“Yes to what? You never asked me a question,” I scoff jokingly.
“Will you come back home? To our home? Be in our family and help me raise my son?”
“That depends.” I look up towards the ceiling before I smile back at him. “Am I coming back as the nanny?”
Luke shakes his head. “No. You’re coming back as my girlfriend, my partner, my forever.” And then he plunges his tongue into my mouth while we wrap our arms around each other and reacquaint ourselves intensely. I bask in the feeling of kissing him again when a part of me wondered if this was an experience that would only exist in my memory after our fight.
“Okay. Then yes.”
“Good,” he growls and then stands, still holding me in his arms.
“Luke! Where are you taking me?” I ask as he walks us down the hallway before we enter his room.
“You belong in here with me,” he says as he lays me down on his bed, the immensity of this moment unwavering as I realize this is the first time I’ve been in this room.
“Are you sure, Luke?”
He nods, trailing kisses down my cheek before finding my lips again. “Yes. This is our room now.” He juts his chin to the nightstand where a picture of us from our hike sits in a frame. And that’s when my eyes move around the room and I gasp again. The walls adorn several photos of us, my comforter is folded neatly on a chair in the corner, and a few of my pieces of clothing that Pfeiffer must have left are hanging in the closet.
“I love you, Luke,” I declare before pulling him back to my lips, sliding up the bed while he crawls over me.
“I love you, Rachel. So fucking much. You’ve brought me back to life, baby. I can never convey how much you mean to me.”
“Show me,” I plead as he reaches for my sweater and pulls it over my head.
“Oh, I plan on it, sweetheart. Every day I’m going to show you how much I love you.”
And then we’re frantic, a mess of limbs and desperation as clothing is discarded, lips are nipped and sucked, and both of us are finally naked, ready to reunite.
Luke reaches for a condom from his nightstand, and once he’s covered, he plunges into me, holding my face with one hand as the other grips my hip.
“Luke…” I moan as he moves, sliding in and out of me at a sluggish pace, reminding me of just how powerful our connection is as he gently makes love to me, savoring every moment.
“I missed you. I missed this,” he whispers in my ear as we rock and back and forth, holding on to each other. And then nothing but moans and gasps fill the room as Luke moves—caressing me, kissing me, loving me with his body.
Suddenly, he sits up and moves me to straddle him so we can face each other. I grind against his pelvis, creating friction against my clit and a glorious movement along a spot deep inside of me too.
“Oh God, Luke…” My head falls back, my hair flowing freely after Luke pulled my bun free earlier.
“Yes, baby. Keep going. You look so beautiful right now…”
“I’m gonna come…”
“Then come. I’m there too,” he grits out as we race to the finish line, flying past it together. Our bodies shake and twitch with each tremor that moves through us before he leans back and we finally collapse on the bed, my body covering his like a blanket.
“I love you,” I mumble through a shaky breath.
“I love you too, babe.” He plants a kiss on my head and then moves me off of him, walking into the bathroom to dispose of the condom.
Lying on my stomach, my bottom half covered by the blanket, I feel Luke slide under the covers to join me, trailing his fingers over my tattoo on my shoulder like he’s done a few times before.
“The Big Dipper,” he says quietly.
“Yes…”
“You got this for your grandpa, didn’t you?”
I turn to face him, still resting my head on the bed on top of my folded arms. “Yup. Even though I forget it’s there sometimes. But when I see it in the mirror, I love the reminder that it gives me…”