"But you didn't give up."
"Someone told me once that when you love someone you should never give up."
"What did you say?" I whispered, not sure I heard him right.
"I love you, bella."
My heart swelled to the point I thought my ribs wouldn't be able to contain it. "I love you too. So much."
His kiss swept me up into a tidal wave of passion, washing away an entire month's worth of longing. My body remembered everything about him and fit itself against him perfectly, knowing exactly where to go. My fingers went for his curls, tangling in their softness, and my tongue rushed inside his mouth as if it would rather be there than inside mine.
The softness of his T-shirt brushed against my arms, and while it was comforting, there was something else I would rather feel. I delved below his hem, gripping the skin of his taut waist and moaning.
He ripped his mouth away and tugged the shirt up and over his head, throwing it across the room, and then was on me again in seconds. He backed me up against the wall and used his body to pin me there as his mouth traveled hotly over my neck and collarbone.
He reached up and pulled down the straps of my tank top, ripping the bodice completely down my waist and exposing every ounce of my aching flesh. My breasts were already swelling with need and I shoved myself out, gripping his head and bringing it down to one of my sensitive nipples. He nipped at it with his teeth and I cried out.
As he kissed and sucked, I found the waistband of his jeans and pulled it away, delving my hands inside his boxers to find the object of my desire. It was pulsing and ready. His entire body jerked when I closed my hand around him.
"This is going to be fast," he said against my breast. "I've missed you too badly to drag it out."
"Do it," I growled, giving his member a squeeze.
In a blurred frenzy, our clothes hit the floor and we fell backward on the bed. Nash rolled, tucking me beneath him and sinking himself immediately in my moist heat.
Both of us groaned and stilled as pure pleasure rolled over us.
And then we were moving, slapping against each other with intense fervor. The orgasm ripped through my body, and I cried out his name over and over again until my insides stopped quaking. And then it was his turn. With one final thrust, he pulsed inside me, emptying everything he had into my more-than-willing body.
Long after we were finished, my muscles continued to contract around him, squeezing him and making him flex inside me.
"Damn," he said, tucking me into his side. "You have no idea how badly I've been wanting to do that."
"I think I might."
He chuckled and then dragged us farther up the bed, seeing as how our feet were dangling off. I guess we should be lucky we made it onto the bed at all.
"Uh, Ava?" he said after he settled me into his side once more.
"Yes?"
"Where are your pillows?"
I lifted an arm and pointed over to the side of the bed. He paused and then sat up, glancing over the mattress and down onto the floor.
"You mind explaining to me why you have a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor?"
"I've been sleeping there."
He took my cheek in his hand and looked down, concern lacing his eyes. "Baby, are you still having nightmares? You should have called me."
I shook my head, silencing his words. "I can't sleep in this bed."
"Why?"
"It's too soft … " I murmured.
He looked confused, and then realization dawned. "You're used to sleeping on the floor or on the beach."
"With you," I whispered. "I tried to sleep here, but I just couldn't. It was too soft and too … lonely."
He settled back against the mattress. "How's it feel right now?"
"Perfect," I said, sighing.
And then my stomach had to go and ruin it all by growling.
He laughed. "It sounds like you're hungry." His hands caressed my hip and up my ribs. "And you actually feel like you've lost weight."
"I haven't gotten my appetite back yet," I mumbled.
He bounded off the bed, not bothering with pants, and I was treated to the epic view of his tight ass sauntering out into the living room. When he returned carrying the pizza, I was treated to another epic view … of his front side.
He set the pizza on the foot of the bed and retrieved a giant slice oozing with white cheese and piled high with veggies. He sat down, holding out the slice. "Eat," he demanded.
I loved when he bossed me around.
I took a bite.
It was really good.
We sat that way in the quiet of my apartment, not talking, just him feeding me bite after bite of pizza. Only after I ate the last bite did he get a slice for himself (which he ate in like three seconds).
"I need to tell you something," I said, nerves crackling along my spine.
"That sounds serious."
I nodded.
"Something happened on the island."
"A lot of things happened on the island."
"Something I was afraid to tell you about."
"You don't have to be afraid to tell me anything, bella."
I wondered if he would say that even after I told him. "You know how I was having those dreams?"
He nodded. "The nightmares about the crash."
"They weren't nightmares about the crash." I paused. "Well, the first one was."
"What were the other ones about?"
"Me and you … " I let the sentence end suggestively.
A slow smile formed on his face.
I held up my hand. "But it wasn't just me and you."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean there was someone else in the dream with us … doing things."
"Please tell me it was another girl."
Only a man would pray for that …
"It wasn't."
He looked like he was punched in the gut. "It was him, wasn't it?"
I nodded, tears forming in my eyes. Geesh, I was turning into an emotional basket case. Maybe I should stock up on tissues. "I don't know why." I sniffled. "I felt so guilty."
"Why would you feel guilty, bella?" he said softly, caressing the side of my face. I leaned into his touch.
"It felt like I was betraying you somehow."
"You didn't actually sleep with him … like on the island?" he said, watching me.
I shook my head adamantly. "Only you. There's been only you."
"Even since you came home?" he asked, his voice a little strained.
"There will only ever be you."
He let out a breath.
"What about you? Since we've been home?" My stomach cramped. The thought of him with anyone else made me physically ill.
"No, bella, just you." He threaded our fingers together. "I had to fight myself constantly not to come here and bang on your door."
"You did?"
He nodded. "I just wanted to give you the time you needed. I wanted you to be sure."
"I've never been so sure."
"That's real good because I'm never doing this again. I'm moving in. You're going to stop sleeping on the floor and start sleeping in my arms."
Like I said, I loved his bossiness.
"You're going to move in? What about Puerto Rico? What about being a pilot?"
"I can be a pilot from here. We can visit Puerto Rico." He glanced at the urn I still had yet to part with. "We can start with putting Kiki to rest. The way she deserves."
"I'd like that."
He grabbed another slice of pizza and stuck it under my nose. I dutifully took a bite.
"What have you been up to since you got home?"
"I got a new job. One I really love."
"Doing what?" he asked gently, tucking the hair behind my ear.
"I'm a florist. A flower design specialist," I said around a bite of cheesy goodness. "I work at a local flower shop, putting together bouquets and arrangements."
He smiled.
"I don't have to sit behind a desk. I don't have to do math. I get to stare at beautiful flowers all day and make bows with gorgeous ribbons."
"I'm glad you found something you love."
I nodded. "Someday I want to open my own shop. I already have a name."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Bella Flora," I pronounced, totally butchering the Spanish language.
Nash repeated it. It sound incredibly romantic on his tongue. "I like it."
"Me too."
"And I love you."
"I love you more."
"You're not mad about the dreams?"
"I can't say I'm thrilled about it. You with another man is kind of my own personal nightmare."
"I didn't have sex with him in the dream. He just kissed me and stuff."
"And then what?"
"And then you pulled me away."
"This is where you belong, bella." He pulled me into his lap, cradling me against his chest.
"I'm so glad we didn't just have traumatic bonding."
He stilled. "What?"