Page 119 of X My Heart

Sky

“Are you ready?” he asks.

“I am,” I say, my smile splitting my face in two.

“Okay, hold on. Let me put you down.” He holds me upright, his strong hands clutching my hips. He can easily wrap both his hands around my waist; I’ve lost so much weight.

A wave hits my bare legs, and I stumble backwards a little. The water feels fantastic, like heaven against my skin as my toes disappear in the sand. Hunter holds me, hugging me from behind.

My hands travel back into his hair. He kisses below my ear. Goose bumps break out over my arms. “Thank you for bringing me here. This is one of my favorite spots,” I tell him.

“Why?” he asks, with a question in his eyes.

Turning around, I clutch him to me. “You remember the time we spent together on the beach, and we made love in your truck?”

“Yeah, I remember.” He snorts. “You couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”

I place my palm on his cheek, his stubble pricking my hand. “You know why?”

He shakes his head.

“Because that’s when I knew I would hurt you by loving you. And I couldn’t do it.” I bite my lip. “I hated myself for feeling that way about you.”

“You loved me then?” he asks, his eyes misty.

“I loved you then and I love you now. Now until forever.” I promise him, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him.

“Tell me you’re mine,” he rasps, his hot breath warming my chilled lips.

“I’m yours and always will be. You are my once-in-a-lifetime.” I kiss his forehead, his temple, his upturned mouth. “Remember this when I’m not here to tell you.” I smile and then say, “I love you.”

His ice-blue eyes make my heart skip a beat. We keep staring at each other; we don’t have to say anything anymore. Our love is enough to fill all the silences still to come.

When we are back at his apartment, he carries me inside and helps me get undressed.

“You want to take a shower to wash the beach off of you?” he asks, his voice shaking a little.

“Would you?”

He kneels in front of me. “Yes.”

He takes off his shirt, revealing his perfect body. He stands, pulling his black shorts and then his black boxers down, before helping me out of my clothes. He winks when he picks me up and walks into the shower.

He holds me in his arms as the water cascades down on us both. My feet barely touch the ground. And I love him for all that he is. He’s shown me what it is like to love without fear, without regret. A love that isn’t clean and straightforward, but messy, dirty with peaks and valleys, like the races he rides.

He frowns, and worry haunts his eyes. I reach out and catch his chin, turning his face to mine. He blinks a couple of times, droplets of water running down his face, and into his eyelashes.

“Damn, Shorty,” he says slowly. I clutch him to my naked body and stare up at him. He’s holding me because I can’t stand anymore.

“Thank you for loving me,” he whispers, running his stubble over my cheek. “Thank you for making me the man I have become,” he drawls, kissing my lips.

Sky

I turn my head to find him sleeping next to me in his bed, his face inches from mine. His facial features are so soft when he’s asleep; he looks so young. I let my gaze run over his face to the line of his neck, his throat to his tattoo-covered shoulders to the swell of his bare ass hiding under the white sheet.

Hunter grins when he opens his eyes. He reaches out to trace the lines of my face, and I love the connection. He hasn’t left my side in the last week.

He takes my hand in his and lays it on his cheek. The little bristles of his two-day beard scrape across my palm and my fingers tremble.

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