Page 42 of Four Times Saved

"You know I can walk on my own, right?" Lily looked up at Ethan as he carried her inside the Airbnb.

"Yeah, but how often do you get to be carried?" Ethan smiled at her.

It was good to be back home with her safe and sound, fussing as usual. We were cheesing from ear to ear and we could parkour off the walls in excitement. Of course, we were happy as hell. Lily was home— and she was hornier than I'd ever seen her. It was worrying.

I was concerned for her need to deflect from her trauma with sex, instead of just talking about it. Her head must have been a mess right now, thoughts running rampant. And I shouldn't have been horny as well.

As much as I wanted to be around her twenty-four seven, I wouldn't be able to resist her for much longer if she kept this up. She hadn't spoken about it again, but action speaks louder than words and she kept giving us those 'fuck me' eyes that made me want to strip her naked and gawk at her perfection. She lost focus while we were having a conversation and zoned in on our lips, let her gaze linger over our bodies, blushed when we got close, let out soft little moans every time we touched her. Fuck, it was maddening.

For her own good and her recovery, I'd have to avoid her. I couldn't stand it. I was seconds close from shoving my dick inside her mouth and giving her what she was asking for. The last thing I wanted to do was be away from her so soon after getting her back, but I wouldn't be a gentleman for much longer if she kept taunting me.

Ethan placed her on the sofa and I grabbed the matching ottoman to prop her legs up.

"Thanks." She sighed and did that moaning thing again as she stretched and let the full sofa swallow her up. "Wow, this is nice." She ran her hand over the cushions and threw her head back. "It's so big. It's perfect."

Okay, now I was just reading too much into her words. She's talking about the cushions, Eric. Get your mind out of the gutter.

"Mmmmmm." She dragged and I gulped. "Something smells delicious." Lily pulled the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip and bit it.

That was it.

"Uh, so I should probably head out and go get your mom?" I hesitated, clearing my throat.

She whipped around at me and her eyes went big. The twinkle left them for pitch darkness. "Do you have to? Can't you ask someone at the shelter to bring her over? Please stay."

The desperation in those hazel globes...I was sickened that I mentioned leaving, just because I couldn't handle being this close to the woman I almost lost, the woman I wanted to be wrapped up with, inside of and consumed with for every second of every day until the only thing that could separate us was when I took my last breath.

"Of course. I'm sorry." I rushed forward, kicking myself up the backside.

My body was just going to have to learn to resist Lily's desire to strip me naked. I had to find a way to cope with my need to show her just how much I missed her essence, her flavor, her body, her hair tickling my nose from her head against my chest, waking up next to her pressed into my skin, her morning voice...every single part of her being.

"I'm not going anywhere." I took her hand in mine, locking eyes with her.

The look went on longer than I expected. The heat in her gaze started to suck me in until I forgot all the reasons why giving her what she was asking for was such a bad idea. I was grateful when her attention was pulled from lust to another temptation.

Her eyes lit up at Matt coming out of the kitchen with plates of food and air found my lungs again.

"Don't worry, I got soup for your mother as well, just in case. I'll heat it up when she gets here," Matt said while handing her two plates, one with pizza and another with pasta. "I wasn't sure what you'd want." He frowned. "If you don't feel for this, I've got a bunch of stuff. There's Thai curry, Chinese food, Italian, Mexican, there's more junk food, different types of pizza, burgers, fries. There's enough food to share if this is all too heavy...I honestly just stopped at every restaurant while I was out to get my mind off not knowing whether or not you were..." He stopped himself before spinning around. "I also got you some clothes..."

"Matt, sit down." She grinned. When he did, she kissed him. "And shut up." She took a slice of pizza and stuck it into his mouth. "I'm just happy to be home."

"This is just an Airbnb." Ethan headed toward the kitchen for his own plate.

"Yeah, I don't mean this place. I mean wherever you guys are." She admitted and I turned around to smile at her. The shock must have been as bright as a morning star across my face because she said, 'What?' over a bite of pizza.

"Nothing. You're just so open with your feelings now. It's nice." I remarked, pulling her in for a kiss.

"Yeah, well. Almost dying will do that to you. Maybe my dad should've kidnapped me before now so I could learn to appreciate every moment sooner." She shrugged.

I tensed. Ethan dropped a plate in the kitchen and it broke apart.

Lily jumped from the loud impact, but she covered it up before we could see it. At least she thought we didn't see it, but I did.

The picture of Terry Thornbread's face burned through my skull and I saw red.

"Hey, I was only joking." She paused to look at me, eyes bulging. I wasn't sure if I was the one who had put that fear in her eyes or the memory triggered by the smashing plate, but I didn't want to risk scaring her.

"I know. I'm sorry." I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook the image of Terry's face out of my mind. When I looked up, Ethan was scowling.

---