Broken Hearts (Light in the Dark 5)

I don’t argue with him, because it does feel like that.

He slides two fingers inside me and grins. “You ready for me?”

“You have no idea,” I breathe.

My whole body aches so much it’s almost painful.

He grabs my chin between his thumb and forefinger and slants his lips over mine. He kisses me softly at first, but the fire becomes too much to resist, and the kiss grows deeper. I feel it in the pit of my stomach, in the nerves of my body, and the curve of my heart. I feel him everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. He is me and I am him and we are one.

When he pushes into me, one hand curving around my hip and drawing my leg around his waist, I nearly burst into tears. It’s like my body is finally breathing for the first time since we lost Beckett.

“I love you,” I whisper in the air between us.

“God, I fucking love you too.”

He looks at me like I’m the sun, the moon, the stars—I’m all the beauty and glory in the world. I’m lucky to have a man who looks at me like that, who cherishes me like a precious gift.

But more than that, he’s my best friend.

He’s the one I can confide everything, and I’m an idiot for forgetting that.

Grief makes us blind, and I was losing my mind for it.

Not any more, though.

Here, with him, is where I belong.

Always.

Hours later, we lie in the bed, curled around one another. He holds my hand, his lips occasionally pressing small kisses to my forehead, my shoulder, my cheek.

I lay my head on his shoulder and look up at him, pressing my own kiss to his stubbled jaw.

“I’m sorry I pushed you away.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t chase you down sooner.” He brushes his fingers through my hair—which is a tangled mess thanks to the rain and what transpired after.

I press my lips together. “I kept thinking because Beckett was gone, I wasn’t allowed to be happy, and that was wrong of me. It’s okay to be sad and have my bad moments, but it’s okay to have good ones too—to laugh and smile and joke and love.”

Jace is silent for a moment. “We’re always going to miss him, Nova, but our lives don’t stop because he’s gone. We need to grow together, not apart.”

I nod. “I know that no

w.”

“When you feel sad, or mad, or whatever the fuck it is, talk to me,” he begs.

“I will—and you’ll do the same?”

He looks at me like I’m crazy. “Of course.” He glances at the clock. “We need to go.”

“We do?”

“Yeah, we have a flight out in two hours.”

I laugh. “I guess that means I need to cancel the one I booked for the morning.”

He grins at me. “That’s exactly what you need to do. You’re coming with me.” He cups my butt, driving home his point.