Page 89 of From Us, Forever

“I love you more.” I smiled, clutching him tight, not caring about his sweat seeping into my skin. “It’s only for two days, right? You’ll be back before no time,” I said, pulling away, my arms still loosely hanging over his hips.

“Yeah,” he mumbled, his eyes going straight to the front of my dress. Which was now drenched in his sweat and transparent.

“Jay,” I chided, “eyes up here.”

“Can’t help it,” he said in a deep voice that jolted electricity through my spine, and he still hadn’t looked up.

At this point, I was pretty sure that my diamond-hard nipples were cutting through the dress, and my cheeks were flaming pink.

“Jay,” I repeated, mustering a firm tone.

He finally looked up with sheepish eyes. “What?” he mumbled. “I’m not going to see them for two days.”

My throat dried up. “You can’t say things like that,” I said, rising on my tiptoes as I pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Hmm,” he muttered, pulling me in for a long kiss on the lips instead. “I’m glad you’re wearing a lot of pink now.” He smiled as we parted.

“Yeah, you brought my favorite color back to me.” I looked up shyly. It was true, though; pink was my favorite color ever since Grandma gave me a strawberry pudding when I was a kid.

Since then, anything I owned had a tinge of pink.

But I avoided it at all costs when we separated because the color reminded me of him, and it hurt to even see it in passing every day.

I shouldn’t have associated it with him.

But what choice did I have?

After learning that I loved pink, every present that he got for me was pink. And now I felt safe enough to bring it back into my life.

His featherlight touch traced over my hips. “Have I told you how much I love you in these dresses? Although they are a high level of temptation.”

I rolled my eyes.

Since changing my wardrobe, I’ve switched to wearing dresses for hoodies around the house. They made me feel pretty, but I was partial to my man’s T-shirts. I planted my fists on his chest, pushing him toward the door.

“You need to shower, mister. You’re going to be late.”

“Fine, ma’am.” He smirked, giving me a salute as he walked out.

My fingers swept on their own accord to dig out the chain from the depths of my chest. The shining “J” pendant and the peony ring.

My fingers molded over them, my heart filling to the brim with adoration. Jay got these when he had nothing to his name. They probably didn’t cost a lot, but to me, they meant more than anything Jay owned today.

Nothing would overshadow the value of what these meant to me.

I would always wear them.

Thirty minutes later, I heard his footsteps approaching. “Sweetheart, I’m ready to go.” Jay’s soft voice reached my ears.

I looked up to see he was fully dressed, dragging a small suitcase and a heavy trunk behind him. He wouldn’t go anywhere without Firebird.

“I can help you carry these,” I mumbled, trying to take the suitcase away from him as we descended the stairs.

He gave me a sharp side-eye. “I think I’m man enough to do that. You might end up breaking a bone or two on the way.”

I scoffed, watching as he easily carried them down the stairs. “You made me haul them all by myself when I was your assistant. Remember those days when you acted like an ass—hating me.”

He exhaled. “I didn’t hate you. I never did. I guess I was confused to have youback in my life. And I regret making you carry these and ordering you around like a maniac.”

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