better version of myself than I’d ever hoped to be again.
I’d given up. I hadn’t even admitted to myself that I was going to find Anna’s killer and then wither away, or maybe more proactively, give up. I just kind of figured when I did find the man, that’d be the end of me, and I had accepted that fate. But I have a reason to live, to be, to continue this existence with Carly by my side.
Her eyes meet mine, and she cups my face. “Are you sure, Kyle? I love you. I can wait if you’re not sure.”
I haven’t even told her what I’m intending to do to her, but she can feel my intentions. Can feel that I’m all-in. With her.
I lie on top of her, pinning her with my weight so she feels the heaviness of my plans, of my very soul. “You’re not the future I’d planned, but you’re the one I want with my entire soul. I will always love Anna and our baby, but I love you too.”
Carly’s smile is bittersweet as she strokes my tired, scruffy face. “I don’t begrudge her place in your heart. I’m not jealous. In a weird way, she brought us together. I wish you’d never had to experience the pain of losing her, but I promise to do whatever I can to make your future beautiful and crazy.”
“Just like you,” I reply with a small smile, “beautiful and crazy.”
I kiss her. There’s no need for words anymore. In this moment, there is only us. I’m choosing her, choosing us, and she’s doing the same.
Fully.
Openly.
Powerfully.
Our passion ignites in an instant, all the weeks of barely-held restraint rushing in on me, and I yank and pull her clothes off.
“Careful of your arm,” she groans, but she’s helping me get us naked too.
“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” I tell her reverently, taking in her lush curves and the tawny rose nipples already peaked up for me. For weeks, I’ve studied the way her body moves with feline grace, but now she’s even better than I imagined.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she says with a wink and a laugh in her voice.
I nip her breast, and she shrieks, arching under me. I like that she makes me lighter, that even in a moment like this, with her, there’s always a laugh just beneath her surface.
I want to tease them free, listen to her joy every moment of every day.
But as I suck deeply, drawing more of her nipple into my mouth, she moans. And I think I want to pull more of those sounds from her too.
I switch to the other breast, tasting and taking and marking her pale skin. “Fuck, Kyle. God, I’ve wanted you. Please . . .”
I don’t think this girl has ever begged for anything a day in her life, and that she would plead for me is an honor I cherish deeply. And a responsibility I take gladly.
I should take this slow, but I can’t. Too much has happened. I’ve waited too long for her, fighting back against the inevitable. I need her now.
I tease my head along her slit, reveling in the slick evidence of her desire as it coats me, preparing me for her. “You have no idea how many times I’ve imagined fucking you, how many positions I’ve dreamed of bending this sexy body every which way so I can get at your sweet pussy.”
“Mmm, challenge accepted. Though my fantasies tend toward you holding me up against walls with those tree trunks you call arms,” she says, every word a breathy half-moan. I make a note to do that next time, because there’s going to be a next time.
Lots of them.
I lift up from her, looking down at my cock, where it’s just edging into her, wanting to sear this moment into my memory for all time. Her hips buck, trying to suck me in.
“Look at that pretty pussy, so hungry for me.”
I move my hands, pinning her hips down and feeding her a slow inch at a time.
Her whimper brings my eyes to her face, and our gazes lock, both of us groaning at the sensation of her velvet walls opening for me. I’ve had sex, I’ve made love, and I’ve fucked before. And this is . . . us making vows with our bodies. Committing in a way that means more than just a physical connection.
Fully seated inside her, I whisper her name, “Carly.”