part of last night. I rest my elbows on the countertop and let my

head fall forward as I keep my hand beneath the water.

“Are you okay?” Kayden asks and I whip my head up,

startled.

He’s standing in the doorway, with his boxers on, and in the

bright morning light all of his scars are very distinctive against the outlines of his chest and ab muscles.

“I’m fine.” I shut off the water and reach for a towel, then

press my finger into it. “I just forgot to wash it off last night. That’s all.”

He steps into the bathroom and I tense as he extends his

hand for the towel. He lifts it off and brings my finger closer to his face, examining it. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” he says.

I shake my head. “You didn’t hurt me. It was my own fault…

and it was worth it.”

When he glances up at me, he looks horrified, but then the

look disappears and he lifts my hand to his lips. He places a tender

kiss on my finger and then moves his mouth downward to kiss my

hand. He continues to make a path of kisses across my forearm

and all the way to the crook of my arm, and then turns upward,

showering my skin in succulent kisses until he reaches the top of

my shoulder. He gives it an affectionate suck and his tongue rolls

out along my skin. The sensation of his zealous breath drives a

shiver through my body and I place a hand on his shoulder to keep

from falling down.

“You are the most amazing person,” he whispers against my

neck. “You really are.”

I almost start to cry. “So are you.”

His lips part again and he sucks on my neck, his tongue

savoring the taste of skin and the edge of his teeth gently grazing

it. My head distractedly falls to the side because it feels so good

and my fingers dip downward, gripping onto him and trying to

keep my legs from giving out. His mouth starts to progress upward

to the arch of my neck, to the spot where my pulse throbs, then to

the line of my jaw, the corner of my mouth. His moist lips dampen

my skin and knock the breath out of my chest in ravenous gasps of

air.

It’s like we’re locked in a box, protected from the world and

our fears. We can’t keep our hands off each other. There are so

many problems around us but all I can’t think about is him. When

our lips join, he turns us to the side and backs us toward the bed.

Maybe it’s crazy, with everything going on, to be so absorbed in

each other, instead of working on our problems. Maybe one day

we’ll look back and wonder what we were thinking. Or maybe we’ll

just remember the day we decided to escape the pain in the arms

of each other.

We collapse onto the bed, our legs twined together like a

snug vine. He’s on top of me, his shirt is still off, and I trace my

fingers along his firm chest, feeling the warmth of his skin and the

dance of his heart beneath his chest. He scoots between my legs

and the shirt I’m wearing rides up over my stomach. His fingers

caress my skin right below my belly button and it tickles but it feels so overwhelmingly good at the same time. My knees lift upward as

heat spirals downward between my thighs and I contemplate how

far I’ve come in just a short while and how much I’m enjoying him

touching me.

His fingers hook the top of my panties, and he starts to

guide them down my knees. I’m still sore from the other times

we’ve had sex in the last twenty-four hours, but there’s no way I’m

going to stop him. It’s completely worth the pain. When my

panties reach my feet, I kick them off and then his hands glide

down my arms and he pulls me so I’m sitting up. With one rapid

tug, he jerks the shirt over my head and throws it on the floor.

My lungs heave wildly as I take the moment in. I’m naked in

front of him. Again. Me. Callie Lawrence. Every time I think about it, it gets to me. I start to lie back down while he takes his boxers off, but he quickly grabs my wrists and pulls me toward him. Then he

sits down and picks me up by the waist. I gasp as he lies down and

sets me on top of him, so one of my legs is on each side of his

hips. Before I can respond to the abruptness, his fingers spread

around to my back and he’s drawing my breast to his mouth. He

sucks on it repeatedly until I cry out and my legs press against him, and then his mouth leaves my breast and he lowers himself back

onto the bed with this content, hungry look in his eyes that makes

my skin swelter. He thrust his hips upward and he enters me. I cry

out again, biting my lip as my hands search for something to grab

onto. Like he reads my mind, he takes hold of my hand and steers

it to his shoulder where I grip forcefully and hold onto him as he

rocks inside me again and again until I think I’m going to explode.

Then he presses the palm of his hand to my back and pulls me

down to his lips. With one last thrust, he slips his tongue inside my mouth and kisses me passionately as every thought in my head

leaves me and my body spins out of control, soaring away before

returning again.

When I come back down from the high, panting and sweaty,

I think about how good it feels. And not just the sex. The

connection. The contact. The fact that I’m here. With him. And I’m

fine. More than fine. I think it might be time to tell. To get my

freedom back. Because I deserve to have it. I deserve to be here in

this moment.

Kayden

“If you could have one wish, what would it be?” Callie asks,

tracing a finger in circular motions along the palm of my hand.

It’s late and the sun is up and beaming into the room. Seth

and Luke haven’t woken up yet; at least that’s what I’ve

determined by the silence in the house. Her head is relaxed on my

arm, her leg is hitched over my stomach, and her hand is resting

over my heart.

“That we could stay just like this forever,” I answer truthfully.

Her head tips up and she meets my eyes. “That’s really what

you’d wish for?”

I nod, running my fingers through her soft hair that smells

like strawberries. “Absolutely. It’s peaceful.”

Her cheeks start to flush and I wonder what she’s thinking.

“What would we do if we stayed here forever?”

It’s fucking cute as hell that her dirty thoughts are making

her blush. “Whatever you want,” I say with a hint of laughter in my

voice.

She angles her face down against my chest and gives my

skin a kiss, sliding her tongue out. “I’d want to stay just like this.”

I chuckle underneath my breath and it hurts my lungs

because my muscles have been immovable for the past month. “Is

that all you’d want to do? Because your pink cheeks are

suggesting otherwise.” I trail my finger across her cheek and she

shudders. I love that she does, and yet I hate it at the same time

because it shows how much I affect her. “Or did you have