“I cannot wait to start living my life with you.” I peck his lips, and my heart is overflowing. All of the suffering was worth it because it has led us to this moment.
“So, it’s not too soon to ask you to marry me?” he says, extracting a small black box from his pocket.
I suck in a gasp when he pops the lid, revealing a gorgeous butterfly-shaped emerald and diamond ring, resting on a platinum band.
“Emerald is your birthstone, but it’s also said to symbolize rebirth. I saw this in the window of a store the day I turned twenty-one, and I knew I had to buy it for you.”
My heart jackhammers against my rib cage, and butterflies swoop into my belly. “It’s stunning and absolutely perfect.”
I watch him slide it on my ring finger with trembling hands as my heart jumps around in excitement. “I love you, Kendall.” He holds my hand and brings it to his mouth. “I have loved you in every lifetime that has come before. I’ll love you in this one and every lifetime that comes after.” He kisses the ring on my finger before setting my hand on his chest, over the place where his heart beats. “I already consider you my wife. I always have, but I think we should make this official. I want to be your husband. I want to be Iris’s dad, and I want to have the family I have always desired.” He sweeps his lips against mine in a brief but tender kiss. “With you.”
Wrapping myself around him, I hold him close as I dust kisses all over his gorgeous face. “I want all of that with you too, and I can’t wait to make it official. I want to be your wife, but I have always considered you mine, Vander. Our forced separation never altered how I feel about you.”
He stands, cradling me against his body, and my legs wind around his toned waist as he carries me upstairs to the master bedroom.
Vander lays me down flat on the bed before returning to lock the door. He kicks off his shoes and lies next to me. Twisting on my side, I arch my neck, my lips seeking his, as my hands find purchase on his hips. We hold on to one another as we kiss, and it’s a slow, deep, passionate reacquaintance. Our hips thrust together, and our hands explore as our kissing grows more heated, until we need more, because it’s not enough. I need to feel him moving over me and in me, and I can’t wait a minute longer.
Vander kisses every inch of my body as he slowly peels my clothes away. His eyes burn with emotion as he traces the outline of his name over my heart. I have my kids’ names inked there too, keeping all my loved ones close. With great reverence, he sweeps his lips across the names, a knowing smile tipping up the corners of his mouth.
Our only communication is with our lips, our tongues, and our hands because words are redundant. We don’t need to speak to convey how much we mean to one another.
I undress him until we’re both naked, pressed skin to skin. Ink adorns most every part of Vander’s upper body now, and our story is permanently etched into his flesh. My name is tattooed over his heart, just above the Ouroboros Boner inked all those years ago.
We share a secret smile as we appreciate how in sync we still are.
Even when we were apart, we still carried one another over and in our hearts.
Vander kisses my mouth before gliding down my body to reclaim what has always been his. I part my thighs and grip his dark hair as he feasts on my pussy, and it’s like no time has passed. He remembers how to coax my desire to a peak in record time, and I bury my face in my pillow, muffling my cries of pleasure, as a powerful orgasm rips through my body.
Vander trails his lips up over my heated flesh before planting his mouth on mine again. I pull him down on top of me, needing to feel his skin flush against mine, and I can literally feel all the cracked, heartbroken pieces inside me knitting together until I feel complete.
He positions himself between my knees, tugging on his straining length as he asks a question with his eyes. I reply, asking one of my own, and then we’re smiling again, our minds calm, our hearts healed, and our souls whole.
Maintaining eye contact, Vander slides carefully inside me, one delightful inch at a time. Emotion gathers in my eyes, clogs my throat, and soars in my chest as he fills me so fully I forget there was ever a time when we were separated. “I love you,” he whispers, leaning down to kiss me as he holds his body still inside mine. “I love you for eternity.”
“I will love you forever and ever until the very ends of time,” I reply as he slowly starts to move, making love to me with an intensity and a depth that surpasses any intimacy we have shared before. As I peer into his gorgeous green eyes, holding his body against mine, while we arch and thrust in a perfect rhythm, I know no truer words have ever been spoken.
EPILOGUE
VANDER
“Daddy, come on!” Iris says, charging along the cobblestone path ahead of Kendall and me. “You’re both such slowpokes!”
Kendall giggles, snuggling into my side as I tighten my arm around her shoulders. “I think she gets her impatience from you.”
“Not a chance.” I playfully swat her ass as the warm Greek sun beats down on us. “I have the patience of a saint, or need I remind you how, in every lifetime, I have to wait years to be reunited with the other half of my heart and soul?”
“I never forget.” She stretches up and pecks my lips. “I cherish every second with you, painter boy. The sacrifices we’ve made were worth it to get to this point. I’m living my best life with you,” my wife says, beaming up at me, before she presses a kiss to my heart through my shirt.
It’s been a little over three years since we got married, and I have never felt more content or more alive. My wife and my daughter have breathed life into all the frozen parts of me, and I can’t remember the missing years because we fill every day with joy, making up for lost time. West and I have resumed our friendship, and I’m close with Ridge and Stella too. “You complete me, Kendall. In every lifetime, you are the very essence of my soul.”
She sighs in contentment, and I am never happier than when I’m confronted with the evidence of our mutual elation. We slotted into a life together as easily as breathing. From the moment we reconnected, we haven’t spent a single night apart. I know what it’s like to be without this woman, and I never want to experience it again.
“I think we should buy a vacation home in Athens,” she says as we quicken our pace to catch up with our excited daughter. Iris has shot up this past year, and she’s the tallest in her class. She also looks much older than ten. Something teenage boys seem to have noticed, and I have spent half our vacation glaring at guys for even daring to glance at my beautiful princess. “I feel so at home here.” Happiness fills Kendall’s voice.
“I do too, and I agree. Let’s book another week in the hotel and arrange to visit a few real estate agents.” The beauty of being self-employed business owners is we can delegate work to others and take off whenever the mood suits us. We work hard, and taking regular vacation breaks is essential for our health and our sanity. We have spent every summer abroad, and we’re enjoying exploring the world and visiting places we’ve seen in our dreams.
“It’s a deal. You only get to celebrate your thirtieth birthday once.”