.
My breath catches as I meet his eyes.
“My three-year-old daughter made me realize what I was too afraid to admit.”
“And what’s that?” I ask, my throat thick with emotion.
“That you belong with us. That we’re a family.” He swipes away a tear with his thumb as I try to contain all the love I feel right now.
“I want that more than anything.”
“I do too,” he smiles before his eyes search mine. “Yesterday wasn’t about forgetting her.”
“Then what was it about?”
“It was realizing that I had smiled all morning before remembering what day it was.” I watch his throat bob as he swallows, emotions flitting across his face.
“I felt guilty that I was happy…that I was betraying her somehow.” He runs a hand through his hair and stares out the window at the rain coming down.
“But I realized it’s never been about choosing one love over the other.
It’s always been about choosing to live. ”
My tear falls on his chest as I stare at the man I love, as his green eyes find mine.
“That’s why I came here tonight,” he smiles, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
“This is me choosing to live.”