She touched my arm with her other hand. As she gently hugged my arm, her head resting on it, I swallowed hard.
“You’re not any of them,” she whispered.
“Of what?”
“The demons,” she said. “You never were any of them either. No matter what you think or say.”
We fell into silence.
Side by side.
It was no longer just two of us though.
There were three.
Myself. Amelia. The life we created.
The dream I had always wanted, right next to me.
“Nobody was ever supposed to see that letter, Amelia,” I said. “That was the plan. To write it. To get rid of it. To move forward. But that was impossible because of you. I must have reached for the letter the night I left the gallery. I dropped it and kept going. And you found it. You fell in love with the story. You fell in love with the person who wrote it. You fell in love with the person it was written for. And yet it was your story the entire time.”
I turned my head and looked at her.
“The only time I ever felt safe was with you. Then and now. That’s what the letter meant to me. It was safe. I didn’t love the person who wrote it… well, I guess I did.” Amelia laughed. “I loved the way the person wrote it. The way the person was so real about his life for who he wrote it for. And I was jealous, Josh. Jealous of Delilah. I wanted to be Delilah. And know that someone loved me as much as he did…”
“Then you get everything you want,” I said as I turned to face her.
“Tell me what everything is then.”
“You are everything, Amelia. I’m sorry for the way I reacted when you showed me the letter. I felt exposed. Cornered. I felt that you were chasing a story that was your own and you were going to give it away.”
“I would never do that,” she whispered.
“I know. And it almost meant confessing everything to you. Bringing you back into my world. Because if I ever got another chance with you, it would be the forever kind of chance. There’s no getting away this time, Amelia. It’s forever or bust.”
Amelia placed my hand to her stomach. “I’m pretty sure we are at forever.”
“No,” I said. “You’re wrong.”
“Oh?”
I lowered down and brushed my lips to hers. They were soft, sweet, delicate and my salvation. They had the temptation of whiskey and the beauty of a perfectly placed stroke on a masterpiece. I didn’t believe in heaven, but her lips were that of an angel. I didn’t believe in fate, but she challenged time. I didn’t believe in much, other than the way I loved her.
I kissed her slowly and broke it to remind myself to breathe.
“Amelia, we’re just starting at forever.”
Chapter 47
The Only Place to Be
NOW
(Amelia)
His fingertips trailed up my exposed back, digging in enough that I arched it, thrusting my breasts at him. I was his for the taking. My inner thighs quivered with excitement as his thickness pressed against my core. I rocked my hips forward and back, teasing him, but I wasn’t going to win this battle.
My hands gripped tightly to the pillows on the bed as Josh pulled me down to him.
He left me aching for the touch of his tongue on my chest. He always knew how to make me beg for more.
My breasts touched his chest and pressed against him. A fresh warm surge trickled through my body even though I didn’t need it. My body shivered and longed for him.
But he was taking his time with me.
Each piece of clothing he took off came with a kiss to the area of skin exposed. I never thought it possible, but when he was on one knee before me, his lips kissing just above my ankle bone, it turned me on. It also helped the way he kissed up my entire leg to a sweet spot, writing the words I love you, Amelia with his tongue.
Our lips collided in a fury. My hair fell all around us.
The harder and faster we kissed, the harder and faster I drove myself against him, wanting him inside me. When I reached down, Josh grabbed my wrist and shook his head.
I groaned and threw my head back.
He kissed my neck, his tongue flickering with a speed that I had only felt somewhere else on my body.
I swallowed hard and shut my eyes, groaning, losing myself completely to him.
His left hand moved up my back and into my hair. He crunched up enough to put his lips to my ear.
“I fucking love you, Amelia,” he growled.
“Love you,” I managed to say in a breathless voice.
With his right hand, he crested over my ass, moved to my hip then cut between us. I jumped up a little on my knees, still shaking with anticipation. His fingers grazed between my legs, fingertips dipping into my wetness just for fun.
Josh placed himself against me and I took control of what I wanted.
I lowered down and took him.
He instantly groaned and hissed as his lips attached to my neck and held there.
I moved super slowly and with purpose. Halfway down, I paused. I pulled myself back up. Josh thrust to chase me, but I stayed ahead of him. I was winning now. I was loving this now. But I couldn’t take it for too long. I lowered my hips back down, going all the way.
Josh’s teeth touched my skin as he inched down.
His hands moved to my hips, holding tight, guiding me against his thickness as I started to lose control… and feeling in my legs. All I could feel were my toes curled up tightly. He sat me up as he lifted and lowered his body to mine. His right hand stuck out behind him as his left hand touched my chest. I looked down and watched the way his strong hand clutched to my breast. Squeezing but not too hard. My nipple poking out between his thumb and pointer. Watching as his thumb slid over my nipple, making me jump. It was the first time I realized just how newly sensitive my nipples were. Which was another casual reminder that I was pregnant with Josh’s baby.
Our baby.
Our family.
Our future.
Our forever.
Josh came forward and latched onto my breast.
I cried out and drove my hips down with force against him. I moved forward and back with speed, feeling every perfect inch of him as I began to reach climax.
Josh pulled away from my breast with a teasing pop. His left hand raced up to my face and he forced me to look at him.
I stared into his eyes as I came, the deepest of aches finally being released. The explosion from my core, going in all directions, the most intense between my legs.
My body jerked up, suddenly wanting a moment of relief, but Josh wouldn’t allow it. He pulled me back down and held there, as deep as ever, my body pulsing against him, begging him to finish with me.
That’s when we kissed.
His fingers digging into my hair as the kiss went from romantic to sloppy.
He made a hurried move as he pushed from the bed and placed his hand to the small of my back, making sure we were still together as he rolled me to my back.
My hands grabbed his shoulders as he loved me some more.
He kissed my lips and inched down.
I arched my back as far as I could, feeling his tongue racing down my throat to my chest. He kissed as far down as he could without the lower half of his body leaving mine. He reversed the move back up and I moved my hands from his shoulders to his face.