So many consequences and scenarios that could still happen.
So many fucking choices that could be right or wrong.
Unable to help myself, I reached over and caressed the side of her face. She leaned into my embrace like she had been waiting for me to do so since the second I walked out there with her.
Her eyes closed, melting into my touch.
One thing I was sure of in this second, her guard was slowly coming down. Three days had passed since our bike adventure. She was beginning to realize when I was with her, there was nowhere else I wanted to be.
“Tristian…”
My heart sped up, hearing my name roll off her tongue.
The smell and feel of her was all around me, making me burn with desire to claim every last inch of her heart, body, and soul. I wanted to capture this moment and hold onto it for as long as I could. I wanted to remember her just like this.
For me.
Mine.
“Why aren’t you in my bed? I don’t like to wake up alone.”
Her eyes snapped open with so much emotion it almost knocked me on my ass.
“When I wake up in your arms, I forget where I am in time. It’s like I’m right back to being that sixteen-year-old girl.”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
“We can’t live in the past.”
“Then be in the moment with me.”
“I’m trying to be.”
Her breathing hitched when my thumb pulled on her bottom lip. My hand suddenly moved to grip the back of her neck and bring her toward me.
“You make me laugh, smile, and feel like I’m living again,” I confessed, needing her to hear the truths I’d been living with. “You make me want to be a better man. Do you have any idea how much you affect me? From your eyes, to your ridiculous fucking giggle, to the way you calm me. You fill this void, a hole in my heart that existed after my parents died. No one has ever been able to come close to how I feel when you’re in my arms.” I paused to let my words sink in. “For years I tried to break that hold you've always had over me, but I couldn’t. And the truth is, kitten, I didn't want to let it go. I didn't want to let you go. Because at the end of the day, I got to know what it felt like to be in love with you, and I wouldn’t change that for anything.”
Her lips parted to say something.
“I’m taking you on a date today.”
“Tristi—”
“I’m not asking you. I’m telling you.”
Before she could reply, I kissed her. I devoured her, beckoning her lips to open for me. She released a soft moan as my tongue slid into her mouth.
I’d always been a man of few words. To me, actions always spoke much louder and clearer than any sentence ever could. Yet there I was, laying it all out for her.
Word by word.
Sentence by sentence.
Making my thoughts and emotions known.
Slowly easing back, I added, “Go get dressed. Wear something white for me, and pack your bikini.” I pecked her mouth one last time before releasing her.
She smiled and ran inside.