Page 128 of A Very Merry Enemy
Lucas pulls out of me and slides on some joggers.
“I’ll be right back,” he says, running down the stairs.
I lie back in his bed and smile as I’m tangled in his sheets. I hear drawers clattering and a microwave going off. A minute later, Lucas is rushing into the bedroom with two bowls. He hands me one with a spoon. “You have to try our cookie bar with Blue Bell ice cream on top.”
“You baked this?” I ask.
He smirks. “Yeah. I brought it to Thanksgiving dinner. It was a huge hit again. But I made us some, too.”
“Well, let me try it,” I say, dipping my spoon into the ice cream and cookie bar.
“Wow. That’s really good,” I say.
“Right. I think we should serve it with ice cream.”
“We’d need to make the ice cream ourselves, but we’d have plenty of time. I have a recipe for vanilla bean that’s close to this.” I grin. “You did incredible. And you say I’m the perfectionist. Look at this cookie.”
“I was taught by the best in the industry,” he says.
We finish eating our dessert, then I lie back in his arms.
I take a shaky breath. “I feel like I’ve been lost for years, and I finally found my way back.”
His arms tighten around me. “You were. I’m just so damn glad you woke up.”
“I became this person I didn’t recognize. I did things I didn’t want to do. I gave up pieces of myself until I didn’t know who I was anymore.” I pull back enough to look at him. “But with you, I feel like me again. Like the me I was supposed to be.”
“I’ll always remind you of who you are,” he says fiercely. “He may have tried to change you, but he couldn’t. You’re still you, Holiday.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
“For what?”
“For helping me heal.”
“Always.” He tilts my chin up and kisses me. “I will always help you.”
We lie there in the darkness, wrapped around each other, and I feel pieces of myself clicking back into place. Pieces of me that were taken. I thought they were gone forever.
My heart stutters. I search his face and see only sincerity. Only love.
“What are we?” I kiss him, and he pulls me up into his arms.
“I don’t know,” Lucas answers truthfully. “I don’t want to rush things.”
“I don’t, either.”
Our kisses grow more heated. We can figure out the logistics later. Right now, I just want to be here with him.
We make love again, slower this time. He takes his time exploring every inch of me, relearning my body. By the time we both come apart again, I can barely remember my name.
Afterward, we lie tangled together. My head is on his chest, and I can hear his heartbeat slowing to normal. His fingers trace lazy patterns on my back.
“I could get used to this,” I say.
“Good. Because I’m planning on forever.”
I smile against his chest. “Forever’s a long time.”
