Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
Owen
I sit on the edge of Meadow’s bed with my head in my hands, listening to her turn on the shower in the bathroom.
The wedding starts in an hour, and I need to start getting ready, but all I can think about is what Meadow said at the pool.
Someone else was supposed to go on this trip with you. She was supposed to be here. I wasn’t.
I drag a hand over my face as I hear the water hit the tile, steam slipping from beneath the bathroom door.
It kills me that deep down, Meadow still sees herself as just a seat filler—a replacement for my ex.
I think she’s trying her hardest to convince herself that my feelings for her are real, but it’s clear that part of her believes everything we’ve shared this week will disappear the second the plane touches down in Chicago.
She’s afraid, and I get that.
So am I.
But fuck, I need her to understand that she was never a replacement. She’s always been it for me.
Meadow Riley is the reason I can’t see a future with anyone else. No one could ever compare to her.
My palms grow sweaty as my heart palpitates. Fucking hell … Now I’m starting to psych myself out and get in my head about what will happen when we land tomorrow.
Will Meadow be the one to end things?
Decide that this is all too much… Too complicated?
Suddenly, every second feels as if I’m running out of time. I need to make her believe that I’m all in, that I’m not playing games with her heart.
As I listen to the shower in the background, I picture Meadow standing beneath the warm water—her dark hair sticking to her shoulders, water sliding down her full breasts, probably overthinking everything the same way I am right now.
The first time we ran into each other in that shower was an accident. Looking back now, a hilarious accident we can both laugh at.
But when I step into that shower in a few minutes, it’s not going to be by mistake.
We leave tomorrow.
Tomorrow, the real world slaps us in the face with all its stress, rules, expectations, and consequences. And I refuse to let our last night here end with a dark cloud of doubt hanging over her head.
I stand from the bed and rip off my t-shirt, the sunscreen from today still clinging to my skin. I cross the room and quietly open the bathroom door as cool tile chills the bottom of my feet.
My pulse thuds when I spot Meadow’s naked frame, blurry behind the shower glass, standing beneath the spray of water.
I yank my swim shorts down and walk a few steps to the shower, hesitating before I open the door.
She knows I’m here, standing only a few feet away.
Nothing but a pane of glass separates our naked bodies.
Meadow doesn’t move behind the foggy glass; she just watches as I open the door—deliberate and slow—and step into the shower.
The door shuts with a click, closing us in a box of steam, desire, and uncertainty.
She’s right there, less than a foot away from me, but she’s struggling to keep eye contact with me. Her arms are crossed tightly around her chest as water beads against her sunburned shoulders.
When I reach for her shoulder, she doesn't uncross her arms, just slowly tips her chin up and stares at me with a somber expression that makes me want to shake her, kiss her, and fucking break down in the shower with her.
“Meadow,” I rasp, reaching up to push away a thick strand of hair plastered over her eye.
Her gaze lowers to the tile.
“Look at me,” I whisper.
When she does, I can’t tell if her eyes are glassy from the shower spray or tears.
I cup her achingly beautiful face between my palms and step closer, crowding her in against the wall until our damp bodies are pressed together.
“Listen to me,” I say, my voice low as I hold her stare. “Whatever happens tomorrow, this week wasn’t an accident. I need you to know that.”
Her throat moves as she swallows and nods, still not saying a word.
“This week was the first time I stopped fighting this,” I confess. “And what I want is you , Meadow. I’ve wanted you for so long.”
Her throat bobs as she reaches for my hips, her heart hammering against my chest.
“Then what took you so long?” she asks, her voice barely audible. “Why did you wait so long to tell me?”
Because I fucking love you and that scares shit out of me.
Because I never, in a million years, thought you would feel the same way about me.
I love you, and I’d rather have you have a friend than lose you forever.
Because I’m a fucking coward, that’s why.
The words sit right there. Right on the edge of my tongue. My chest tightens as the real confession threatens to break free.
“Meadow, I—”
The three words I know I need to tell her stall in my throat.
Fuck.
I can’t do this right now.
Not like this.
Not while the clock is ticking and we’re both already emotional, sunburnt, and still riding a chemical high from all the orgasms we’ve given each other.
When I tell Meadow that I love her, I want it to be a moment she never questions.
My brows pinch together as I shake my head, silently telling her that I’m struggling too.
She nods, letting me know she understands as she slides her hands up my back before threading them into my hair.
I dip my head and press my lips to hers in a slow, intentional kiss. Everything I can’t say is poured into the way my mouth moves against hers.
Meadow sinks into me as I part her lips with my tongue, wrapping her arms around my neck to pull me impossibly closer. She tastes like lime, salt, and desperation, kissing me so hard I feel it deep in my bones.
I lean into her, my hardening cock driving into her belly as I kiss her back with everything I’ve never said, every promise I’m too fucked up to say out loud.
Her fingers dig into my back as I curl my arms beneath her thighs and hoist her up, pressing her back to the tiled wall.
I kiss her cheek.
I kiss her jaw.
I kiss her neck and chest.
I kiss every part of her that my mouth can reach as she parts her lips, letting out tiny whimpers and moans that test my self-control.
“Tell me what you want,” I plead, my voice low and cracked as I pepper kisses along her collarbone. “Tell me, Meadow.”
She arches her neck, pressing her head back against the tile.
“You already know,” she pants.
She’s right, I know exactly what she wants.
And for once, I need her to believe in something bigger than her fear. I’m going to be the one to make her see that.
She melts against me as my mouth finds hers again, our lips parting and teeth clacking in an all-consuming kiss. Her thighs clamp around my hips, the friction of her pussy dragging along my cock pulls a deep groan from my chest that echoes off the glass.
This is not a vacation hookup. I know the difference.
I’ve been the guy who wanted intimacy without emotional strings attached.
But this is nothing like that.
This is Meadow letting her guard down… and me making sure she knows exactly what she means to me.
I wrap my fingers around my erection and guide myself to her slick entrance, nearly losing it when she digs her nails into my back and bites on her lower lip.
She stares at me with such intensity, heightening the fact that this is so much more than just sex.
I push in slowly, not daring to rush this.
I hold her gaze, refusing to close my eyes as her mouth falls open and she makes a small, involuntary gasp that has my dick twitching inside her.
Everything I want to tell her is on the tip of my tongue, but it’s impossible for me to string together coherent words when she’s like this, wrapped around my cock and clinging to me like she’s already giving herself to me completely.
I move inside her, grinding her to the wall, my jaw flexing as our bodies slip and slide with nowhere to go but closer.
“Owen,” she moans, frantically reaching for my face and planting her forehead to mine.
Still, our eyes never part.
I couldn’t look away if I tried. I don’t want to miss a single second of this.
We just stare into each other's souls as our bodies become one, our breaths intertwined with each thrust.
“You’re everything, Meadow,” I groan against her lips. “ Mine. You’ve always been mine.”
“Yours,” she shudders, rocking against me.
Christ.
Hearing her say that one word causes a surge of possessiveness to take flight in my veins.
I palm her ass, hammering my cock up into her tight channel as my whole body trembles with pleasure. Her arms lock around my neck as I trace the line of her jaw with my tongue before dipping my head to suck on the delicate skin of her neck.
“Oh, God,” she exhales, her eyes rolling back. “Don’t fucking stop.”
And I don’t.
I angle my hips and thrust into her until her head knocks back against the tile, her fingers pulling viciously at my hair.
She’s sobbing, or maybe laughing in ecstasy, maybe both.
My fingers splay against her ass as she arches her back, greedy for more.
“You want more?” I growl, nipping at her earlobe.
“Yes,” she says breathlessly, brows pinched together in pleasure. “Harder. Fuck me harder.”
Fucking hell.
My balls tighten, threatening to explode from her plea.
“You asked for it, baby,” I say, my voice low against her ear.
We both gasp at the same time when I pull all the way out and run the tip of my cock through her slit—smearing every last drop of my precum between her soaked folds.
Then, I line myself up with her entrance and slam back in.
She instantly clenches around me. Feeling so fucking wet, warm, and right—like home. Our bodies fit together like two puzzle pieces, flawlessly broken but perfectly whole.
I slide my hands up to her hips, anchoring her between me and the wall as I drill into her at a savage pace.
I fuck her until her legs start to shake around me and the water begins to run cold. I bury my face in her neck as her pussy tightens around me, her fingernails carving half-moons into my shoulder blades.
Meadow shakes in my arms as she sucks in ragged breaths, her mouth open to the shower spray. Every muscle in her body strains, fighting the urge to let go.
“God, you feel so fucking so good,” I groan through gritted teeth, pressing my forehead to the tile as I feel myself start to come apart.
Water pounds the back of my neck as I bury myself in her, thrusting in as deep as possible, her name falling from my lips like gravel.
I need her to know that I’m not making love to a memory. I’m not getting in one last fuck before we say goodbye.
I’m staking a fucking claim, worshipping her with my body, sealing my soul to hers.
“You’re it, Meadow,” I rasp against her neck. “You hear me? Nobody else. Only ever you.”
That’s when she falls apart in my arms, coming harder than ever before.
She screams out my name as she comes, her pussy pulsing around my cock as she gasps, biting down so hard on my neck I know it’s going to leave teeth marks.
I’m not far behind her, letting go seconds later as my cock jerks, shooting thick ropes of cum, marking her deep inside. My heart jackhammers and my muscles quiver, like a massive earthquake running through my body.
I keep thrusting inside her until we’re both wrung dry and trembling, holding onto each other as we slide down the shower wall. I sit back against the wall and pull Meadow into my lap, cradling her as she buries her nose into my chest.
I soothe my hand up and down her spine and lean down to kiss her shoulder.
Her body is still shuddering, spasms running up her thighs, her breath ragged as if she’s just come up from drowning. My own release is still lingering, the aftershocks surging through my veins as I hold her steady, one hand pressed against her belly, the other curled around her hip.
There is nothing in the world more important, more precious than this.
Everything in my life could go to shit, but as long as I have Meadow in my arms, I’d be okay.
We don’t speak for what feels like an eternity. I just hold her, keeping her upright, and letting her rest against me.
I let the cold water wash over us until I know it’s getting late; the last thing I want to do is let her go, but we have to get up and get ready, or we’ll be late to the wedding.
I rise to my feet first and help her stand, gently scrubbing her long hair and sun-kissed skin with soap, rinsing her off, then wrapping her in a fresh towel before we step out of the shower.
The walls feel like they’re closing in around me when Meadow tightens the towel around her shoulder, gives me a sad smile, and exits the bathroom without a word.
Fuck .
I thought being with her like that would settle something inside both of us. Like if I could just make love to her one more time, the fear of losing her would fade away.
Instead, I just feel nauseous.
A week ago, Meadow was just my best friend. A woman I was secretly obsessed with and couldn't stop thinking about.
But now, she’s my everything. The other half of my heart. The oxygen that fills my lungs.
Maybe that’s why the second she walked out of the bathroom, I felt my chest tighten like a heart attack.
You still have time , I tell myself.
There’s the wedding and one night left in the suite.
I can’t fuck this up.
I can’t let her slip away.