30. Archer #3
I’m not complaining in the slightest. I have no problem ending the year early if it means I’m doing so with her taste on my tongue and her so thoroughly wrung out on pleasure that she’s asleep by nine.
I unscrew the lid on the body butter as Allie turns on her side, holding her abdomen, watching me with reverent allure.
I scoop a dollop of lotion onto my fingers before rubbing it between my palms. First, I gently rub the shea butter into her belly, before moving down her legs, massaging her thighs and calves, then reaching her feet.
As I’m kneading her arch and she lets out a groan, I laugh. “My parents are having a small get together at their house tonight. I think just with August and Elena, and my grandparents. If you wanted to go by?”
“Am I such a loser if I say I just want to stay in tonight? This baby is killing my social reputation,” she murmurs, holding her stomach. “But honestly…I don’t feel like getting out of bed.”
I laugh again. “No, Amor. You’re not a loser.
We can stay in.” I finish rubbing her feet, pressing a kiss to her pink painted toes before crawling up to lie beside her.
I prop my head in my hand as I lean on my elbow, spreading my palm across her belly next to hers.
“I think Elena and August want to come by sometime this week to say hi, though. I haven’t seen them since they got back from Iceland. ”
“Iceland.” She sighs. “That sounds incredible.”
I nod. “Yeah. It was on Elena’s bucket list to see the Northern Lights, so August surprised her with a trip for Christmas.”
“That must be nice. Rich and childless. You can do anything you want.”
“Allie, if you wanna see the Northern Lights, I’ll take you to the Northern Lights, and we’ll bring our girl right along with us. We can still do anything we want.”
Her eyes lift to mine, sparkling with allure. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“I know you will, Amor.”
She exhales, rustling against the pillows, a satisfied smile on her sleepy face. “What even is it?” she ponders. “The aurora borealis.”
“It’s when solar wind—the sun—collides with the Earth’s atmosphere,” I say, remembering the topic from an astronomy course I took a few years ago.
“Solar particles interact with the Earth’s magnetic field, emitting the bright colors in the upper atmosphere.
Sometimes called an Earth-sun connection. ”
“Hmm.” She muses, a soft smile ticking at her lips. “I think we’re kind of like that. We have a magnetic field.”
“Yeah,” I whisper, brushing the hair from her forehead and tucking it behind her ear.
In the faint warm glow of the room, the dusting of freckles over her golden cheeks are faintly visible.
I’d easily spend the rest of the night—the rest of my life—kissing every one of them.
“We’re like magnets, and you’re like my sun. ”
“That’s funny.” She laughs, closing her eyes. “I always think you’re like my atmosphere. I just breathe better when you’re around.”
“Maybe when we mix together, we create an aurora.”
She gasps, dark eyes blowing saucer wide. Allie raises on her elbow, an astonished smile spreading over her pretty mouth as the realization of what I’ve said dawns on us both. A stunned laugh leaves her lips, and I match it with a burst of my own.
“Did you just name our daughter?” she asks in awe.
“I think I did.” I cup her face, voice rough with emotion when I whisper, “I think it goes great with Evans. Or Ramos. Or both.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” I draw her to me, dropping my mouth to hers. “And I’ll support whatever decision you make, but I do think it’s going to be real silly when our kid has a different last name than the two of us.”
Allie’s head falls back, melodic laughter floating from her mouth. “Are you making me promises?”
“I made you promises long ago, Amor. Now, I intend on showing you how I plan on keeping them.”
And when I kiss her, it’s like the very first time.
I melt into her touch and taste—I’m unraveled by her lips. She’s soft and fluid and graceful—she’s home, and I’ve been away far too long.
Her hands knot in the fabric of my tee, right over my galloping heart. I’m sure she can feel the thundering of my chest as she slips her tongue through my teeth, tasting me completely—owning me wholly.
I wanted to kiss her the other night, and she wouldn’t let me.
No moment has felt right since then. Until now.
I couldn’t wait a second longer. I couldn’t love her more.
I couldn’t be more sure of anything in life than the simple fact that I was created with Allie in mind.
I was made to love her, and if I accomplish nothing else in my existence, I’ll have achieved everything I’ve ever dreamed of.
I belong to her. Them. To my Allie and our Aurora.
I’d hoped to steal her lips at midnight, or as close to it as I could get before she fell asleep. A kiss reminiscent of those promises we’d made on New Year’s Eve so many years ago.
This kiss is a promise too, a new kind of permanency that I’ll never again let slip from my grasp.