Chapter Seventeen
Ashley
Sloane’s arm was around my naked waist when I woke up, and I smiled as my body buzzed with happiness. I loved waking up next to him.
“Good morning, sweetness,” he whispered.
I looked over to find him watching me carefully with his head on the pillow.
“Hi,” I replied softly while wiping the sleep from my eyes. “Have you been awake long?”
“No.”
Glancing at the Fitbit on my wrist, I saw it was almost seven-thirty, and immediately became suspicious.
“Are you sure? You haven’t slept past five-thirty once since you got here. And we were in bed pretty early last night.”
“Yeah, but we weren’t sleeping, and you kept me up late,” he said with a wink.
Thinking back to the events that transpired once we got back to my apartment, I smirked, “I will happily take the blame.”
“Blame? Pffft, baby, you’re going to take credit , not blame. Last night was amazing.”
It had been amazing.
We’d gotten home around nine, and true to his word, he’d insisted on getting back into bed, naked of course.
But I hadn’t been prepared for what happened next.
He’d hovered over me, lacing his fingers through mine as he stared into my eyes. The intensity of his gaze made it impossible to look away.
It was as if we were the only two people on earth.
Then he moved down to the end of the bed and cradled my foot in his hand while he examined it, softly tracing the veins, before bringing my ankle bone to his lips.
He slowly kissed up my calves, then paused and drew circles around my knees while he studied my skin. Like he was committing every inch of my body to memory.
Continuing up my thigh, he bypassed the part of my body that was aching to be touched. I lifted my hips to encourage him to stroke my pussy, but he whispered, “Patience, dulzura ,” and resumed traveling his attention up my body until he was hovering over me again. As we stared into each other’s eyes, I’d never felt more connected to another human being.
Then he kissed me like I was his oxygen supply. My arms wove around his neck while he ground his cock between my thighs in a delicious tease that made me ache with desire.
When I couldn’t take any more, I’d begged him with two simple words, “Please, Sloane.”
I swear I saw stars when he pressed his length inside me, and we moaned in unison. He softly touched my face, and once again I was lost in his blue eyes as our bodies moved in perfect rhythm.
I love you.
Neither of us said it with words, but our bodies conveyed it clearly.
I remember thinking, so this is what making love is.
It seemed only fitting that we climaxed at the same time. We lay intertwined in silence; I think we were both lost in our own thoughts. When I fell asleep, his cock was still inside me.
Waking up in his arms this morning, I felt safe and happy.
Then he murmured, “I think we should celebrate your birthday today. What should we do?” and the realization that this was our last day together hit me like a ton of bricks. The contentment I’d been feeling was replaced with a ball of dread in my stomach.
I never wanted him to leave. How was I going to be able to let him get on a plane tomorrow? Especially not knowing when he was going to return.
Leaning my head against his shoulder, I whispered, “Let’s go to Mexico and never come back.”
****
Sloane
I’d been a Marine over half of my life, and never—not once—had I ever even considered going AWOL.
Until now.
“I know you’re teasing,” I said as I kissed her hair, “but you don’t know how tempting that is.”
She rolled on top of me, with her arms on my chest so her chin could rest in her hands as she looked up at me with her pretty hazel eyes.
“We could live in a hut on the beach. Just you and me.”
I could picture the two of us living in paradise. No worries, no cares. Just spending our days loving each other.
“That sounds like heaven, sweetness.”
She sighed and laid her cheek directly on my chest while her arms went along my sides.
“It does, doesn’t it?”
Of course, my sense of duty would never really allow me to do that. But it was a nice daydream.
I tapped her butt so she would sit up with me. I wanted to look directly at her, so she knew I was serious when I said, “Tell you what. When I get back from this tour, I promise I’ll take you to Mexico, and we’ll stay at an all-inclusive place on the beach for a month.”
The corner of her mouth turned up.
“I don’t think I’ll have enough vacation time for a month.”
“Then for however long you can get away.”
She pecked my lips and replied, “It’s a date.”
I knew the thought of that date was going to get me through the hardest days I was sure to encounter soon.
Then my conscience reminded me where I was going.
“But I want you to promise me something.”
Her face was solemn when she said, “Okay…”
“Promise you won’t wait for me. If Mr. Right comes along, you’ll choose him. You aren’t tied to me. You don’t owe me anything. You’re not a bad person if you want to be with someone else.”
Even though I hated it, and my heart felt like it was fragmenting in my chest, it was the right thing to do.
“But what if Mr. Right has already come along, I’ve already chosen him, and I want to wait for him?”
“Baby girl…”
“I’m not going anywhere, Sloane.”
Her words were like balm to my hurting heart. But I still wanted to be fair to her.
I stroked her cheek as I gazed into her eyes.
“Just know that I will understand if you do. The only thing I ask is that you tell me.”
“Fair enough. But I’ll be right here waiting when you get back.” She winked at me with a grin. “And you’re taking me to Mexico.”