Page 10 of Taurus
I wait to hear if she says anything else, but when she doesn't, I look down at her and tilt her chin up to look at me.
“What are you thinking?” I ask, wishing I could hear her thoughts at this moment.
“I’m thinking that even though I don’t want to see you go, you have to go back.”
“What about us?”
“I’ll still be here—if you decide to come back.”
The light streaming in the window dims, almost as if her mood is dictating the sunlight. I can see Cordelia putting on a brave face for me, and I love her even more for it.
“Can’t you see that I don’t care about any of that anymore?” I ask. “I was just moving through my life like a machine, overworking myself and never taking time for a life. And then everything happened with Trevor, and it led me to you. My life started when I pulled you from the ocean. I don’t want to go back and lose what we have together.”
Cordelia sits up and cups my face in her hands. “I was afraid to tell you until this moment, but I’m not afraid anymore. I love you, Jace. And I promise you that what we share isn’t so fragile that you can’t go and resolve this thing with Trevor. I will wait as long as it takes if it means that I get to spend the rest of my life waking up with you next to me."
I crush my lips against hers, needing to feel her, to know that what she said isn’t just in my imagination.
“I love you, too,” I say against her lips.
"Good." She smiles and pushes me gently. "Then go so that you can get back to me that much sooner."
7
CORDELIA
It’s been nearly a week since Jace left. Even though he said he'd be back, I still can't shake the uneasy feeling I get when I think about the return of his money. With it, he can just as easily go back to his life before meeting me. It's easy when you are outside the bubble of your real life to get caught up in the moment, to think that you feel things that you later realize weren't real—but there is no question in my mind that what I feel for him is real.
I know it’s silly to think that Madame Zodiac’s words knowingly brought us together, but nevertheless, they did. At least for a short amount of time.
The pull of the water calls to me. Like the generations of women before me on this island, I stare out at the horizon, wondering if the man that I love will come back to me.
The rhythmic sounds of the waves don't seem to have the calming effect they once did before. It could be that the water is no longer home to me. Jace is home.
I move closer to the edge, my feet sinking into the warm sand with each step I take. The tide creeps closer, engulfing me, and I sink into the sand.
“I hope you aren’t thinking about jumping in, so I have to save you again,” Jace’s voice rings out behind me.
I spin around and see him standing there. His bag slung over his shoulder. My feet move of their own accord as I sprint across the beach and into Jace’s open arms. He stumbles backward, and we tip over into the sand like a fallen tree in the woods.
“I think she missed me.” He laughs as I plant kisses all over his face.
“You came back.”
His smile falters, and he rolls us over, hovering over me—an expression of concern marring his beautiful face.
“You seem surprised,” he says.
I run my fingers into his hair, needing to feel that he’s real. “I had some slight reservations that you would go back, your life would fall back into place, and you’d forget about me.”
He presses his body against mine, letting me feel the hard press of his cock against my belly.
“Does it feel like I forgot you?” he asks.
I reach between us, rubbing the thick length of him and squeezing. “I’m feeling more confident that you missed me.”
“Fuck,” he groans. “I came back as quickly as I could. You were all I could think about.”
“Don’t go again,” I say.
