Page 66 of Easy Reunion
Chapter 27
Rierson
The silky smoothness of her skin under my fingers is like a drug I can’t get enough of. Kelsey is asleep after we made love again, her sweet heart-shaped ass nestled back against the cradle of my hips. And time and time again, my fingers run up and down the outside of her leg. Under my hands is the physical manifestation of the core of strength inside this incredible woman.
She stirs lightly in her sleep. I slide my hand from her thigh to her hip and squeeze gently, my fingers resting over the daisies she tattooed over the physical scars she endured to attempt to remove the mental ones. My heart beats an erratic rhythm when she reaches back and pulls my hand forward to cup it against the most precious of places.
Her heart.
Dropping my head, I inhale the scent that’s uniquely Kelsey mixed with the earthy scent of our lovemaking. I can hardly believe the way our bodies responded to one another; there was no holding back. Not an inch of her soft skin wasn’t touched or tasted throughout the night.
I should be exhausted, so why can’t I sleep?
Probably because I’ve never had my soul branded by a woman, I muse. Nuzzling her soft hair, I take another hit from the scent I know even now, even though it’s still new, could carry me through the everyday burdens.
Fresh regret washes through me when I think of the time wasted. How different would our lives be right now?
Before I can travel down that path too far, a delicate hand reaches behind me and squeezes my ass. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” I murmur, though I take advantage to lay a string of kisses down Kelsey’s neck.
“I could hear you thinking. It was like a little buzz behind me.”
I smother my laughter and take on an affronted tone. “There’s nothing little about me.”
“Mmmm,” she agrees.
I can’t wait any longer to see her face lit by the promise of the morning sunlight. Shifting Kelsey to her back, I stretch out on top of her. “Good morning.” I brush stray hair away from her face.
“I’ve been waiting for you to wake up,” she admits as she smiles up at me.
“I’ve been waiting for you my entire life,” I tell her honestly.
At my words, her eyes liquefy into the New Orleans sky just before an afternoon summer shower. They turn dark and stormy before a trace amount of moisture trickles out. “Ry?” My name comes out as both a question and a prayer from her sweet lips.
I drop my head and answer the best way I know how.
Soon, we’re awash in the early-morning golden sunlight, a tangle of arms and limbs as I again experience something I’ve never felt before.
It might just be love.
* * *
“What are your plans for today?”Kelsey asks me as we’re eating some eggs I threw together. When she sets aside her portion after eating about half, I take a mental note for the next time I cook.
Next time. I relish the thought. Lifting a mug of coffee to my lips to cover my smile, I know I don’t get away with a damn thing when her eyes narrow at me.
“What? Do I have food somewhere on my face? My teeth?” She makes a face that resembles a braying donkey. I shake my head in silent laughter. After a moment, she glances down at her plate anxiously. “If it wasn’t that, then was it…”
“It was the thought I had that maybe I’d get your portions right eventually. And that led me to think we’d have an eventually.”
Her lips form a perfect O. The way her hair flutters so close to her face, I can tell a breath of air silently passed through. Stepping closer, I tangle my fingers in the loose strands that fell from the top knot on her head. Tugging gently, I tip her face up to mine to receive the gentle kiss I lay on her lips. If I believed in shapeshifters, in voodoo, in magic, I’d say she cast a spell on me from the moment I carried her to my room last night. The problem is we both know what happens in the dark, and it doesn’t always lead us to places where the worst thing that happens is losing ourselves in each other.
Even if only one of us is talking about it.
“The feelings I have for you…” I pause, trying to find the right words.
“Yes?” Her voice is as weak as a newborn and as strong as a phoenix. She’s triumphed where others would have caved. Instead of cracking inside, Kelsey tapped the energy at the core of her heartache and fought her way out.
How could I not love her?
