I pull the box from my pocket. Her mouth opens, forming a small oval of surprise .
“Is that for me ?”
“Of course it’s for you. Open it,” I suggest, holding it out toward her .
She carefully sets the dessert bowl down, reaching out with trembling fingers to take the box from my hand. When her skin brushes against mine, I feel that spark all over again, that electric tingling. My mind is flooded with images of her in my bed, images of her wanting me, the desire plain in her eyes .
I need to see that again .
She sucks h
er breath in through her open mouth as she unwraps the package, slowly opening the box .
“Ethan… it’s beautiful !”
“No, you’re beautiful,” I correct her. “This is just a piece of jewelry. Sapphire is your birthstone if I’m not mistaken .”
She looks up at me with tears in her eyes, blinking stubbornly. She’s trying to hold back, I can tell .
“Will you put it on me?” she asks in a timid voice, twisting to face away from me. The sight of the bare back of her neck makes my heart ache. Swallowing hard, I take the pendant from her fingers and reach toward the front of her, fastening the tiny clasp against her soft, downy skin. As she releases her hair, the scent of it wafts over me .
“You’re almost twenty-three now,” I murmur. “The world is your oyster, Ava. Never forget that .”
She turns back to me, smiling, so close that I can smell the sugar on her breath. She leans forward .
“The world is my oyster,” she repeats in a whisper. The wide blue eyes focus on mine, so trusting and accepting again. I feel the connection between us reignite, sparking so vividly that I can almost see it in the air .
“Thank you,” she murmurs. Her hands drift toward my face, stroking my cheek as she leans toward me, pushing herself up on her knees to kiss me. The moment our lips touch, I’m throbbing with desire for her, starving for her taste, desperate to touch her .
We undress slowly, deliberately, relishing every moment of reconnection. It feels like a lifetime since I held her, and she feels the same, but also different. More solid. More real. I feel like the connection between us goes deeper than it did before, weaving through me like a thread .
As I lay her down on the sofa, she locks her ankles behind my hips, pulling me closer, flexing her thighs. “Oh how much I wanted you, Ethan!” she groans. “I need you… I want you inside me so much !”
I almost come, just hearing her say the words. She’s never been so vocal before, always so timid. But here she is now, begging me .
“Say you want it again,” I groan, lining myself up in front of her, pushing her skirt up over her thighs. She is so wet, she has soaked through the white satin panties that cover her beautiful, pale sex .
“I want it,” she sighs luxuriously, arching her back. “I want it so much. I want you inside me, please! Right now !”
“Yes, baby,” I moan, plunging to her middle all at once. We rock together, deliberately, forcefully. She moves her hips in determined circles, taking all of me, swirling me inside her. We come together, crying out at once, filling the room with our sounds .
She shudders against me, gripping me to her with her legs and arms, clasping around my cock and milking it dry. I feel like I’m falling into her, utterly depleted, completely satisfied .
I don’t know when we fell asleep. We never even got to open the bottle of wine. I dreamt that she was underneath me, cradled in my arms, sighing and moaning. But in the morning when I wake up, she’s gone. I’m still sticky, tangled up in my discarded trousers, my T-shirt. I walk around the apartment for a moment, thinking that she might be in the shower, but she’s gone. Really gone .
I’m not sure what to think. I know I felt that connection. She must have felt it too. Then why leave ?
Maybe I’ve misunderstood just how much our parents’ feud means to her. Would she really just discard our connection over their long-ago disagreement ?
For a moment, I let myself believe she was on her way back into my life. And for a moment, I felt hope about a future I didn’t know I wanted .
But she doesn’t want it, obviously, I remind myself cruelly. How many times is she going to have to tell you that before you get it through your thick skull ?
Chapter 36
AVA
“S o this is your new apartment? All this ?”