I want to cry, but I’m too happy for tears. I gesture for him to come inside, closing the door behind him.
I take a glass from a kitchen cabinet and fill it with water before placing the flower in.
As soon as I’ve turned back to him, Seth’s arms are around me, pulling me into him. His lips find mine and the kiss is everything. Soft and sweet and so full of love.
We part after a minute, both of us struggling to breathe.
His forehead falls to mine. “I love you, Lana. I’m so in love with you. I’ve been in love with you for half of my life. Part of me is so mad at myself for all the years I wasted, but the other part of me is so fucking proud of you that I know it’s all been worth it.”
I press my lips to his again, hungry for him, so bolstered by his admission I feel like I might actually burst. “I love youtoo, Seth. And I know the past, our past, is important, but it doesn’t mean nearly as much as our future. And I want a future with you. I’m so in love with you it hurts.”
He takes my face in his hands and kisses me like it’s the first time and the last time. I sink into him, and my hands latch on to his hips, pulling him as close to me as possible.
We stumble our way down the hall, shedding items of clothing as we walk. We’re both down to our underwear by the time we fall onto my bed, lying on our sides, face-to-face.
I have to stop kissing him because my smile is too big, and so I pull away, taking the opportunity to truly look at him. My finger traces a path down the slope of his nose, across his brow, around the edge of his jaw.
“Do you even know how beautiful you are?” I finish up my exploration, brushing the tip of my finger over his lips.
He kisses the pad of it. “I think that’s supposed to be my line.”
I place my palm flat over his chest, feeling the pounding of his heart through the heat of his skin. “Did you really move to LA just for me?”
His bright-blue eyes twinkle. “You know I did. And I meant what I said about always wanting to live here and finding a place to settle down.”
His fingers begin their own path of exploration, tracing the curves of my breasts before traveling down to my nipples. He brushes over them with the lightest of touches and I shiver, pressing closer to him.
“I never stopped loving you.” I cover his hand with mine, guiding it down my stomach to the edge of my panties.
His fingers slip into the waistband, not dipping down nearly as low as I want them to. “And I never stopped loving you.”
I tilt his head up so our gazes lock. “We’re doing this for real.”
He gives me a wicked grin. “Which ‘this’ are you referring to?”
I pinch his hip. “You know which ‘this,’ and if you wantthatyou better take this seriously.”
His hand slides up to my neck, lacing into my hair and pulling my lips to his. “We’re doing this for real,” he mumbles against my skin.
Any response I would’ve made gets swallowed by his kiss. It’s slow and perfect and I can’t believe I get to kiss this man for the rest of my life.
I shimmy out of my panties and he shucks his boxers. My fingers wrap around his thick length and his fingers slip inside me. Our mouths never part. I cry out my release and he swallows my gasps. He rolls me on top of him, our bodies connected at every possible point, until I sit up, straddling him, guiding him into me.
He watches me move on top of him, heat blaring from the depths of his eyes. “I love you, Lana.”
“I love you, Seth.”
His free hand snakes in between our bodies, stroking me right where I need it. A minute later I tighten around him, and the orgasm is so strong I can’t even make a sound.
Seth’s hands move to my hips, grasping me as he thrusts, finding his own release a minute later.
I collapse on his chest and his arms come around me, holding me tightly. Eventually we separate, but not by much. My head rests on his chest; his fingers work their way through my hair. It’s the most at peace I’ve ever felt.
I’m almost overwhelmed by the absolute certainty that this is how we are meant to be. And it doesn’t really matter how we got here, it just matters that we did.
—
Seth forces usout of bed at some point, citing some outlandish theory that we need to eat and hydrate if we want to be able to have more sex.
