“You love me,” I whisper. Not a question but a statement. He nods.
“And you love me?” The look he gives me takes my breath away. Like he was lost, and now he’s found.
“Yes.” I smile, feeling my heart flutter. “I love you, too. But—”
“Talk to me.”
“I don’t want to love you and lose you.” That’s my biggest fear. “I’m so scared.”
“I know,” Tobias says. “But you don’t need to be. Don’t be scared. Everything will work out. It always does.” His eyes soften. “You won’t ever lose me. I will always be here, Skye.”
With that, he’s stands up from the floor, taking my hands in his and leading us farther into the room until my legs hit the bed.
I’m pushed back until I’m lying down, and then he’s removing our clothes. Once we are both fully naked, he crawls up my body. I feel him poking at my entrance, already hard and engorged.
Even though I know it’s coming, he takes my breath away with one quick thrust that has me letting out a gasp at the sudden movement.
For a moment, nothing happens. He’s allowing me to adjust.
Together, we lie there for a brief second, the feel of us connected almost too much to handle.
I wish I could stay this way forever, but as I look up at Tobias, his jaw locked, I see the restraint he’s using to keep still.
I tilt my hips up, telling him with my body what I want.
He lowers his mouth to mine and starts to fuck me.
He gives me exactly what I need. Moving at an addicting pace, he drags himself in and out.
But soon, it’s not enough, and I need to feel more. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kiss him harder at a frantic, desperate pace. He answers my pleas, telling me with the way his body moves inside of me how much he wants me.
“Faster,” I pant. “Harder.” I wrap my legs around him to urge him on, trying to make him speed up his movements. He lets out a hearty laugh. The sound doesn’t happen often. I love that laugh as much as I love the man it belongs to.
Despite his amusement, he gives me what I need and pumps faster.
He thrusts harder.
My breathing becomes frantic as he tries to push me over the edge.
I’m so close but not there yet.
“More. I need more.”
Snaking his hand between us, he pushes his thumb over my clit, massaging it in delicious, slow circles.
He picks up his pace. My heart beats faster, and a heady feeling spreads through my body. I’m close, so close, and by the way his movements become more erratic, I think he’s close, too.
Together, we find what we need. Together, we fall over the edge.
We stay entwined in each other’s arms for a few more minutes, allowing our breathing to regulate. When we both calm, he pushes off me, and I immediately miss his weight. My eyes drift shut. I shift on the mattress, resting my head on his chest. His arms wrap around me and pull me closer.
“I never want this moment to end,” I say into his neck, muffling my voice, but I know he heard me.
I wait for him to reply. One second passes. Two. Three. He presses a kiss to my forehead, silent for a few minutes before he does.
“It won’t.”
The next day, however, does come. The moment is broken, and I’m scared we will never get it back. I only have one more day here with Tobias before I have no choice but to go back home and back to my life.
I wonder how we will spend the day.
It’s the last one for a while.
As if Tobias can read my mind, he crosses the distance of the kitchen and stands in front of where I am sitting at the table.
“Come on. I want to take you somewhere.”
I place my mug back down on the table and tilt my head up to him. He looks so peaceful today. Not like the man I have seen in the office. No, this is a different Tobias. A lighter one. I wish he would always be like this. This Tobias is like the sun, and I want to bask in it. Tomorrow, this look will be gone, and I’m not sure when it will be back.
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” The playfulness of his smile echoes in his voice.
He’s devastating when he smiles. If I weren’t already in love with him, I would be after today.
Standing up, I step forward and throw my arms around his neck. Tucking myself into him, I inhale. His subtle fragrance of cinnamon and wood tickles my nostrils.
He places a kiss on the top of my head before pulling back and taking my hand in his.
Then we are heading out the back door of the house.
“A walk?”
“I wanted to show you the property.”
We continue to walk until we reach a path in the woods, then follow that. It’s darker in this part of the woods, and the sun barely peeks in through the branches of the trees.
It reminds me of a fairy tale. The dark woods and a long path . . . I almost expect a cottage at the end.
But instead of a cottage, in reality, there is a tree house.
“What is this?”
“Come on up, and I’ll show you.”
On the side of the tree is an old, rickety wooden ladder.
Tobias stops suddenly, slowly moving to face me, then motions to the ladder.
I cock my head, then laugh. “Hell to the no.”
His gaze lowers to mine. “I promise it’s perfectly safe.”
“It looks like a death trap.”
“Would I ever let anything happen to you?”
“No.”
“Then up you go.”
With Tobias standing beside me, I make my way up.
It’s larger and much safer than I thought it would be from the outside. This wasn’t built by kids. This looks professional.
“How did you know about this?”
“I built it.”
“Why?”
I move into the tree house and take a seat on the floor. Tobias, who looks too large for the space, surprisingly doesn’t.
“I built it one day for my children.”
“Your children?” My heart drums in my chest.
“The ones I will eventually have.”
A nervous giggle bubbles up from my mouth.
“Oh.”
“Don’t worry, I’m in no rush.”
“Good to know.” I playfully swat his hand, and he captures my wrist. His fingers spread over my skin, his thumb on my tattoo.
“What do you remember of your parents?” he asks.
I bite my lip. “Not a lot. Not as much as I hoped.” My head tilts up, and I try to remember.
My mom’s blue eyes come into focus, her smile and her laughter. My dad sits beside her. His hazel-green eyes look at her with love. The way he smiles is contagious.
“I remember how he looked at her.”
“How was that?”
“He looked at her the way you look at me.” With love.
The way he’s looking at me now. Like I am the moon, sun, and the sky. His sky.
“Do you remember a good place?”
“Our place was taken from us. Our place was Al’s.”
“When this is all said and done, we’ll fix that. We’ll make new memories.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“You’re the strongest person I know . . . you can.”