Page 92 of All I Ask
“We make sense.” His voice is soft, as if he doesn’t want to disrupt the moment. “What do you want to feel, Teagan?”
My pulse is racing and every muscle in my body is pulled toward him.
I look up in his eyes as he waits. “Tell me something real,” I say with fear and hope.
Derek moves so our lips are a breath apart. “I’m really going to kiss you.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Derek
Present
The first time I kissed Teagan Berkeley we had been drinking, and even in the slight alcohol fog in the moment, everything felt right.
She felt right.
We are right.
This time, my entire life makes sense. It’s as if the pieces of me that were floating, searching for their rightful spot have just…connected.
Our mouths move together and I pull her in my arms. For so long I’ve felt such jarring emotions when it came to her. It was too intense and made no sense, but this is why. Because I didn’t know that having her would calm everything.
I hold her cheeks, needing to keep our lips fused. She’s the air, the ocean, and I would drown in her if I could.
She moans into my mouth and I push her to her back, cradling her as we go. Her fingers slide through my hair, gripping the strands as though she has to keep me here. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
I kiss her for the years I couldn’t. I kiss her for the time that’s passed and I didn’t get to touch her. I kiss her as a promise and an apology because I hurt her. My heart, which has been dead inside, is beating and she’s who gave it back.
Maybe it was never mine to begin with and it’s always been Teagan’s.
“Derek.” She says my name in the softest tone.
“I’m here.”
Teagan’s eyes are filled with desire as she stares up at me. “This is real, right? This isn’t a dream.”
I shake my head. “It’s real.”
“Real.” She says the word as if it’s the first time.
Her fingertips graze my face and I watch her watching me. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”
“You’re not the only one.”
“This is going to be complicated,” Teagan warns.
I’m not sure if she’s telling me or reminding herself. However, I don’t care what we have to do to make this work. There is no way I can walk away. Not when everything in my life is finally fitting.
When I lost Meghan, I didn’t know what it meant. I thought it was a punishment of some sort. I believed I deserved to be alone now because it was how she must’ve felt.
Then, when I had to come back here, I again thought it was another way to have to be reminded of the man I couldn’t be for Meghan. I had no idea if Teagan was married or happy. Surely she had to be. She’s beautiful, funny, smart, and I never would’ve been able to handle watching her with another man.
“I can do complicated,” I assure her.
“We can’t tell anyone.”
I smile. “I can keep a secret.”
