“He bought my daughter a sandbox.”
That’s all it took for him to swoop me into his arms. In a blur, he had the bedroom door closed with my back pressed against it, my body pinned between him and the cool wood behind me. He covered my mouth with his and rolled his hips into mine.
“Say it. I need to hear you say it, Jade.”
“I love you.” My words were nothing but breathless pants of air.
He didn’t let me say anything else. His mouth took mine, his tongue parting my lips. In an instant, I was spun around. I tightened my legs around his waist, my ankles locked behind his back, and the next thing I knew, I was on the mattress with his body covering mine.
“Is this real?” he asked, gently kissing my neck.
“I’m not sure. But if it’s not, I don’t ever want to live in the real world.”
His hands slid up my body, beneath my shirt. Then it was off, and I lay in front of him in nothing but panties. His hands and mouth explored every inch of skin, as if memorizing every curve, every scar, every mark. When he made it to the soft spot beneath my bellybutton, just above the lacy fabric around my hips, he paused and glanced up at me.
“You’re here for good, right? You’re not leaving on Monday? You’re not packing your bags and taking Aria away from me? You’re mine? Tell me…please.” His desperation came out in panting breaths, begging for the words he needed to hear.
I ran my fingers through his thick hair and smiled. “I’m not going anywhere, Cash. I love you more than words can say.” And just like that, he pulled himself up my body and returned my love with his lips.
Cash and I connected in a way I never thought possible. His sentiments of love flooded my ears while his fingertips dug into my hips. It was an intense mixture of slow and hard, care and desperation. The rougher his movements became, the higher my euphoria rose, until I dangled off the cliff with only his hands holding onto me.
“Are you with me?” His throaty question grazed my neck, his breath scorching my skin. Then he pressed his forehead to mine and said, “Open your eyes, babe. Look at me. Be in this with me. I need to know you’re here.”
“I am here,” I argued, yet I still did as he said. He slowed the pace of his thrusts and searched my eyes for something. “What do you need, Cash? What do you need from me?”
“I need to know you’re not thinking about anything other than you and me.”
I smiled and said, “It’s just me and you. I don’t ever need anything else.”
And then his mouth covered mine.
His body began to move again, bringing me back to the edge.
He held onto me like he was scared I’d disappear.
When he bucked into me, filling me completely, we both fell apart, while also putting each other back together. I wasn’t whole without him. And I knew in my heart he felt the same. He needed me just as much as I needed him, and although I found that thought scary, it comforted me in ways I never imagined were possible.
“Why did you wait so long to tell me how you felt?” He lay on his side with his head on the pillow next to mine, his arm around my waist, holding me to him. “If you knew you loved me when I admitted it to you, why not tell me then? Why did you push me away and make me believe you weren’t coming back?”
I turned my head to the side to look him in the eyes. It was dark, making it hard to see him, but I could feel his stare, and that was enough. “A lot happened that night, and I didn’t want you to think I was saying it because you did. Then everything blew up, and honestly, it was just all so much. I couldn’t handle dealing with my mom, worrying about Aria, and figuring this out with you. It was just easier to put it off…until I couldn’t anymore.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Nothing changed my mind, Cash. My feelings for you never went away. After that night in my mom’s kitchen, but before you told me the truth, I was scared. I won’t lie. All I could think about was how I’d brought my daughter into the home of a killer. It was strange, because I knew in my heart you’d never hurt either one of us, but I still felt guilty for putting her in that situation. Then you told me the truth, and while that made me feel better—you might’ve done bad things, but that didn’t make you a bad person—it ended up leaving me worried about other things.”
“Like what?”
“Like how dangerous your job is, and how I wasn’t sure I could be strong enough to be what you needed. I hated Monday mornings when I thought you were just climbing cell towers, but after finding out that you basically put yourself in dangerous situations on a weekly basis…” I faced the ceiling again, needing a moment to clear away the pain burning the backs of my eyes. “For three weeks, I knew you were safe because you were here, but this week has been miserable. And I finally realized that I’d be giving up on so much time with you now, just to save myself the possible heartache of losing time with you later.”
“That’s why you stayed away?”
“Well, that and my mom. But it’s the reason I’ve held back on fully committing to you. It was just easier to focus on her than it was to deal with my feelings toward you.”
“How’s your mom now?”
I laughed and wiped my eyes. “She’s sound asleep in my room.”
Cash pushed up on his elbow and stared at me. “Here?”
“Yeah.” I added a shrug, hoping he’d find it cute and innocent.
“And you didn’t bother to tell me that before we had sex?”
“I hate to break it to you, but my mom wasn’t exactly on my mind when you had your hands on me. What did you want me to do, stop you mid-thrust and tell you she’s across the house? Maybe offer to introduce you when we finish?”
His quiet chuckle drifted over my face. “You’re right. I’m sorry. When did you get here?”
“Yesterday. I tried calling you, but your phone went straight to voicemail.”
He dropped his head, bringing it closer to mine. “I was in Georgia at my parents’ house, and they have horrible service. I tried texting you a few times but it kept bouncing back. Even their Wi-Fi is slow as fuck, basically one grade above dial-up, and eventually, I just turned off my phone. It’s in my suitcase somewhere. I hadn’t thought to get it out before I left today.”
“I thought you went back to work?”
He kissed me long and slow, our lips barely parting. When he pulled away, I could hear the smile in his words as he said, “I quit. I went in Monday and told Rhett I couldn’t do it anymore. He actually said he was surprised I’d waited so long and had expected me to call him when I was on suspension, but I didn’t feel that was something that should be done over the phone. From there, I flew in to see my parents. I couldn’t handle being here without you.”
“You quit?”
“Yeah, babe. I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t ever want to spend another night without you again. And if I hadn’t already made up my mind prior to last weekend, sleeping alone Sunday night reiterated it to me. I would do anything for you.”
I wrapped myself around him and celebrated us being together all over again.