Page 37 of Breathe Again

The way he looked at me made me feel powerful. I moved forward, meeting him halfway. When our lips crashed together the world spun out of control around me. I smiled against him as his tongue found entry and swirled in time with mine. He was intoxicating, and I pushed my body closer to him, wanting to be as near as possible.

I felt my nipples pebble against his hardened chest. It had been so long since anything felt that good. When his hands rubbed down my back, I shook in anticipation.

My head was swimming from his touch and his kisses as he started trailing them down my body. I could have blamed the painkillers, but I knew it was all Cole, though I prayed they didn’t pull me back into darkness before we finished things.

“Guess I better move quickly,” Cole said with a chuckle. “I’ll be as efficient as possible. Do me a favor and just hold this leg up and out of the way,” he said as I pulled my injured leg up towards me as best I could, holding on beneath my knee. “Perfect. Just whatever you do, don’t touch it,” he said, and I knew he was only half joking after the earlier demonstration.

He was true to his word and wasted no time. Soon my head was spinning, my eyes rolled back in my head, and I swore I saw stars. My body contracted, convulsed, and bucked against him, but he was relentless.

Any doubts in my mind about my sexual abilities were quickly laid to rest as my entire body tensed, my toes curled, and I cried out in ecstasy.

Again,I heard him say, unsure if it was through the bond or aloud, but he never even slowed his pace, drawing out one massive orgasm after another until I was gasping for breath and crying out his name.

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to move for a week, but that wasn’t the end of it. He worked his way back up my body, kissing me hard on the mouth, before flipping me over and placing my hands on the headboard.

I looked back over my shoulder, still dazed and feeling the dreamy-like aftermath he’d caused. He gave me a wicked grin before taking control and living out the fantasy he’d shown me earlier. It was too much of everything all at once.

My body was spent, but still responsive to his touches. When his muscles finally tightened, I pushed back against him with the last bit of strength I had. He growled my name as we both shook in sheer pleasure before collapsing back onto the bed.

A tear ran down my cheek that hurt from smiling so hard. He spooned me from behind and nuzzled into the crook of my neck, kissing the bond mark he’d left there.

“I told you, the only thing you had missing was me,” he said in a deep sexy voice, obviously quite pleased with himself.

I rolled over to face him and he reached up and wiped a stray tear with the pad of his thumb.

“I love you,” I said, before exhaustion and painkillers kicked in and darkness consumed me.

I slept more soundly than I ever remember and woke up rested, but sore in all the right places. My cheeks still hurt from smiling, and I knew that anyone who took one look at me today would only see blissful happiness. I had hidden my emotions, or lack thereof, for many years, but this? The there was no way I could keep my bliss from spilling out to every facet of my life.

Waking up beside him was heaven. Okay, so I was more on him than beside. He was still sleeping soundly, so I took a moment to appreciate my mate. I smiled, just thinking about it. After all this time, we’d finally made it to this point. I propped myself up for a better look, and noticed my leg was draped across his, but it wasn’t hurting. I knew that meant it was healing quickly, and I was thankful for that.

Cole laid out in my bed naked was a glorious sight to behold. I studied each and every tattoo marking his body. Tracing a large one on his chest, I wondered about the story behind it. Some seemed ambiguous, nothing really important jumping out about them, but others seemed so specific and crafted in a way that just told a story. A sad story I realized.

The images of his past that I had witnessed the day before had gutted me. I’d put him through so much pain and suffering, I couldn’t even comprehend it. I didn’t know how to make it up to him, and it made our bond that much more sacred to me, knowing he would take me despite all I’d done to destroy us.

“I never wanted you to see that, but now that you have, you have to forget it, Elizabeth. Like you said, or thought, or whatever, it just makes what we have now even better. I’ll never be that guy again,” Cole said before opening his eyes.

“I know,” I said. “Today starts a whole new life for us.”

He sat up and smirked at me before leaning in for a kiss. “How about we start with a real breakfast?”

“There’s nothing wrong with my Pop-Tarts. But fine, I have cereal too,” I said in a huff.

“I said, real, Elizabeth.”

He got out of bed and first headed for the bathroom. I went straight to the kitchen to see if I even had anything that he would qualify as real. When I opened my refrigerator, I was shocked at what I saw. There was green stuff in there, and other veggies of every color. I bypassed the healthy stuff and found relief in package of bacon, until I pulled it out and saw it was turkey bacon.

“People actually eat this stuff?” I wondered aloud, certain Cole must have grabbed it by accident.

“What stuff?” he asked as he came into the kitchen.

“You grabbed turkey bacon by mistake. And when did you go grocery shopping?”

“Yesterday, remember? I ran out to get the salad fixings. I picked up a few things while I was there. I noticed you didn’t have much food in the house.”

I walked over to the pantry and opened the door, then pointed. “There’s a ton of food here.”

“I’m not eating stuff out of a box.”

---