Page 87 of Connected By Love
“I fucking love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you in my life.” I breathe her in, taking deep breaths like she’s my lifeline to keep the dark thoughts away.
“Lucky for you, you won’t ever have to find out. I love you too, baby.” Her voice washes over me freeing a little bit more of the guilt.
“Tell me a good story about her. Something we both can remember about her. She should have someone thinking of her right now and honoring the best parts of her life.”
God, this girl is unbelievable. How she can take pain and turn it into something beautiful amazes me. I slide down onto the floor with her and lean against the bed, bringing her to my chest as I hold her.
She snuggles up against me as I share story after story of the fun times we had together. I leave out all the bad and fill our heads with the parts of Addy that were lost. These are the stories that I’ll share with Max one day, so the good in her will outweigh the bad.
Hours later,I crawl into bed and bring her body close to me as we lay there in the dark. I spent the rest of the evening making arrangements for Sophia and me to fly to LA. Her attorney contacted me, and she left everything to Max, so we need to sign some papers and go through her things. I’ll donate most of it to the local homeless shelters, but I’ll keep some personal items I know she would want Max to have. The rest will be sold and put into a trust for Max. Her remains will be brought back with us, and the three of us will scatter her together one day to honor the person who brought Max into this world.
Max took the news better than I thought he would. I could tell he was sad, but she was a stranger to him even though shewas his mom. He’s still so young, and I know one day he will want to know more about her, but for now, he knows she’s in the stars, watching over him and loving him from afar.
Sophia is pressed against me, and my hands roam her body, perfectly molded to mine. The need to be inside the one place where I can lose myself and forget everything overcomes me.
I flip her on her back and settle myself between her legs. She’s wearing one of my t-shirts that I fucking love so much on her. Most of the time, I wear it the next day so I can have her scent with me.
“I need you, wildcat.” I nudge my swollen dick at her already wet entrance. “I need to lose myself in you. Let me feel everything good in this world.” She spreads her legs wider and lifts her hips as I slowly fill her. Her body surrounds mine like a tight glove, and I moan from the sheer pleasure of how good she fucking feels.
“You are what is good in this world, Travis,” she breathes against me as I slowly pull back and enter her again. “In my world, you’re everything.”
“And you’re mine.” I kiss her slow and deep wanting to feel everything in this moment. Every little sound she makes and the way her body feels against mine is something I want to commit to memory.
I lift her shirt over her head and take her nipple into my mouth, sucking hard before feasting on the other. Her back arches up, and a moan escapes those beautiful pink lips. I go deep and slow, savoring how her body wraps around me tightly.
It’s painfully torturous at this pace but beautiful at the same time to feel this connected to someone. I’ve never made love to someone this way. It’s like my whole body is attuned to hers, and we are synced together as one.
“Travis…” She whispers my name on a sigh, and I trail my hand down her neck, feeling her pulse beating against my palm asI hold it there. Her eyes are closed as her head goes back, exposing more of her neck to me.
“You are so fucking beautiful, wildcat. I want you to open your eyes and look at me when you come apart. Let me see those greens that I love so much.” She blinks her eyes open and meets mine. “There’s my good girl.” I pull out of her and go hard and deep, knowing that’s all it’s going to take to push us over the edge together.
Her pussy starts to clench around me, and she bites her lip to stop her cry as her eyes never leave mine. I pour into her as our souls look at each other, and I know I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life. If I died tomorrow, heaven wouldn't be a surprise because I just caught a glimpse of it tonight.
I liftmy beer and grin as I take a sip, listening to Maverick and Noah’s version of how they met Emma.
“You should have seen the look on his face when he found out it was me who hit on her.” Mav laughs at Noah’s annoyed look.
“They obviously thought it was way funnier than I did.” Noah rolls his eyes at Maverick’s grin before turning to me. “I’m glad you invited us out. I’ve been wanting the three of us to grab a beer together so we could get to know you better. Sophia seems very happy lately, so you must be doing something right.”
“Speaking of Sophia, there’s a reason I asked you both out tonight.” I hesitate before continuing, not sure how they’re going to take it. It’s been a month since I learned of Addy’s death. In a weird way, it brought us even closer together. We went to LA the following week, and when we got back, thethree of us had a little ceremony with Max so he could say goodbye. I spent the last two weeks planning and getting things in order for what I want to do.
“I went to your parents’ house last Wednesday, Maverick, while Sophia was at school to talk to them. I got their blessing to ask Sophia to marry me, and I want to get yours too—both of yours,” I say, looking at Noah before returning to Mav.
He starts to speak, and I cut him off. “Before you say anything, I know it may seem fast, but there’s not a doubt in my mind that I want her forever. I love her with everything in me, and nothing would make me happier than to make her my wife. You wouldn’t have to worry about her for one second with me by her side. I swear to my last breath I’ll make her happy every damn day of my life.”
“Can I talk now?” Maverick eyes me over the table. Nodding my head, he continues. “Sophia’s my baby sister, and I want nothing more for her than to be happy and be with someone who can protect and take care of her the way she deserves. These last few months, I’ve seen how much she loves not only you but Max as well. I’ve also noticed that you look at her the same way Noah looks at Emma and I look at Bell. I would be honored to have you as my brother and Max as my nephew.”
“Thank you.” Emotions clog my throat when I realize how much more family Max is about to receive.
“I feel the same. Sophia’s just as much my sister as Bella is, and I can’t think of anyone I would rather have by her side. And don’t worry about the timeline. You’re talking to a guy who would have married Emma the day I met her if she had let me. When you know, you know,” he grins at me from across the table. “So when is this happening?”
“Soon,” I laugh. “I bought the ring last week and plan on telling Max the day before. I don’t want him to let it slip, so I’veput it off until the last minute. He’s going to be very excited, though. In a way, he connected us. Our love for Max brought us together.”
“Connected by love,” Noah grins.
“Yeah. Connected by love.” I smile as we toast to our new beginning.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
