Fall (VIP 3)

“You could.” I trace the shell of his ear, loving the way he shivers. “But what if I wanted babies?”

A light comes into his eyes that I haven’t seen before. It is free and bright and beautiful. “Then, Stella Button, it would be an honor to try and help you make those babies.”

I can’t stop my grin. “You’d really want that? Children? Family life?”

I’m not even sure I want that right now. But I have to know what he’s thinking about us, about the future. He doesn’t seem daunted. He looks happy, hopeful.

John runs his hands up my thighs and holds my hips. “I want everything with you, Stells. Everything and anything. You want kids, we’ll have kids. If you don’t, then we’ll have each other alone. That we are together is what matters.” His grip tightens. “That is my dream. You and me. It’s what gives me peace.”

Hot tears well in my eyes, and John thumbs them away as they roll down my cheeks. I’m a mess with him.

“I want that too,” I say. “Buying me a house is a beautiful, if somewhat shocking gesture.”

He laughs low and soft, only now appearing the slightest bit chagrined.

I lean in closer, touching his jaw. “But it’s not a home if you aren’t with me.”

John presses his forehead against mine. “I love you, Stella. I don’t want to go through this life without you. Please believe that. Please believe that I’ll try to do better. I’ll try to—”

I kiss him quiet. It’s a soft kiss, a press of lips to lips, but John groans deep in his throat and takes over, grasping the back of my neck to hold me in place as his mouth opens over mine. I don’t think I’ll ever get over how good it is to kiss him. The visceral punch I feel through my body still takes my breath.

With one last kiss, John cups my cheeks and meets my gaze, his eyes tender and wide. “We’re going to be okay.”

It isn’t a question, but I answer anyway. “Of course we are. We’re going to be forever.”