Forgetting August(72)

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said, tapping her nails against the counter. “You’re waiting for me to run—to make a mad dash out those doors and never come back.”

“Well, it is what you’ve done in the past,” I reminded her.

“I know—and look where it brought us.” She let out a long sigh as her eyes met mine. “I’ve made a mess of things, trying to come to terms with what I’m feeling. You would think after years of therapy I would have a better grasp over my own mind, but it turns out I’m just as lost and confused as I was then. I don’t want to run anymore, August.”

“Then don’t,” I simply said, taking a step forward.

“This scares me,” she whispered.

“It scares me, too.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to forget the past.”

“You shouldn’t,” I urged. “Never forget the man I became, Everly. I don’t ever want to become him again.”

“I’m not making any promises,” she said, her voice soft and low as she closed the last remaining gap between us.

“I’m not asking for any. I just want a chance.”

As badly as I wanted to touch her and taste her all over again, I needed her to make the first move. I’d given her no choice in the matter last night when I’d kissed her, but now—now, I needed to know she wanted this as much as I did.

I needed to know she wanted me.

It felt like a slow eternity in hell as I watched her eyes roam my skin, moving over the hollow of my neck, until they lingered on my bare chest. I held my breath as I watched her fingers reach out, barely skimming my torso as she began to explore me with her timid touch.

I was on fire, yet frozen in place, and for the first time since I’d opened my eyes for the first time in the hospital, I felt alive again.

There was no anger, no hatred or ulterior motive between us this time as I reached for her. I’d remember every memory I had with Everly in this new life, but I had a feeling these were the ones I’d dream about.

I lifted her into my arms and carried her carefully back upstairs, remembering her words from the night before. Avoiding the master bedroom, I walked toward the guest room. If that room made her more comfortable, I’d move everything I owned in there just to make her happy.

I set her gently down on the bed. Her vivid blue eyes never left mine. They fluttered closed as I silently dragged my fingers up her bare arm, across the hollow of her neck and down the valley between her breasts. Her hips rose, and her back arched as I slowly lifted her shirt, throwing it to the floor.

There were so many things I’d missed in my haste the night before. I’d been so angry—driven by pure instinct—that I’d failed to stop and appreciate what I had in front of me.

Everly was pure perfection before my eyes.

From the tiny freckles scattered over her creamy skin to the surprising tattoo on her beautiful shoulder, I couldn’t have dreamed a more perfect woman if I tried.

Kissing a path down from her belly button, I began unbuttoning her jeans and she helped me slide them off her hips. Her legs went on for days, and I had plans to be buried between them for just as long.

I slid up her body, cradling it beneath mine as my lips left a trail of kisses along the way.

“August,” she said softly.

My eyes met hers.

“I need to know, before this goes any further. I can’t allow anyone else to get hurt because of us. So I need to know—are you still seeing Magnolia?”

My head dropped to her chest and I shook it back and forth.

“No,” I answered. “I tried. Believe me, I did.”

“It was the name, wasn’t it?” she joked, a slight rumble in her ribcage bringing my head up again. I smirked slightly.

“No, it was you. It was always you,” I said, remembering the night I’d gone to Magnolia’s after Everly left. Barely thirty minutes and two drinks in, I’d apologized and ended it. For good.

There was only one woman I wanted to be with.

“I don’t know why or how, but it’s only ever been you since the moment I woke up.”

She pulled me closer until our lips met and no other words were needed. My mouth moved with hers, devouring her sweet softness. Touching her tenderly, I wove my fingers into the coppery strands of her hair as our kiss deepened. Her hands seemed to be everywhere at once, as she gently caressed the corded muscles of my stomach, sliding her fingers up my chest as she gripped my shoulders and wrapped her knees around my waist.

A complete contrast from the night before: we didn’t rush a thing. Every move, every touch was carried out as if we had an entire lifetime to spend in this bed.