Avery
My walls have fallen. He just tore them down with his strong arms, delectable tongue and soft-spoken words. I wanted to be tough. I wanted to be sure he’d stay before I caved, but I just I couldn't keep them up any longer.I love him too much. I missed him too much.
I need him.
With each kiss, each murmured word of longing and roaming touch, all the hate and anger I've pent up over the years just melts away. My body heats and my mind swims, fighting fears with desire and hoping my heart can handle bearing itself to this man again.
He says he’s grown up, changed. He says that he’s ready. And god, I hope he is. Because I’ve been ready for him since that night I climbed into his bed. And now that I’m with him again, accepting him back into my life, I want everything I’ve waited so long for. I want our happily ever after.
“Will you live here with me?” he asks, brushing my hair back from my face as we huddled together for warmth. The temperature down here has dropped ridiculously fast since the sun went down.
“Absolutely not,” I say, giggling as I glance around the lamp-lit room. “It’s a bomb shelter, and it’s gross.”
He laughs as he draws me in closer, nuzzling his nose against mine and kissing be briefly. “I mean in the cabin when I finish fixing it up. I’m going to rebuild it, restore to what it was before. Maybe even extend it a little so it’s big enough for a family.”
“Are you saying you want a family with me, Tyler Channing?”
“I wanteverythingwith you, Avery Roberts. You’re the reason I’m here.” I look into his darkening eyes, so filled with affection and longing that I decide I want to crawl right on in there and stay away.
“I never stopped loving you, Tyler,” I whisper, my hands pressed into his chest as I lean against him. “Even when I said I hated you. I never stopped loving.”
“I know, sweetheart,” he murmurs, bringing his mouth to mine again and kissing me long and deep. It doesn’t feel like enough, like it’s not close enough or intimate enough. But we’ve both waited for so long, having our first time in a bomb shelter would just be ruining something that should be beautiful and special for the both of us. “I’ve never stopped loving you, either. And I’m sorry I took so long to sort my shit out and get back to you.”
“As long as you never leave again, I think I can forgive you.”
He squeezes me a little tighter, smiling down at me. “Never. I never want to leave your side again.”
“Good.” I kiss him again before I release a happy sigh and rest my head against his chest, loving the feel of his heavy arms and the solid beating of his heart. With every second that passes, I can feel the tension between us melt away, piece by piece, moment by moment. I am happy again… finally.
A comfortable silence settles around us, but after a while, the silence is interrupted with Tyler and his chuckles. His sudden chest movement bobs my head along with it.
I shift so I’m sitting. “What? What are you laughing about?”
“It’s silly.”
“Tell me.” I poke him in his side, that familiarity of being with him coming back so quickly.
"Do...you...remember…" he starts between bursts of laughter, struggling to get his words out which just makes me laugh andhim laugheven harder in response tomylaughter. I have no idea what I’m giggling about, but his laughter makes my insides melt. These are the rare and special moments that I’ve always cherished about this dark, brooding man. The times he’d relax and let that beautiful laugh of his out, his smile as bright as a thousand suns.
"Do you remember that Summer where we decided to camp here? You, me, Ali, Ollie, and the Linderman twins. I can't remember their names…"
"Katie and Susan," I remind him, smiling because I remember that Summer well. "I think I know what you're laughing about—the snakes?"
He nods. "Ali kept freaking out every time she saw a stick in the brush. So Ollie thought it would be hilarious to spook her in the middle of the night." His laughter starts to bubble up again, so I take over.
"Ali was the first one to fall asleep. So, Ollie came up with his brilliant plan. He picked up a stick—”
“And he...and he slid it along Ali's sleeping bag while hissing like a snake.” Tyler laughs, his eyes dancing with mirth.
“And then poor Ali woke up,” I add. “She was so scared that she shrieked and jumped up with her sleeping bag still on, hopping backwards until she fell into the creek. Ollie felt so bad he had to jump in and rescue her."
“Then the twins really did see a snake and no one would believe them,” he says, grinning so hard there are tears his eyes.
“It was non-venomous but, Ali refused to ever camp outside again.”
He runs the back of his fingers along the soft part of my cheek. “We had some really great times, didn’t we?”
“The best,” I say, misting up a little. “Summers were never quite the same when you left.”
