them.”
Oh, yes, I do.
We get to my bedroom without further injury, and he places me in front of him. The moonlight shines through the windows, illuminating the planes of his face. My fingers lift, rubbing the stubble on his cheek. Slowly, my hand drifts to the other side, memorizing his features. The tip of my finger touches the small beauty mark under his left eye and then to the faint dimple on the right before moving across his lips.
I meet his gaze, and it feels like a thousand words pass between us. So many questions, promises, and worries, but I put my arms around him. I hope that, while we’re wrapped up in each other’s arms, we’ll find the answers.
“I know you’ve been hurt, but I won’t hurt you, Heather. I want to be the guy you can count on. I’m not sure how to make this work. But I’m not going to let you go. Not without one hell of a fight.”
“I worry about tomorrow,” I confess.
Eli brushes the hair off my face and kisses my lips. “We can’t worry about tomorrow, we can only own tonight. And tonight, I’m going to make sure you never forget how good we are. When you want to run away, I want this to be what you remember.”
I don’t doubt I’ll ever forget those words. There’s moments in my life that I’ve cherished, and this will be one of them. The way he looks at me eradicates all the doubts I’ve held onto. The tenderness in his touch extinguishes the fears of our future together.
Even if this is the last night we ever share, I’ll never regret it.
“I don’t want to run anymore.” My words are filled with honesty.
“I won’t let you.”
I hold his face in my hands, bring our lips together, and kiss him. Eli takes control, brushing his tongue against mine. Both our breaths are heavy as we drink each other in. This man can kiss like no other.
Eli pushes me to my back, and my heart takes off in a gallop. I watch his hands move from my hips, up my chest, and then he removes my shirt. “You’re the most beautiful thing in the world,” he comments while looking down at me.
My nerves bubble up, but the look in his eyes stop them. There’s no mistaking the passion there, but under that layer is so much honesty, it knocks the wind out of me. “The way you look at me . . .” I mutter.
“Is the way you make me feel,” Eli finishes my half statement.
Every thought in my mind is gone. I can’t hold on to anything long enough for it to make sense. The only thing I know is that I need him. I need to touch him and make him feel everything I’m feeling.
“Kiss me,” I request.
He doesn’t make me wait, his mouth is on mine in an instant. His hand cups my cheek, providing the tenderness to offset the force of his lips. I try to pull his shirt off, needing the skin-to-skin connection, but I can’t remove it.
Eli does that guy move where he reaches behind his back and pulls his shirt off in one move. God he’s sexy. I love watching the muscles tense as my fingers explore him.
I stare at the ink I’ve come to love so much. The arrows on the inside of his bicep, the words on his hip and his arm, the cross on his shoulder, and wanting to see the birds on his back. My hands glide across the one that goes from his side down over his hip. “Tell me about this one,” my voice is soft.
“It’s to remind me that I don’t have a right to judge anyone. To each his own.”
“And the birds?”
Eli moves my hair from my forehead and hesitates. “To remind me that even though I feel caged, I’m free.”
A part of my heart breaks at the sullen tone in his voice. “Do you feel caged?”
“Not when I’m with you.”
“I’m glad.” I move my fingers higher, loving that he allows me to touch him freely. “This one?” I graze along his shoulder following the shape of the cross.
“Perspective.”
I regard him with bewilderment. I definitely didn’t expect that answer, and I’m not sure what it means.
Eli seems to sense my confusion, and he gently brushes his nose against mine. “When things in life get hard to deal with, it’s easy to be angry, blame others, and forget all the good. Each day I