It wouldn’t be fair, because like any story, there is a beginning, a middle, and an end.
You know our beginning.
You’re about to know our middle.
And our end…well, that’s not finished yet, so you’ll have to be patient.
What I can give you are incidents.
Five incidents that are crucial to this tale.
Just like I teased you with the four times Ren and I were apart, this time…there are moments.
Wonderful moments.
Horrible moments.
Moments that make up a life.
Five of them.
One, two, three, four, five.
Some I loved.
Some I hated.
One that hasn’t happened yet.
My advice?
Watch out for them.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
DELLA
* * * * * *
2018
“STOP,” I COMMANDED, slipping from the tent and stretching out the kinks in my spine. My entire body felt used and abused and oh-so-delicious.
Sex was my new favourite activity.
And I wanted a second round immediately.
But first…there was something that’d been bugging me since I saw Ren bathe in the river that first night.
“Why?” Ren turned to face me, his t-shirt dangling in his hands, low-slung cargo shorts already hiding the parts of him I wanted to explore. “What’s happened?”
Padding barefoot toward him, I ran my fingers along the visible ribs interrupting the perfect shadows of strong stomach muscles. “I’ve wanted to ask you for the past week. When did you lose all this weight?” My heart clenched, suddenly terrified. “You’re not sick, are you?”
He cupped my chin softly, his gaze molten caramel mixed with coffee. “No, I’m not sick.” His hair was longer, teasing his forehead with sable bronze thanks to summer turning the strands light.
I could stare at his perfect face with its strong nose, powerful jaw, and thick eyelashes for an eternity and still find things to love about it. “Then why can I see your ribs?”
“Because I didn’t exactly have an appetite when I left you.”
I accepted his fleeting kiss before he let me go to sling his black t-shirt over his head, hiding the skinniness that wasn’t there before. To be fair, he hadn’t eaten as much as he normally did these days. I’d put it down to the sexual tension between us and the fact that my own belly was tied up with string.
But I didn’t like seeing Ren skinny. I didn’t like feeling as if I hadn’t taken adequate care of him.
Following him as he wandered around camp, I asked, “You’re saying you didn’t eat the entire time we were apart?”
“I’m saying love was cruel, and my mind fixated on other things.” He stopped and faced me. “I didn’t want food, Della. I wanted you.”
My skin burned with pleasure.
I knew it shouldn’t, but in a way, that made me feel better. I hadn’t forgiven him yet for leaving me, or for stalking me for months and not letting me know he was back in our apartment.
Three months we wasted.
Three long, horrible months where I lived unhappily with David, unable to stop the sensation that Ren was close by, all while he crashed in our apartment alone.
“Is it bad if I say you deserved it?”
He chuckled, running his hands through his hair. “Is it wrong that I love hearing you say that?”
“Say that I’m glad you suffered?”
“I deserved to suffer.” He gave me a rueful smile. “I made you suffer by breaking my promise and leaving.”
“We both know why you did.”
“Yes, and I was selfish. I was only thinking of myself. I didn’t know how to deal with what I felt for you, and I was weak enough to run.” He coughed a little then gathered me in a hug filled with electricity and desire.
His soft lips pressed a kiss to my hairline. “Never again, Little Ribbon. You’re stuck with me.”
“And you’re stuck with me.” My smile faltered a little—just a flicker—but enough for Ren to frown.
“You okay?”
“Yes, just…you’re okay, right? You’re happy and healthy and you’ll put on weight again and stop that little cough you do sometimes?”
He grinned. “I love it when you care.”
I swatted him. “I care all the time.”
He nodded, falling serious. “Look, I had the flu while we were apart and I haven’t fully shaken the cough, that’s all. And as for putting on weight, I’ve already filled out. You make my appetite come back because I need all the energy I can to keep you satisfied.”
My cheeks pinked. “You kept me satisfied well enough last night.”
His chocolate gaze turned dark and rich. “You too.” He licked his lips. “Last night was…” He sighed with a little huff of indescribable bliss. It made my stomach flutter and heart leap for joy. “It was amazing, Della.”
He kissed me again, distracting me from another niggling question.
He noticed, nipping my bottom lip before pulling away with a resigned look. “Something else?”
“Umm…” I shrugged. “I need to ask you something.”
His frown spread. “Ask me.”
“I know we’re both surviving on no sleep with no small amount of shock for what we’ve done but…”