Page 108 of Anchor

And I agreed.

When he pulled himself out of me, he didn’t take us to the bathroom like I thought. He took me to the bed and lay me down instead.

“I’ll be making a mess out of you again in minutes, so let’s just rest here first,” he said.

I had no complaints whatsoever.

True to his word, Taland made a completemess out of me fifteen minutes later, and this time he wanted to come all over my chest, wanted my nipples covered in his cum, so they were. And when we went to the bathroom to clean up, he fucked me there, too, against the wall, forward and back, standing and bent over. He just spun me around and had his way with me in whichever manner he liked, and I happily took it while the orgasms took every ounce of energy in my body, until I could barely keep my eyes open.

Back in the bedroom, the sparks were all gone—outside the open window, into the world now, so Taland closed the windows, grabbed the bracelet and called upon the rainbow again. Those same sparks sprung to life and multiplied until they created a layer against the ceiling, while I watched and smiled and clapped my hands as well as I could.

Then the sparks began to float around, just like before. Taland climbed in bed with me, put me over his chest so that I rested my head on his shoulder. I wanted to keep my eyes open and just look at those sparks floating for a while, but I was too exhausted. I was already a goner.

The aftermath of all that intense, incredible pleasure remained in my body. All those beautiful words he’d said to me were at the center of my mind, pushing back everything else, every bad thought and memory I owned.

Through summer breezes,I thought, but I must have said it out loud, too, because I heard my own whisper. “Through fucking hurricanes.”

I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

When I woke up, Taland wasn’t there.

Chapter 21

Rosabel La Rouge

I blinked my eyes, looked around at the faded sparks that were still floating around the room. The drapes were drawn, but sunlight slipped through the cracks between them as if to let me know that it was daylight outside.

My body was still heavy, my muscles sore in the best possible way, and the memories were right there in the center of my mind, so of course I was smiling. I rolled on the small bed and scanned the room quickly, like I thought Taland might be hiding somewhere in the corners, but he wasn’t. I was all alone.

I sat up and tested my legs, squeezed my thighs—yep,they hurt, the pain barely there, a beautiful reminder of the night before. Thedaybefore, too. A deep sigh escaped me, and my eyes closed, and my lips stretched and stretched. Definitely one of the best days of my life, and I couldn’t wait for more of them. So many more.

The charm that Taland’s mother had made him was right there on the bedside table together with the bracelet and my ring.

I pushed myself to stand, to put my clothes on, to go downstairs and find Taland.

I did.

The kitchen, the small living area downstairs, were empty.

My heart skipped a beat, and this cloud was slowly coming over my head, but I pushed it back with all my strength. I pushed back every single bad feeling that wanted to creep up on me when I wasn’t paying attention because there was absolutely nothing to worry about. Taland wasn’t here because Taland had gone to town to get groceries.

And maybe we did have groceries from yesterday’s trip, but he’d gone to get us those sandwiches—the turkey sandwiches that we’d both loved.

Or maybe he forgot that he hadn’t gotten coffee yesterday, and he’d figure I’d want some in the morning, and that’s why he wasn’t here.

He wasn’tgonegone—he’d just gone to bring me coffee.

So, I sat in the single chair in the kitchen and I waited a whole hour.

Taland didn’t come.

My stomach was rolling and twisting, and I felt like my limbs had rocks inside them when I went to the front door—unlocked—and outside the house, into the sunlight. I didn’t feel its warmth. I didn’t feel anything other than this black hole that was expanding in my chest because Taland wasn’t outside, waiting for me, either.

Gotcha!I imagined him calling.You were so scared, sweetness. So scared!

And we’d laugh and laugh and laugh—never mind that I knew Taland wouldneverdo something like that, would never scare me in this way. Never mind that even if he did, he’d have come out by now—never mind!What mattered was that he’dpop up in front of me and I’d jump in his arms and we would be perfectly fine. Together.

“TALAND!”

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