I spent my childhood bartering my body for the love of another when this whole time she’s had unconditional love for me. She held it, guarded it, and offered it when she finally could. And for that I owe her everything I have to give.
“Gia, baby”—I release her hips, feeling her soft skin as I move up the curves of her body—“give me all of you.” I pull her in for a long, deep kiss. My head lifts off the bed, pushing toward her while tugging her closer. Our hips surge together in a frantic chase.
Her neck arches back and she rips her lips from mine. My name falls from her lips seconds before the orgasm slides through her body. I pull my lip between my teeth. My head is light with euphoria as my body and soul climax together.
A torrent of memories hit me at once: the first time I felt her skin and the tender brush of her lips, her easy smile that would make my chest ache, and her body, lying broken and alone.
I almost lost her.
I could’ve lost this.
I roll on top of her, and she welcomes my weight with a sigh. Seconds after my orgasm, I’m not only still hard but hungry for more.
And only then do I notice I’m not sick, not even a little. My gut that’s usually cramping is warm and tingles with satisfaction.
At peace.
Cured.
I bury my face into her neck and fight back the urge to thank her, worship her, and devote the rest of my life and everything I have to making her happy.
Twenty-eight
Inhospitable, my soul.
No life or love can thrive.
But your belief in me
Is what keeps me alive.
--Ataxia
Gia
I didn’t know until now, wasn’t sure who I was or who I’d end up being in a year’s time. But now I know.
I’m Gia.
Rex’s Gia, new and improved.
My body and mind are soothed by our lovemaking; a slow grin spreads across my face. His weight is heavy between my legs, crushing against my chest, and I’m lighter than I’ve ever felt. What we did had nothing to do with the past, but paved the way to our future.
I only hope he feels the same. “Everything okay?”
He kisses my throat, my jaw, and then my lips. “Perfect.” Pushing up, he moves to separate our bodies.
My legs lock around his hips. “Not yet.”
His pierced eyebrow lifts and he smirks. That, combined with his mussed-up hair and piercing blue eyes, stirs a delicious ache in my belly. “Don’t you worry, baby. I’m far from through with you.”
I roll my lips between my teeth to avoid an all-out grin. Never thought I’d hear those words from his mouth, and even more fascinating is that I believe him.
“Let me ditch this condom and order some takeout.” He kisses the tip of my nose. “You haven’t eaten anything since we left Denver. You need to get something down every two hours if you can.”
He kisses down my throat to my chest, severing our connection as he trails his lips all the way to my belly button. A few passes of his mouth and he breathes in deep against my skin before pushing up off the bed.
I watch in awe as his powerful frame, covered in vibrant tattoos, moves across the space to the bathroom. It’s not lost on me how far he’s come since I left, and I wonder how he got here. Is it possible that his past coming back to him may have helped in his recovery?
“I wanted to ask you,” he says from the bathroom before walking back out completely naked and unashamed.
My eyes rake over him, taking in all his piercings including the new one. I lick my lips, remembering the feel of the metal in the back of my throat, the combination of his taste and the metallic taste of his barbell.
“Eyes up here, baby.” He’s standing by the bed, and there’s humor in his voice rather than the usual strain that would accompany anything sexual. It’s so different from before.
My eyes slide up his rippled abs to his chest and sober when I study the three letters tattooed on his pec: Mom.
“So, as I was saying, I was thinking you might want to hit the gym with me a few times a week, put some muscles back on that fine ass body of yours.”
My gaze darts from his chest to his eyes. They’re shining with happiness and love, all the things I hoped I could bring to his life and finally have.
But there’s still one thing he doesn’t know.
“Well?” He snags his pants off the floor and pulls his phone from the pocket. With one knee on the bed, he climbs in next to me. “What do you think?”
I curl into his side and rest my cheek against his chest. “Oh, yeah, I think that’s smart.”
He chuckles, scrolling through his phone contact list. “Smart?”
“A good idea. I meant a good idea.”
He hits the button to call for Chinese food, and his fingers sift through my hair. “You sure you’re all right? You seem, I don’t know, preoccupied.”
Preoccupied? Or absolutely terrified?
The last time Rex and I had sex he found out the truth of his past and wanted nothing to do with me. And here I have to tell him the one thing I’ve been keeping from him that has the potential to ruin everything we’ve built over these last couple days.