Page 154 of Return To You

“It’s huge!” she says. “And look at all this… furniture! It’s so much nicer than our first one!”

“I picked up a few skills over the years… And I figured you’d want a little more comfort.”

“Comfort? What for?”

“You don’t like it?” I say, spreading on the futon, tapping next to me for her to lie by my side.

She remains standing and twirls around to take in all the details. “I love it, but for the record, I’d like to state that I don’t need comfort.”

“Duly noted. I’ll just remove the pillows, the curtains, the throws.” I lean over to switch on battery-operated twinkling lights that illuminate the whole ceiling of the tree house.

“Ohmygod, look at that.”

It does look awesome. “Nah, I’ll just take it all out.”

“Don’t you dare,” she says playfully. “What I meant is, being with you is enough.”

But I see them. I see the tears in her eyes. I see the way she crosses her arms, hands clasping her opposite elbows. “Come here,” I say, my voice lower. When she finally lies next to me, I twirl a strand of her hair in my hand. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.”

I haven’t heard from my C.O. yet, but at any moment I’ll be summoned to report in.

She sighs and shuts her eyes. I cup her hip, loving the feel of her body, warm and strong in its own soft way, just like her. She relaxes under my touch, sinking deeper into the mattress, and a tiny sigh escapes her mouth. I run a finger up her T-shirt, goosebumps forming under my touch. She looks at me through half-closed eyelids and brings a hand to my chest, then up to my neck, bringing me down to her.

My heartbeat picks up as the flow of memories mingle with the present. She hasn’t changed, and yet she has. She’s matured. She’s wiser. Braver. More complex. More patient.

The emotional fire she’s been through toughened her and brightened her like a diamond.

She intimidates me.

My fingers reach the lace of her bra, and her breath becomes uneven. Under my hand, the beating of her heart accelerates. She lifts herself off the mattress and removes her T-shirt. I unfasten her bra, then take her perky nipple in my mouth, her moan zinging straight to my dick.

Her fingers fumble with my zipper, and with tiny little cries of want, she gets rid of the fabric between us, wraps her legs around my hips, and pulls me inside her, hungry, wanting, demanding. She nips at my bottom lip, digs her nails in my back, thrusts her hips up, then plants one foot on the mattress, wanting to be on top.

She claims me. Fuck I’ve wanted that. Wanted that for so long, since she’d rejected me and I had no idea why. I wanted to be first for her. First for everything.

I wanted to be her everything.

I wanted to give her everything.

“Ethan,” she moans as she pumps herself up and down my shaft.

“What, beautiful?”

“Ethan…”

“Yeah?”

“Take me harder.” Her eyes roll back as I do what I’m told.

When her walls clench around me, and her nails dig into my flesh, and her moans get louder, and her thighs shake around mine, she grabs my nape and starts tilting us. We roll onto the hard floor of the tree house. “Fuck me right here,” she mumbles when I’m on top of her. I empty myself into her, cupping her back in my arms, pushing her hips into the hard floor. “Yessss,” she sighs, out of breath, her legs wrapped tightly around my waist, absorbing my cum, keeping us joined.

I roll us back onto the mattress and pull her into my chest, stroking her hair. Then as my dick becomes limp, I reach under the mattress and pull out a wad of tissues.

“You sure come prepared,” she says with a lazy smile as I clean her up.

“Next stage is a shower.”

She laughs softly.

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