that, I have to close the door on my past with Stella.
Lily wrapped up her job in New York City and moved back to Michigan. She currently works part-time for a small magazine out of Ann Arbor, located only a few blocks from my office. She likes it, but it is just something to keep her busy. I truly feel that Lily is going to be very successful with her independent photography company. She has already had some photo shoots this last fall with families and a couple of brides. Her client list is growing, and I think it will continue to do so. She has a gift when it comes to capturing the emotions of the clients in her photos. Whatever she ends up doing, I just want her to always be happy.
We found this house together, and it could quite possibly be the home we’ll live in for the rest of our lives. It’s perfect. Located twenty minutes out of the city, it rests on five acres of land. The house has a large deck out back that looks over a small lake. It isn’t Lake Michigan, but it’s ours. I can envision our kids swimming in the lake in the future, and the thought makes me happy. Our property is home to hundreds of tall oak trees, and that too brings a smile to my face. We found our little piece of heaven on earth. Of course, anywhere would be heaven as long as I had Lily by my side.
I lightly pat Lily on the leg. “Come on. Let’s just get all the boxes delivered to the correct rooms, and then we’ll call it a day. We can start putting things away tomorrow.”
“What about the bed?”
“I’ll start putting the bed together now. No worries, Little Love. You will have proper sleeping arrangements.”
She giggles. “Good.”
“Getting the bed ready and dispersing all these boxes shouldn’t take more than an hour. How about when we’re done, we lay a blanket out on the floor, order pizza, open a bottle of wine, and have a celebratory picnic?”
Lily perks up. “Oh, that sounds great.”
“I know. Too bad it isn’t warmer outside. We could have had the picnic on the deck at sunset,” I say as I think back to a similar picnic we had at my parents’ lake house the night that Lily and I made love for the first time.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asks with a grin.
“If you’re thinking about the time we had a similar picnic and ended up in bed, having all sorts of amazing firsts, then yes.” I smile.
“You know me too well, Jax Porter.”
“I know and love everything about you, Lily Madison, and if you’re lucky, we might get to reenact some of that evening tonight,” I say teasingly.
Lily laughs out loud, throwing her head back into the sofa. “If I’m lucky? More like, if you’re lucky, mister.”
I twist to the side, taking Lily’s wrists in my hands, and I lift her, tossing her back so that she is lying on the sofa, facing up. I place my knees on either side of her hips and straddle her.
Leaning down until our faces are inches apart, I say, “If I’m lucky?”
Her voice is airy when she speaks, “Yes. Don’t think I’m just going to give it up because you say the word.”
“No?”
Her lips press into a line, and her eyes are wide as she shakes her head.
“Hmm…that’s too bad,” I whisper against the nape of her neck.
I place light kisses along her neck, working up to her ear. I can feel the goose bumps erupting from Lily’s skin beneath my lips. Using my lips, I tug gently on Lily’s earlobe, and a quiet moan escapes her mouth. I pepper kisses from her ear to her mouth. She opens for me, and my tongue enters.
Nothing will ever be as magical as the feeling I get when I’m connected to Lily—whether we are joined through a kiss or we are making love. When our bodies unite, it is an indescribable sensation, a bond so intense that it sets every nerve ending on fire. I’ve never felt anything like it. It could simply be our amazing chemistry. It could also be our souls coming together as one. Whatever it is, it’s fucking perfection, and I will go to great lengths to hold on to it forever.
After several minutes of bliss, I pull my mouth from Lily’s. She opens her eyes, her pupils dilated.
“Don’t stop,” she whispers dreamily.
“No?” I