Page 61 of Could Have Been Us
Her chest rises and falls a bit harder. “I dream of it too.”
“We don’t have to dream right now.” I take the hem of her shirt and lift it over her head. God, she’s so fucking gorgeous. “Besides, my imagination failed. You’re better than I could ever imagine.”
She smiles. “And what about my imagination?”
“What about it?”
“Do I not get to see if my mind remembers as poorly?”
“By all means,” I say as an invitation.
Stella tugs my shirt off. Her fingers trail back down my chest, moving against every muscle. Her long lashes lift as she stares up at me. “It seems both our imaginations have failed us.”
I move back over her, forcing her down onto the bed, and kiss her.
Because I can.
Because I’ve wanted to and have years of missed opportunities to make up for.
Because Stella is here and there is nothing keeping us apart anymore.
Our tongues slide against the others as her hands sink into my hair. I love how she holds me as though I’m anchoring her and she needs me as much as I need her.
My mouth leaves hers and trails down her neck and then lower. Stella pushes up a little, unhooking her bra but leaving it there. One brow lifts as if she’s asking what I’m going to do about it.
Well, I know exactly what I want to do.
I pull it off, exposing her to my gaze. “So fucking beautiful.”
“Touch me, Jack. Please.”
The please does me in. I can’t deny her anything. I lean down, tongue gliding around her nipple. She draws in a deep breath, and I take the bud into my mouth, sucking. I knead her breasts as my mouth worships back and forth.
Stella makes breathy sounds, and I focus on each one, trying to repeat the motion to make her moan.
“Jack,” she says on a groan. “Don’t stop.”
It’s not even a possibility.
I want to do this over and over until the two of us can’t move. I want to make her scream, cry out, and beg me to stop. I plan for this night to last until the sun goes back down tomorrow. I’m going to pour twelve years’ worth of love, desire, and need into the time I have now.
I kiss down farther, over her flat stomach, which was round the last time I touched it. Her hand moves to the back of my head. “Jack.”
It’s as though she’s in the same memory as I am. I lift my head, seeing the emotion welling in her eyes. “I loved you then.”
“I loved you too.”
“I’m sorry, Stella.”
There’s so much that I’m apologizing for—all the pain we endured, the years of secrets and loneliness. I should’ve been stronger. I should’ve gone to war for her so that we didn’t have to suffer because of the choices we made.
Her hand moves to my jaw, cupping my chin. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Tonight isn’t about the past.”
“I hate that I hurt you.”
“I hurt you too.” Stella’s voice breaks. “We both hold blame, but we can’t build the future on the regrets of the past.”
I kiss her belly again. “I’m going to give you a future,” I vow.
