His thrusts become deeper and more urgent. I'm climbing again, the pressure building at the base of my spine, spreading through my limbs.
“I'm close,” I gasp.
The orgasm crashes over me without warning. I scream his name as my walls clamp down on his cock, milking him with wave after wave of contractions. He follows seconds later with a groan, spilling inside me in hot pulses that seem to go on forever.
Ethan rolls to the side and pulls me against his chest.
For a long time, neither of us speaks.
“Tell me why you reacted the way you did,” I finally say.
Ethan inhales deeply before speaking. “I've been lied to before by people I trusted. I learned not to give people chance after chance.”
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” I say.
“I’m sorry I blew it out of proportion. I was judging you based on what other people did to me. I was so afraid of being hurt again that I destroyed the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“I'm still here.”
“After everything I said, after the way I treated you, why are you still here?” Ethan asks.
“Because I love you. I know who you are underneath all that grumpy, moody armor. Because the weeks without you were the worst of my life, and I never want to go through that again.”
“I love you, Natalie Cross,” he says.
We make love again, slower this time. Afterward, we lie tangled together in the dark.
“Move in with me,” Ethan says suddenly.
I lift my head. “What?”
“Move in with me. You're right next door anyway. It's stupid that we have two apartments when we want to be together all the time.”
“Ethan, we just got back together an hour ago.”
“I know what I want. I've known since Wisconsin. I want to wake up with you every morning and come home to you every night.”
My heart swells so big I'm afraid it might burst. “Ask me again in a month.”
“What?”
“We just went through something hard. We need time to rebuild trust and to make sure we're solid.” I kiss his chest. “Ask me again in a month. If we're still good, the answer will be yes.”
He considers this. “One month.”
“One month.”
“Fine, but I'm counting the days.”
28
Natalie
SIX MONTHS LATER
“This kitchen is bigger than my first apartment,” Avery announces, running her hand along the marble countertop.
“The whole house is huge,” Harper says.
