Chapter 6
Chapter Six
DK
It wasn’t get-your-mojo-back sex. It wasn’t about reclaiming my confidence or proving anything. It was Luna—pure and simple. I hadn’t thought about anything else. I hadn’t needed to. She was more than enough.
“Will you stay the night?” she murmurs, her lips moving against my chest.
“I’d love to…”
“But?” She hears the unspoken word in my voice.
“I have terrible insomnia,” I admit, brushing my fingertips down her arm. It’s not something I normally share, but I want her to know the reason.
“I’m sorry.” She lifts her eyes to mine, soft with compassion. “That can’t be easy.”
“It’s not.” Some nights it’s downright torture. I wouldn’t want her to see me like that. “I try not to rely on prescription drugs. Melatonin helps sometimes. Anyway, I don’t have anything with me… it probably wouldn’t be a good night for either of us.”
“I could try wearing you out.”
I laugh, appreciating her humor. “I’m all for that kind of therapy.”
She kisses me, slow and sincere. “I don’t mean to make light of it.”
“No, you’re not. Making it heavy usually makes it worse.”
Luna goes quiet for a moment. “I wouldn’t want you to suffer through a sleepless night, so what if we just enjoy the rest of the evening—order champagne, take a bubble bath—”
“A bubble bath?” I arch a brow.
“Don’t knock it. I come here for the comfy bed and the massive tub,” she says, combing her fingers through my hair. “Warm water helps with relaxation.”
Smiling lazily, my eyes slip to half-mast at the slow drag of her fingers across my scalp. “Whatever it brings, I’m not about to turn down being naked with you in a tub… or anywhere.”
“I like that answer.” She grins. “You order the champagne, and I’ll run the bath.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re chest-deep in bubbles and sipping champagne. Luna’s hair is piled inside a pink satin shower cap, and we’re sitting face-to-face, her legs straddling mine.
“To the best first—no scratch that,” I say. “To the best date I’ve ever had.”
“It’s better than anything I ever imagined. Thanks for being just what I needed.”
“That goes both ways.”
We tap our glasses across the fragrant bubbles.
“What do you think of the bath?” She cups water in her free hand and pours it over my shoulder.
“The last one I took was when I was eight or nine, I think. With Neo. Not even close.”
“I imagine not.” She laughs.
I love the sound of it—throaty, full, unfiltered. She’s a woman who feels deeply, who lets herself enjoy things, like hotel stays, champagne, and bubble baths.
“What are your plans for the weekend?” I ask.
“Spa treatments tomorrow and Saturday. Lounging in bed with room service and my crossword puzzles. I’ll probably watch movies and FaceTime with my cousin before I head home on Sunday and get down to business.”
“Are you excited about the new opportunity?”
“Very. It’s bigger than anything I’ve done before, so there’s some fear and nerves too. No doubts… okay, maybe some. But I really want this. To make an impact.”
“Sounds important.”
“It is.” She studies me. “What about your new job? How are you feeling about it?”
“The truth?”
“Of course.”
“It’s a step back. That’s hard to get excited about. But at least the work sounds interesting, and the pace will be slower. Healthier.”
“Part of that complicated life you mentioned?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Luna’s fingers idly trace the ink pattern on my forearm. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I shake my head. It’s not that I think she will judge me if she knew what happened—it’s that I still judge myself. So, I give her a partial truth. “I’m trying to keep my focus on moving forward and not looking back.”
“I get that.” She presses a hand to my cheek. “For what it’s worth, a healthy pace and interesting work sounds pretty great. Sometimes the unexpected path turns out to be the best one. I hope it turns out well for you.”
I bring her bubbly hand to my mouth. “I hope the same for you.”
We sit quietly for a moment, suspended in warmth and thought. Another time, under different circumstances, I’d let myself fall for Luna. It would be so easy.
Looking at her, all the if onlys swirl in my mind. Her face is flushed from the heat, and her necklace peeks through the bubbles. I noticed it earlier—a round opal. I reach out, touching the pendant. “Is this your birthstone?”
“Yes, October. But it’s more symbolic than that.”
“What does it symbolize?” I ask.
Her head tilts, her expression shifting—surprise first, then something warm but still careful. “You really want to know?”
“Yes. If you’re willing to share it.”
She takes a small breath. “The first spots appeared when I was seven. They spread slowly for a while. The doctor said it was an autoimmune condition where the immune system destroys melanin cells. That’s what causes the discoloration.
It’s often hereditary, though we don’t know of anyone with it in our family. And there’s no cure.”
My throat tightens. “You don’t look like you need to be cured of anything.”
She smiles softly. “I feel that way now, but I didn’t for a long time. It was rough during my teens. By then, many of the patches were large and noticeable.” She shifts, rippling the water. “My mom died when I was four. So it was just me and my dad.”
“I’m sorry, Luna.” I can’t even imagine that kind of loss. I pull her to me, wrapping my arms around her. I feel her warm breath on my neck and the steady rise and fall of her chest against mine.
“I don’t remember her enough,” she whispers. “I wish I did, but it’s just pieces, fragments.”
I kiss her forehead. “You were so young.”
“I know. But my dad made sure I knew her through pictures and stories. He tried to be both parents for me—always did his best. I love him for that. But there were some things he didn’t know how to help with. Especially once my body started changing.”
She inches away, but we stay close. “I hid my arms with long sleeves, even in the summer. Covered my face, neck, and hands with makeup. I was so self-conscious of people staring. Like I was a freak show or like I was contagious. I don’t even know if that was true, but it became true to me.”
“That’s a lot for a kid to carry.”
“I brought it into adulthood with me, too.” She exhales heavily. “I think that’s why I settled for the wrong men and put up with their shit. I was looking to be loved and accepted anywhere I could find it, even when it wasn’t good for me.”
“You deserve so much better.” Anger bubbles in my chest, wanting to crush every man who has hurt her. “They weren’t worthy of you.”
“I finally figured that out. Therapy helped.” Her fingers curl around the opal.
“After my last doomed relationship ended, I decided I was done. No more losers and users. No more settling. That’s when I stopped covering myself up.
And bought this necklace. An opal moon. Corny maybe…
“She shrugs. “But it reminds me that I can shine just as I am, even through dark or tough times.”
“Not corny at all,” I say, moved by her story. “Is that how you came up with the name Luna?”
“It didn’t feel like a lie because it’s a part of me.”
I nod. Agreeing. I don’t know the name on her birth certificate, but her softness, her strength, the way she owns her light now instead of hiding it, the woman who chased away the darkness I’ve known for the last six months—she’s Luna.
“I already thought you were extraordinary, but you just keep raising the bar.”
“I’m still a work in progress.”
“Hard to improve on perfection.” I slide my mouth over hers, cupping her face.
Our kiss starts slow and tender, deepening with each beat. The water sloshes against the porcelain as we move closer, as close as we can get. The need builds fast, the tub soon feeling too small for what’s pressing between us.
“Shower,” I murmur against her mouth.
She moans, already reaching for the drain. We move carefully, helping each other out, slick skin and quiet laughs.
It’s a damn good thing Luna has a condom at the ready. Steam fills the stall as the water heats. She braces her back against the cool tile, and when she glances up at me, all I see is want and trust.
She lifts her leg around my hip, and gripping beneath her thigh, I slide into her. She’s warm, pliant, clinging to me as if she knows what I already do—this is our last time.
The sounds we make mingle in the air and echo off the tile as we rock together with building urgency.
I can feel her almost there, her moans quickening.
The way she squeezes my sides. Then, with a cry of my name—making me glad I’d given it to her—she comes apart in my arms. Those tight, pulsing tremors milk me so good, one more thrust and they take me with her.
When the moment settles, and our bodies cool under the water, I look into her dazed eyes. Still shaken, still undone, I know I won’t just be leaving Luna—I’ll be leaving a chunk of myself behind.