Total pages in book: 185
Estimated words: 180510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 903(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 602(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 180510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 903(@200wpm)___ 722(@250wpm)___ 602(@300wpm)
Another step.
And another step.
My legs tremble. Unsteady. Unsure.
I use the rail to climb the four steps to the front door. Three more jelly-legged steps to the door. Grabbing the handle, I press my other hand flat to the door and catch my breath. Sweat beads along my brow. When I open the door, I don’t hear anything. I follow the wall, using it to steady myself to the stairs.
It’s a mountain. My Everest.
One.
Two.
Three.
By the seventh stair, I ease to my knees, resting my forearms two steps above the one at my knees—head bowed, breathing labored. After a few seconds, I lift my head and climb to my feet again.
Eight. Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
Oh dear god … I’m dying.
Twelve!
I cling to the banister, resting my forehead on it. When the floor creaks, I glance up. Colten’s a few feet away, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder, wet clothes exchanged for dry ones. He must have been here before he came to the lake. He was going to stay, but not now. He’s leaving.
Leaving me.
Forever.
His eyes are red. I see the boy I fell in love with. I see the teenager who hated life as much as I do right now. I see every us we’ve ever been. With each blink, it gets harder to breathe.
The only thing more unimaginable than dying is living without Colten Mosley.
Today I don’t want to die.
And I know … I know that tomorrow and every tomorrow after I will not want to live without him.
His throat bobs once while he walks down the short hallway toward me, chin tipped to avoid looking at me any longer. “Tell your parents goodbye for me.”
When he reaches me, lifting his foot to descend the stairs, my hand closes around his wrist. Colten’s gaze slides to that hand.
“I can’t do it,” I whisper, waiting for him to look at me. When he does, I feel every drop of emotion trickle down my face. “I can’t live without you.” I sniffle and choke on my next words. Pulling in a shaky breath, I let my hand slide from his wrist to his hand, lacing our fingers. “I don’t need anyone … except you.”
Colten’s gaze sweeps across my face a beat before he kisses me. It feels new. He feels new. It took twenty-seven years for me to fully open up my heart to him. It took twenty-seven years for me to feel worthy of his love. I think it’s taken twenty-seven years and two deaths to love myself.
Who we are is not what we’ve become. It’s a beautiful reflection of everything we’ve always been. I’ve always been his, and he’s always been mine.
Colten wraps his arms around my waist and walks me backward into my bedroom, kicking the door shut behind us. Our kiss breaks long enough for him to peel off our clothes. In a naked embrace, he lays me on the bed, settling between my bent knees, pushing into me while my eyes drift shut. This feeling … it’s perfection.
“Open your eyes, beautiful.”
On a deep inhale, I gaze at him.
He grins, slowly moving inside of me, one hand planted next to my head while his other hand slides between us, making my breath hitch from its touch. “We’re enough. You and I. We are—”
I lift my head and kiss him, dragging his lower lip between my teeth before whispering. “We are everything.”
He pauses for a moment. Something serious steals his expression. Whatever it is tugs at my heart. And I hate that for even a single second, he had a reason to doubt my love.
“I love you,” I say.
He nods slowly.
My fingers feather up his back and frame his face. “I love you,” I repeat.
“Say it again,” he murmurs, kissing down my neck.
“I love you …”
“Again.” He flicks my nipple with his tongue.
“I love you …” My words mingle with a soft moan.
“Again.” He slides out of me and lowers his body, his tongue dipping into my navel.
“I … love you.” I squirm, anticipating his next move.
“Again.” He descends a few more inches, one hand cupping my inner thigh while his other hand squeezes my breast.
“Oh god …” My head rolls to the side, and my fingers thread through his hair.
He swipes his tongue between my spread legs and mumbles. “That works too.”
“Let’s go, baby, before your parents get home.” Colten forces me to sit up. He pulls my wet tee down over my head and threads my legs into my shorts, minus my panties.
“What are you doing?” I’m drunk.
Drunk on sex.
Drunk on him.
Drunk on life.
“You’ll see.” He hurriedly carries me down the stairs and to his car.
“Colten …” I fasten my seat belt while he backs out of the driveway.
He doesn’t answer me.
I don’t protest. I’m too busy watching him. Studying his features. Resurrecting dreams of our future and piecing them together with superglue. Occasionally, he gives me a quick sideways glance and grins. It’s so mischievous and handsome.