Page 89 of SALT

Fuck, she would ask this of me now, but I suppose I knew it was coming, and she's right. It's the only way forward. I can't give her all of me if I'm still choosing to hide parts of me. Releasing her hand, I leave her side of the bed and walk toward the window.

"The last time I jumped in and saved a girl, I married her. If you ask Moira, she'll tell you it was the only option. I would have agreed back then, but now that I'm older, I know there's always more than one option. We just tend to choose the ones with the path of least resistance. I didn't want to stand in the way of you choosing a relationship with Lauren. I felt betrayed by my best friend. I've spent the past five years on a crusade to protect an oath I gave him upon his death, one I gave without knowledge of what I was protecting. The inferences Lauren was making were untenable…" I run my fingers through my beard, buying myself precious seconds where she is still mine. All my words about being her forever, keeping her, giving her babies, and making her my wife could be for nothing when I give her my next truth. "Damon was late to the gala the night of his accident because of me." I drop my head as my lungs deflate from the heaviness that keeping that detail to myself held. "I forgot the award to be given that night in my home office. I asked if he could pick it up since I was already at the event. It's my fault he was on the highway when that semi jackknifed. I'm the reason he's gone."

"I wish you would have told me sooner so that I could have loved you through the pain you're going through because it's my pain too." I turn to her. "Dad was still in town because I forgot my overnight bag at the house. I was supposed to leave the gala with Waverley's daughter that night to go camping for the weekend."

My chest tightens with her admission. I would have given her my truth years ago if I knew I could have spared her a second of carrying the burden of guilt I know she's had haunting her every day. I know because it's the same one that claws at the recesses of my mind daily, stealing moments of joy, reminding me that I'm here and he isn't.

"Cameron, it wasn't your fault," I say, reclaiming my spot beside her bed. "You have to know that."

Her eyes drop to where my fingers instinctively wrap around hers. "If it's not my fault, then it's not yours either. If you had asked me at the beginning of summer, I would have said accidents don't happen. They are caused, but I no longer see it that way. Maybe it's coldhearted, but now I think accidents happen for a reason. We don't always see the reason right away, but they're always there. I wouldn't have the things I have now if he were still here holding onto his secrets."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here. Am I interrupting? I can come back," Lauren says, popping around the curtain.

Lauren's intrusion reminds me there are other people here I need to see, even if I don't want to leave Cameron. As foreign as the thought feels, I'm glad she's here. I was so worried about getting to Cameron and making sure she was okay that I hadn't put too much thought into how she got here or that she was alone when I arrived, though I should have. Cameron wasn't alone when I left her. I don't doubt that Lauren is the reason she's here now.

"No, it's fine. You can stay," Cameron answers before her hand squeezes mine. "Is Moira here? That must have been who the nurse was referring to when they called. I bet she still has you listed as her emergency contact too. People don't think about that stuff when they're healthy."

That has to be what happened. For those few short seconds that felt like they stretched into eternity while the call went silent, the nurse must have started talking about Moira. As much as I don't want to leave Cameron, I must check in with her and Kipp to ensure everything is okay. We may be divorced, but I would never wish her harm. "I'll be back. I need to find Connor too. His phone went straight to voicemail when I tried to call him earlier, but Garrett said they were here."

"I just ran into them downstairs. Mackenzie was getting her ankle wrapped. She's okay. It's just a sprain," Lauren offers from the chair she claimed on the other side of the hospital bed.

Thank god for small miracles. Connor would be beside himself if something happened to Mackenzie. "Okay." I lean down and kiss Cameron's forehead. "I'll be back. I love you."

"I love you too, Ev," she says as I leave her side, and my heart fucking soars. She still loves me, and that's the beginning and the end of everything. As long as I have that, nothing else matters.

Chapter 32

Cameron

Lips trailing down my bare stomach as the blanket shifts, exposing my nipples to the cool air, have me stirring awake right before a tongue licks me straight up my center. "Mmm," I moan as Everett's strong arms wrap around my thighs and pull me closer.

"Good morning, sunshine," he says right before his tongue slips inside of me, melting me at my core. It's been two weeks since the accident and two weeks of him worshipping my body and waiting on me hand and foot. Waking me up like this is one of his favorite love languages. Everett loves physical touch, and living in my RV has only turned touching me into an obsession. One I'm more than okay with. The day I was discharged, I told him I didn't want to go back to his place. I wanted to come here, to my RV, on my property, because the place I was building here felt like home. It felt like ours, and we've been here every day since.

"Ev, you don't have to do this every morning." I'm not complaining, but I feel a little guilty for how this has become my new normal. Upon being discharged, I was given strict instructions to take it easy. When we got home, we laid in bed for hours, talking about everything, and it was during those talks that I divulged my favorite sex is morning sex. I like starting my day with a smile on my face. I love waking up with him wrapped around me and going through my day feeling where he had been. It's a reminder that all of this is real and he's mine.

"Turns out your favorite way to wake up is mine too, but since you mentioned it..." His big hands trail up my thighs, and my stomach tightens. My body feels like clay in a potter's hands, yielding to his every touch, until suddenly they're digging into my sides, and I squeal as he flips us over.

"Everett, what are you doing?" I ask as I brace myself on my forearms. Blowing the hair out of my face, I look down and find his midnight eyes peering up at me from between my thighs.

"You said I don't have to do all the work every morning and you're right." He slaps my right cheek hard. "Ride my face, baby girl."

"Ev, that's not what I meant..."

My argument dies the second I feel his tongue run up my center, and I instinctively grind against it. Both hands grip my ass as his groan reverberates through my body. My hands move to the headboard for better positioning. I'm not fat, but I'm also not a twig. I don't want to smother him. I slowly rock against him as he alternates between running the tip of his tongue down my center and sucking me into his mouth.

"Stop teasing me, sunshine, and sit this pretty pussy on my face."

"Ev, this is hot as fuck," I say, peering down at him between my legs as he deliciously continues to nip and suck. "But I'd rather not suffocate you, and that's a very real possibility since I've never done this."

I'm no stranger to oral but sitting on someone's face is a first. I'm young, and most guys my age are orgasm chasers. They play around down there, never doing it quite right, until getting impatient and going straight for sex, which doesn't always end with you being fully satisfied.

"I couldn't think of a better way to die."

"Everett, I'm serious."

"So am I. This is happening. Especially now that I know I'm your first. Release the headboard and sit up." I wordlessly follow his instructions. Hovering above him, his hand skims up my stomach before cupping my breast and pinching my nipple. The move instantly has me clenching. "The only way I can fill you and give you what you want is if you lower yourself. You can ride my face willingly, or I can tie you up and make you submit. That roof hatch has caught my eye a few times now." My eyes drift to the ceiling and the pull bar on the hatch. I bite my lip hard as images of being tied up flick through my mind. Great, now that's exactly what I want. "Christ, baby. I should have known my girl would want that. We're not doing that today, but if you're a good girl and give this to me now, I'll give you something else."

I roll my lips. I really want to know what something else is. "Fine, but if you ever want me to get on this ride again, you better make it one I'll never forget."

---