“That was epic, Trace!” Felise says.
He rolls his eyes.
I smile. “It really was.”
“Good. Because I was an epic asshole.”
My family vanishes out the door.
Trace uses his thumb to erase some of the tears on my cheek. “I’m sorry I let you end things between us because I was a selfish bastard. I thought maybe you were right. Maybe I’d have a better chance of convincing the board to let me try a portal I found.”
“You found a portal?”
“Yeah. But it doesn’t matter now. Can you forgive me?” He stares intently into my eyes.
I can’t breathe. “Wait. Did you know about the Triad Energy?”
“I suspected.”
My heart pounds painfully. “Was that why you wanted to teach me? So I could do that for you?”
“No!” His eyes bug out and his chin jerks down. “Hell no! I suspected your powers, and I told Joe about it, but I never even imagined that would be something you could do. That was Joe’s idea.”
I slump and nearly fall off my chair in relief. “Oh.”
“Truly, Romy. It was when you agreed to do that for me, I realized everything I’d be giving up.” He swallows. “I love you. And I’m sorry I was too chickenshit to admit it.”
I hold my bottom lip between my teeth briefly. “You kind of were.”
He laughs. “Yeah. Always be honest with me, my little purpose-driven, save-the-world warrior princess. I love your courage. Your intelligence. I love your sense of right and wrong and fairness. I love how you feel comforted by the moon, how you paint beautiful pictures. How you inspire people.”
“Oh.” Emotion swirls in my chest, filling me with warmth. “I love you too. So much.” I hiccup. “And I wanted to make you happy, more than anything. Even if… you’d be gone.”
“You have no idea how much that meant to me.” His voice chokes up, and he cups my face, leans over, and kisses me. “But I’m not leaving you. Ever.”
I fight back the tears, not wanting to disintegrate here in the Singing Horse. Relief flows through me like a waterfall, weakening my muscles.
Trace brushes more moisture off my cheeks. “It’s okay, sweet thing. It’s going to be okay. In fact… it’s going to be great.”
He tells me about going to talk to the family about his feelings for me and how he screwed things up and why he was so afraid that he couldn’t have both of us.
“I told them if they didn’t like it, they could fire me and kick me out of the family, but I’d still choose you.”
“Oh God. Trace.” I touch his face. “That’s ridiculous.” But I love it.
“In my mind, it was real. It scared the crap out of me.” He tells me how they reassured him that they love him, and how, when he asked them for help to set this up tonight, they were all in.
“That means so much to me.” I’m going to break into tears again.
“We need to get out of here.”
I nod, smiling, crying, shaking. I’m a mess, but I don’t care.
27
Trace
We go back to her place.
I carry Romy to her bed where I lay her down gently, reverently, as if she’s fragile and precious. She is precious. With a flick of my finger, we’re both naked, and I join her on the bed, my gaze wandering over her sweet curves and smooth skin. “My gorgeous girl,” I whisper.
She reaches up to push my hair back off my forehead, letting her fingers trail over my cheek and jaw. The tenderness of her gesture makes me feel like a fist is squeezing my heart.
“I love you, Trace.”
“I love you, Romy.”
I hold myself above her on my arms and kiss her, my tongue sliding into her mouth. She tastes so damn sweet. Fire lights up every nerve ending in my body, and I lift my mouth from hers and kiss her bare shoulder, sliding my open mouth over her skin. Her soft moan inflames my senses even more.
I kiss her throat and lick my way down between her pretty tits. Her back arches, and I close my mouth over one nipple, loving the sweetness, the feel of it on my tongue, the soft, resilient flesh pressed to my lips.
Heat pours over my body, liquid pleasure running through my veins.
We roll and twist together, mouths fused in long, deep kisses. I worship her with my mouth, my tongue, my hands, everywhere I can reach. I slip my hand between her legs, find her velvety wet center, and circle my thumb over her clit until she vibrates.
Her body ripples under my hands, and I’m swept away in sensation, in the almost unbearable sweetness and erotic pleasure, but also in the emotion of it, something powerful and huge swelling inside me.
I deal with the condom. Maybe we can get rid of these now. We’ll talk.
I lift her thigh and push into her body, watching her face. Her lips part, her eyes gazing up at me, her hands on my chest. Our gazes hold while heat builds and shimmers around us. The love and devotion in her eyes is my own reflected back at me, and my heart beats in a slow, heavy rhythm against my ribs. “I feel so lucky right now,” I whisper.
She gives me a tremulous smile back. “Me too.”
Slowly I slide in and out of her slick heat as she squeezes around me, her hands pressed to my chest. Sensation coils inside me, heavy and hot.
“Trace.”
I gaze down at her, riveted by the sight of her beautiful face as I thrust deeper, harder. She lifts into me, and I watch her eyelids drift closed and her mouth open. Hot little whimpers and soft sighs escape her lips, building as she gets closer, and closer. Her fingernails dig into my pecs. Then her body tightens and her pussy ripples around me, her cries exquisitely beautiful in my ears.
“Watching you come is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” I fall over her, bury my face in the side of her neck and breathe in the familiar vanilla scent of her. My chest clenches at the perfection of it, the overwhelming intensity of it, the rush of emotion inside me so strong.
Yes, it’s sex. But it’s also love. And home.
And magic.
My thighs quake and my balls tighten, the tension at the small of my back sizzling painfully. Electricity tingles up my spine, singeing every nerve ending in my body and I come, my cock jerking inside her in almost painful, wrenching spasms.
She wraps her arms around my back and holds on tight. My face buried in her hair, I draw in long, ragged breaths.
“Oh, Romy.” I move on her, lifting my head so I can kiss her. A long, tender kiss of devotion and promise. “Romy.”
I make the condom disappear, and we curl up together under the covers, wrapped in a delicious warm afterglow. I run my hand down her sleek back to cup her ass and gently squeeze.
“I still can’t believe you did that,” she mumbles against my chest. “We are totally singing duets next time we go to the Singing Horse.”
“Ha. I survived it once, I guess I can do it again.”
“I love that song.”
“We danced to it at the wedding.”
“You remember.”
“Yeah. I like that it’s about flying to the moon. I know you love the moon. And I imagine flying to the moon feels like how I feel, loving you. Flying among the stars. You’re all I long for.” She tips her head back and I kiss her mouth. “All I worship.” Another soft kiss. “All I adore.”