Her eyes were deep and pure like the evergreens around us. Every joint, every nerve ending on my body was wide awake, waiting to hear her words.She said she’s in love with you, Nora had said. I hoped that her sister was right.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“You’re free to do whatever you want,” I said. “I’d be happy to give you whatever you need to get started. Money, a house, or a job. But I don’t take you as the type of person to accept something like that.” I leaned in, wanting to make sure that she heard every word. “You don’t owe me anything, Haley.”
“I know,” she said. “I know I don’t. That’s part of why I want to be with you. I get to do this on my own. Make decisions for me, and me alone. And you know what?” She tilted her chin toward me. “I want you, Lucas. I love you.”
I took her hands and pulled her over, making her sit on my lap. Feeling her weight was satisfying, knowing that she was okay. She wasalive, and she was free. And through all of that, she still wanted to be with me.
“I love you, Haley,” I said. I kissed her soft lips, an intense, but unhurried, kiss. We had nowhere else to be. No one to answer to. We only had each other. She surrendered in that kiss, and I relished the feeling of her tongue on mine. My mind wandered to the things I would do to her later. To mark her as mine forever.
She pulled back, then whispered, “Do you have locks on the doors?” Ah, right. We weren’t truly alone. There was at least one person to answer to. I nodded. “Good.” Her hands stroked the back of my neck. “I don’t want to explain the birds and the bees to her yet.”
“I think she already knows.”
Haley shrugged. “Let me believe that my baby sister is innocent and doesn’t know anything about whips and chains, all right?” She smiled, and I pulled her into another deep, satisfying kiss.
When we broke apart, I asked, “When does Nora need to be back in school?”
“Monday.” She looked over her shoulder. “I think the winter ball is coming up. I wonder whatever happened to Chance.” Nora was sitting inside on the couch, eating a handful of chips out of a large, party-sized bag. “I don’t know if she’s ever actually had a potato chip before. They feed them nothing but kale chips at that school.”
“It’s not going to kill her,” I laughed.
“I know that,” she said, playfully hitting my shoulder. “But what am I going to do now that I don’t have to worry about her like that anymore?”
I gazed into those green eyes, shimmering like a piece of sea glass at the bottom of the sea. There would be time to worry. Time to be anxious. Time to fret about the future.
But for now, Haley could relax as she never had before. And with that relaxation came the promise of degradation and sensuality, where we could explore without the thought of repercussion. And I would make sure she enjoyed every moment of it.
“We’ll think of something,” I said.
