His deep, throaty groan echoes in the room, and flutters take off in my stomach.
"I missed you so much."
"I missed you. Everything about you. But I don't want to hurt your recovery. You still need rest."
"No. I need you. You always breathe life into me." I kiss him deeper, gliding my tongue along his and shrugging the robe off my body.
His strong hands and arms circle me, and I feel the sense of safety I've only felt with him.
"Take your pants off." I tug at his shirt and pull it off him.
He spins and lays me on the bed, hovering over my body. "I need you first, Flower."
The warmth of his torso lightly grazes my skin. I trace my fingers over his V and into his pants, stroking his cock.
My skin lights up with tingles as his lips move across my jaw, down my neck, then onto my breasts.
"I dreamed of your lips and how you touch me," I admit.
He brings his mouth back to mine, nourishing my soul and piecing parts of me back together. And his kisses take me to the place I never thought I'd feel again—the perfection of us.
The sound of the waves crashing against the boat ricochet through the night air. A breeze blows into the room, but all I feel is Hunter's warm flesh and muscle.
"I use to watch you hold your hand out," he murmurs against my lips.
"I wanted to feel you."
"I'd hold my hand out and pretend I was touching you."
"You did?"
"Yes, every time." He shimmies down my body, igniting every cell I thought was dead and buried and would never come alive again.
"Oh..." I moan from the flick of his tongue and pressure of his lips.
He brushes his thumbs on my arm, and I grip his head, arching my lower body into his face.
"I missed you...oh...so much," I cry out.
His response is to grip my hips, lick faster, and suck harder, guiding and pushing me into a fiery explosion of adrenaline. And it gushes through my veins and rejuvenates the light that darkened within me.
He claims me, moving up my body, taking control of my every want, need, and desire, reinforcing my faith that he is all I require.
I push his pants off him, cup his chiseled face, and stare into the golden-brown eyes that plagued my memories for months. "I love you."
He slides his arms under my body and weaves his fingers through my hair. "You're my soul, Flower."
Lust and love are powerful, but mix them, and you have a potent concoction of perfection. And that's what Hunter is. An undeniable, unimaginable, sexy vessel of a sinner and saint, and he's unattainable to everyone but me.
He is mine, and I am his.
And now that Carlos is dead, no one will ever keep me away from him again.
"I don't ever want to be away from you again."
"You won't. Never again, Flower."
Kissing him never quenches the bubbling in my veins and stirring in my gut. It only stokes it higher, and when I deepen our kiss, he enters me.
"I missed the smell of your skin," he murmurs, then sticks his tongue back in my mouth.
The flesh of his cock ripples along my walls as he thrusts deeper and faster, filling me and making me feel whole and one with him.
Hunter Ward is my salvation. He's my stars and moon and brighter than every red hibiscus he ever collected to let me know he was there.
"Oh God...so...oh...Hunter!"
"Say it again." He pounds harder into me.
"H-Hunter!"
We speed into our high, clutching the other, the ocean air swirling around us.
I may not be the person I used to be or know how to find her, but I have him back. His love for me saved me, and hope overflows that I will show him that woman someday.
He deserves to know the woman I was before Carlos.
"I'm going to get better for you," I blurt out.
He lifts his head off my chest. "No, Flower. You're going to heal for you."
"I want you to know who I used to be. You deserve that."
He strokes my cheek. "Listen to me closely."
Silence.
"Are you listening?"
"Yeah."
"You have to give yourself time to heal. But you're still you. I already know that woman. She's you. No matter how many attacks or nightmares you have, it doesn't change who you are."
"It does. It has."
"No. I don't believe that. I've seen too much of you."
"The 'I can't breathe' or 'All I do is cry' girl?"
"No. The 'lick a banana like a porn star, adrenaline junkie, dirty Portuguese speaking, put me in my place when I'm wrong' girl."
"You really like the dirty Portuguese talk, don't you?"
He grins and wiggles his eyebrows. "Yes. And that's my point. I know who you are. You're the woman I fell in love with. And do you have some things you're struggling with? Yeah, you do. But with everything they put you through, you're lucky you're not in a mental hospital. So I think you should cut yourself some slack."
My hand flies to my mouth.
"What did I say?"
"I haven't told you why you didn't see me the first month they took me."
"Tell me, then."
"They had me in a straitjacket."
Anger flares in his face. "What?"
"Yeah. And when they let me out, they threatened to send me to an asylum for the rest of my life."
He tightens his arms around me and guilt crosses his face. "I'm so sorry I didn't figure out a way to get you sooner. Every day I tried to figure it out. I swear, I did."
"I know that. It's not your fault. But I never want to be in one of those again. I was so scared they were going to keep me in it forever."
He kisses my head. "Flower, you need rest. What you've gone through, no one should ever have to endure. So no matter how much time it takes, or whatever it is you need to heal, I'm going to make sure you get it."
"I just want to be normal again."
"There's no such thing as normal. We all go through different seasons in life."
"You sound very wise, Mr. Ward."
He snorts. "Not bad for a hothead, huh?"
"You're not a hothead." I lean to his ear. "But it was pretty sexy when you shot those tires out."
He grins. "You liked that, huh?"
"Yep. Too bad I was already in the middle of a panic attack when you did it."
"I thought that one was my fault?"
"Nope. Kalim's."
"Hmmm."
I wiggle my eyebrows. "I have another secret."
"What's that?"
I trace the V on his torso. "You shouldn't compare your V to Miguel's. Yours is my favorite."
"Hey, I gotta give respect to him. He's a beast."
I roll on top of him. "Should I show you how much I love yours?"
My stomach growls.
He reaches for the menu. "Food first. Then you can worship my V all you want."
"What about while we're waiting on the delivery?"
His eyes twinkle. "Well, I wouldn't want you to be bored waiting for food."
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