Page 84 of If Tomorrow Never Comes

She couldn’t think of a single thing that hadn’t felt wonderful. They’d smiled and laughed, and been serious and focused. Her cheeks heated at the memory of his body stretched taut over hers, his face twisted with pleasure and determination as he moved.

It had been just like her dream, but better.

He grinned at her. “Whatcha thinking about?”

Her eyelids fluttered. “What? Nothing.”

“You’re blushing.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Fine. I was just comparing last night to the time I dreamed about us doing ... that.”

His smile widened. “Your dreams were like that, huh?”

Her face flamed hotter. “The best one was. We were, um ... in the back seat of your truck.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Really? That sounds cramped.”

“You were pretty resourceful and made it work just fine.”

“Sounds like me.” He pressed a kiss to her jaw. “But please tell me the real thing was better. I can’t let Dream Jamie win this one.”

“Dream Jamie did some good work, but you won fair and square.” She trailed her hands down his chest and abs, and his muscles contracted as she passed over the ridges. “Honestly, how are you this sexy?”

“I should ask you the same thing.” He rolled on top of her, caging her in between his forearms and thighs. He met her gaze. “I’m crazy about you.”

Jamie kissed her lips, then worked his way down her throat. He trailed his tongue along her collarbone, then stopped at her upper chest. Shifting to one side, he brought his hand up and traced the pads of his fingers over her port.

“Will you have this forever?”

“No. I hope not, anyway,” she said, glancing down at his fingers brushing the device buried under her skin. “I probably should have had it taken out by now. I’ve just been scared to.”

His hazel eyes grew concerned. “Because you’re worried you might need it again?”

She nodded. “I got it out after my first remission, and the cancer came back, and I had to get a new one anyway. I guess I’m just waiting until I feel confident I beat it this time.”

“What do you think that will take? For you to feel good about it?”

“I’m not sure. The hundred-day mark after a transplant is a big milestone. So is a year, and I passed both of those. But I still don’t feel ready. I was cancer-free for several years the first time before it came back.”

“Didn’t you say a transplant is supposed to work better than what you had before?”

“Yeah.” She didn’t know what else to say. Had no explanation for why she let fear rule her, or why she still had this underlying feeling something would go wrong eventually.

Jamie didn’t seem to mind. He didn’t push her for more information or try to convince her everything would be fine. He couldn’t promise that, and she appreciated the fact he wouldn’t say the empty words when he had no control over the outcome. He simply brushedhis lips over her skin, right there, where needles had pierced through so many times she’d lost count.

“Whatever happens, I’ll be here.”

She shifted upward and kissed him hard, and as they moved around the bed, lost in each other, Hank whined and jumped off.

Jamie laughed and Elliott glanced at him worriedly. “Do we need to let him out?”

He shook his head and buried his face in her neck. “Nope. I snuck him out around three in the morning, after you woke me up for round two.”

Elliott bit her lip. “Oh.”

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