can feel his nervousness through his touch. “I felt empty. I felt hollow. I felt nothing.” I swallow instead of saying anything. I don’t think I could say anything, to be honest. “Every single day, I would wait for something to happen. I would wake, hoping that today I would feel something, but nothing came.” His forehead goes down to mine. “My heart started beating again when I saw you just now. It’s as if I was brought back to life.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I answer honestly.
“Let me stay,” he says. “Let me stay and prove to you that I will put you first every single time. Let me stay and show you what you mean to me.” His voice dips low. “Please, Becca.”
“I know how you feel,” I finally say, trying to say the words without my voice shaking, but I fail miserably. “I’ve been here in paradise,” I say. “Waking every day, hoping the pain stops. I wake every single day, hoping you will be here, and this will all be a terrible nightmare.” I lick my lips, the tears flowing like a river downstream. “Every single day.” My voice cracks.
“Becca.” I know he wants to kiss me, but he’s stopping because he’s waiting for me to make the move. Making sure I’m okay with all of this. “I’m not going anywhere, not this time. Not ever.” There is so much to talk about, so much to discuss, but all that slips my mind when I take one step forward, closing the little distance between us.
“Nico,” I say his name again, but all the words are gone except for the next two words. “Kiss me.”
I don’t even finish the last word before his lips crash on mine. His other hand comes up to my face the same time his tongue slips into my mouth. In all of my dreams, there is always him kissing me. In all of my dreams, I feel his hands on me. But nothing and I mean nothing could compare to this kiss.
My arms go around his neck as I push my body into his. We both moan into each other’s mouth. “Nico,” I say breathlessly, letting go of his lips. My inner body groans. His hands fall from my face. “Come with me.” I hold out my hand to him, and he grabs it, his fingers slipping into mine.
“We have so much to talk about,” I say as I lead him back to my bedroom. “There is just so much.”
“How many people are staying here?” he asks, looking up at the massive house, and I laugh.
“It’s just us,” I say as I walk toward my bedroom. Slipping off the path into my bedroom, the cold air hits me right away. “Welcome,” I say.
I don’t say anything because he grabs me, his mouth coming back to mine. “Later,” he says, taking his mouth off mine. “I’m going to enjoy this bikini more,” he says. “But for now, I just want to make love to you.”
I smile at him. “Then what are you waiting for?” I say, and he grabs me around the waist. The kiss is soft and slow, as he walks me backward toward the bed.
He picks me up at my waist and lays me on the middle of the bed. He looks down at me. “I’ve prayed for this moment since you left,” he says, pulling off his T-shirt. “I would have made deals with the devil to get you back,” he says, and I know the feeling. I know all of this because I would have done the same. I would have given everything I had to go back to the last time I was with him. I would have given everything just for one more minute with him.
He comes down on me, and my legs wrap around his waist as he kisses my neck, sucking in softly. My eyes close as my back arches up when he switches sides. “Nico,” I whisper, my nails scratching down his back. His tongue trails up to my mouth, my tongue coming out to meet his. He gets up on his knees, his hand going to my chest right on top of my beating heart.
“You own me,” he says, looking into my eyes. “Every single piece of me is yours.” He unbuttons his pants with his one free hand. “I’m yours.”
I move my hands to my hips and the two little bows keeping my bikini bottoms intact. I untie them and my