I hear his words, but I still worry. I want our life together to be amazing. I want him to follow his dreams. I want to not live in fear of our enemies coming after us. I don’t want to worry that Enrico or his men are hiding behind every corner.
“Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Stop worrying. We have each other. Nothing else matters.”
“I just want you to have more than just me. I want you to live out your dreams.”
He dips me back in his arms as his lips hover over me. “You’re my dream, Nina. All I want is you and our future together.”
He lowers his lips to mine and kisses me. Butterflies form in my stomach and my heart beats wildly as his tongue pushes deep into my mouth. Every kiss does this to me. A year of kisses has done nothing but make me fall more in love with him. If I was uncertain of which man I loved before, now I know. No other man makes me feel like Arlo does. My love for him is more than an obsession. This is what love feels like.
His lips leave mine and our eyes meet. Dirty thoughts read across his eyes.
I bite my lip. I never get tired of sex with Arlo. No amount of sex ever fully satisfies us. We both need more. Constantly. In some ways, it’s probably a good thing that we spend our whole life together just living like we are on vacation because I don’t think either of us could hold down a job.
“Care for a midnight swim?” he asks.
I don’t know why he asks. He already knows my answer. Probably to make up for all of his controlling behavior before. Now the only time he gets to control me is during sex. And even then, only when I let him.
I nod.
He lifts me into his arms as he runs down the beach to the ocean. I kiss his neck as I anticipate what he’s going to do. Sex with him is never the same. I’m never prepared for how far he takes me or what he’s going to do. He always takes me right to my limit when it comes to what I’m comfortable with without ever going over what I can handle. He knows my body better than I know myself.
I stare into his eyes trying to guess what kind of mood he’s in as he carries me into the cool water.
I squeal as the water hits my toes and Arlo laughs, splashing more water on me as he carries me deeper into the water. He’s definitely in a playful, happy mood tonight.
I wrap my arms around his neck as he dunks us both into the water. I immediately try to swim toward the surface to get some of my body out of the cool water and to breathe again.
Arlo holds me under.
I try to remain calm even though I didn’t take much of a breath before he pulled me under. But the seconds pass and I feel my chest aching for a breath.
I can’t breathe.
I try to swim toward the surface but Arlo’s arms hold me down under the water.
I panic.
I fight his arms trying to let him know that I need a breath now but he only holds onto me harder.
I open my eyes pleading with him for a breath. When I see his eyes staring at me though I immediately relax. He moves forward and places his lips over mine giving me a breath.
His eyes tell me to trust him. That he will never hurt me.
I love you, I mouth.
He grins and then his mouth moves down my body as he pulls my nightgown off over my head. His lips take my nipple into my mouth as he continues to hold me under the water.
I gasp, releasing some of the air he gave me leaving me little left.
But my body doesn’t pani
c. I trust him completely. He knows when I need air and when I don’t. And his lips on my body when he’s in complete control makes everything more intense.
He pushes us up toward the surface just before I feel my air running out.