He came back a minute later with a warm washcloth and ever so gently ran the cloth between my legs. I was moved by his tenderness, but still squirmed at the intimacy of the act. When he finished, rather than walk back to the bathroom, he bundled up the cloth and threw it in the general direction of the door, then joined me under the covers, pulling my back to his front. He splayed kisses along my shoulder blade, and twined his fingers with mine, pressing our hands against my belly.
"I can't imagine it gets any better than that," I said quietly.
"Hmmm," was his response and my eyebrows rose.
"Hmmm? You've had better than that?" I was a little embarrassed, immediately thinking the most intense sexual experience of my life had only been mediocre in his eyes.
"God, Lena, no." He was laughing. "You just immediately got me thinking of all the chances we'll have to top it." His free hand pulled my dark hair off my neck so he could kiss me there. "That was, by far, the best I've ever had. Making love with you, well," he sighed. "It defies words."
I couldn't help the blush that spread into my cheeks. Then I giggled. I giggled, and then I snapped my mouth shut, or tried to. My mouth wouldn't close all the way for the huge smile on my face.
I was happy. Ridiculously, gloriously, exceedingly happy. I hadn't been happy like that in years.
"Thank you for coming for me," I rasped, the laughter suddenly gone from my voice. I brushed my thumb across the skin of his hand, using the motion to distract myself from all the post-coital emotions that were surfacing. "I don't think I would have ever gone back for you. I didn't think there was anything left for me there."
"Shh. Let's not think about what could have been. I want to focus on what is. And we're here together, right now. I'd like nothing more than to sleep with you in my arms and wake up to your beautiful face, because honestly, up until a few hours ago, I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to do that again." He kissed my shoulder blade again. "And I'm very much looking forward to it."
"Okay," I whispered, turning my face into the pillow, smiling as Preston's arm pulled me even closer to him.
Chapter Eight
The next morning was like a dream. I woke to his warm hand resting possessively over my belly, immediately smiling, liking the way he wanted to claim me even while sleeping. I turned my head toward him, sneaking a peek at him while he was unaware, and was treated to the view of his body, face down, and sprawled out on the bed naked from the waist up. The one hand that wasn't on me was laying right underneath his cheek, resting between his face and his pillow.
He was beautiful. And mine.
I rolled toward him then, pressing my lips to the shoulder nearest me, and then his arm tightened around me, pulling me in, urging me closer.
"Good morning," he garbled through his sleepy fog.
"Morning," I whispered against the skin of his bicep.
His hand wandered over my bare skin, coming to rest just above my ass, where he trailed light fingers in the curve of my back. Then, slowly, he rolled over, his hand remaining on me as if he were afraid to lose contact, but coming to rest on his back. "You feel perfect here, in my arms, in the morning. You're soft and warm."
I moved so my hands were resting on top of one another on his chest, my chin propped up on them, looking him in the eye.
"You look pretty good too," I said, smiling. He leaned forward and pressed a small kiss to my lips.
"I think," he said as he rolled his massive body over mine, giving me no choice but to roll to my back and look up at him, "we should take a shower." He placed a kiss on the hollow of my neck. "Then we should get dressed." His mouth moved down my chest, pausing to kiss me between my breasts, stopping my breath, speeding up my heart. "Eat breakfast," he said with a smirk as his mouth moved even lower to my belly, making me squirm. "Then, we should probably go check in with everyone else." His mouth moved even lower still, making me gasp when his breath feathered over the sensitive skin between my legs.
My hips tilted up toward him, wanting the contact, needing his touch.
"Sound good, sweetheart?"
Panting, I looked down to him, meeting his gaze over the rising of my breasts with each breath.
"I'm not going anywhere with you until I feel your mouth on me."
His eyebrows shot up, obviously surprised by my demand.
"You're the boss," he said with a grin. Then his mouth disappeared entirely.
An hour later, we walked into my apartment to find Sam, Piper, and Parker all sitting around the kitchen table.
"Well, look who's decided to come up for air," Parker said before we even got the door closed. I immediately blushed, but Preston's hand at my back urged me forward. Suddenly, Piper jumped up from her chair and darted toward Preston. I moved to the side, trying to not get run over, and watched as Piper launched herself into her brother's arms.
He took her in, wrapped her up, and the two of them swayed back and forth in their embrace.
"I've missed you," I heard Piper mutter into his neck.
"Hey, Pipe, it's okay. I'm here." His voice was tender and I was reminded why all of us were here to begin with; because Piper had been in danger and because Preston had protected her. It was moving to see him hold her, a protective big brother. Although, I imagined their bond went even deeper than that. Twins always seemed to be closer than normal siblings.
When she finally pulled away, she made sure to turn away from everyone, but I couldn't miss her wiping away the tear that had fallen down her face. I was both equally touched at the emotion she was showing toward her brother and surprised to watch their interaction. I looked back to him and his face was pained, matching hers.
Piper made it back to her seat and Parker gave her a smile, ruffling her head as she sat. Preston walked to the table and shook Parker's hand, then slapped the back of his shoulder.
"Thanks for vacating the apartment last night. I hope you didn't have a hard time finding a place to crash."
Parker laughed. "No problem. I stayed here on the couch. In fact, we had a great time."
I made my way to the table, taking the only available chair, sitting next to Sam.
"Hey, sunshine," she said to me with a smile.
"Hey. Sorry I disappeared."
"Listen, the three of us have been working like dogs to make sure last night happened," she said motioning between herself, Parker, and Piper. "This is what we wanted; the two of you together."
I smiled hard, but I blushed harder. It was unnerving thinking about all our friends and family plotting to get us back together, all of them knowing we'd spent the night reuniting. Sam placed her hand over mine.
"Are you happy?"
My eyes glanced to Preston and his smile was so radiant and beautiful. I couldn't help the corners of my mouth turning up to match. I looked back to Sam and nodded.
"Good. Then mission accomplished." She patted my hand again, then went back to eating the muffin that sat in front of her. Suddenly, I was starving. I stood up and went into the kitchen, searching for a muffin like Sam's, but was halted when Preston pressed his front to my back, sweeping my hair from one shoulder, and planting a kiss right on my neck. I shivered, his kiss awakening every nerve in my body.
"Do you want a muffin?" I asked, trying to keep our interaction PG for everyone else's benefit.
"A muffin sounds fantastic." I tried to ignore my mind's insistence that he was being dirty, and simply grabbed a muffin and put it on a plate. I turned and the friction caused by my front running along his chest caused my heart to speed up and my nipples to harden instantly.
"Haven't you had enough sex yet? After last night and this morning, I would think you needed to recharge a little." I tried to press the small plate between us, but he wasn't budging.
"Have you had enough of me?" he asked, feigning insult. He took the small plate from me, but just to place it on the counter behind me. Then he moved in, both hands pressed to the counter, caging me in. His head moved slowly until his lips were pressed against my ear, and any space between us had been eaten up by his long hard body pressing into mine. "I only got to enjoy you for a few nights before circumstances took you away from me." He moved down and pressed small kisses along my neck, teasing me. "So, forgive me if I want to get as much of you as possible."
"Okay," I whispered, afraid if I spoke too loudly everyone in the dining room would hear how needy I was. "But, not in front of everyone."
"Hmmm," he growled in my ear, his voice so low and gravelly, my body pressed into his even more. But then he gave me what I wanted and pulled away, but not before placing a very quick, chaste kiss to my lips. Then he took his muffin and sauntered back to the table and I was jealous of his ability to look completely unaffected.