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Owen let out a breath. "I know you won't, because that's not the kind of person you are. But I'm holding it over my own head. I need to make up for it. Because you were only trying to help, only trying to protect me, Eva, cooper, and Phillip, and I let you down in the worst possible way. I'm going to spend the rest of my life making up for it, if that's what it takes to win you back. To undo the damage that I did to you - to us . "
It was more or less the same thing that he'd told me that night in the forest by the fire. His violet eyes locked with mine, letting me see how serious and earnest he was - and just how much he loved me.
Fletcher had always said that pretty words were all well and good, but people's actions were what really mattered in the end. In the past few days, Owen had climbed a mountain to help me rescue Sophia, searched miles of forest for me, fished me out of the river, and kept me safe from Grimes's men. Then he'd thrown himself into the middle of my fight with Grimes and Hazel, with no hesitation and no thought to the damage that he might do to himself. I hadn't asked him to do any of that - not one single thing - but he'd done it all anyway.
That told me everything that I needed to know, especially about how he really felt about me.
"I asked you before on the mountain, and I'm going to ask you again now," Owen said, his eyes still searching mine. "I want to try again, Gin. Please?"
My heart swelled with love for him, and this time, I didn't try to fight it, and I wasn't afraid of it, or him, or even of having my heart broken again. I might have lost sight of it in the forest, but if there was one thing that all my years as the Spider, all the battles, all the brushes with my own death, had taught me, then it was this.
That this was what was important. This moment right now and all the ones that we were lucky enough to have after it. Today, tomorrow, hell, maybe even forever.
Me. Him. Us. Together.
Yeah, we'd hit a big bump in the road, and we still had some work to do. I needed to learn how to trust him fully again. He needed to forgive himself for Salina's crimes.
And we both needed to learn how to let go of and move past the pain that we'd caused each other, learn how to work on our problems together.
"Gin?" Owen asked a third time, his eyes burning into mine.
I leaned forward so that my forehead was touching his.
"Yes," I whispered. "Yes. "
I cupped his face in my hands. Owen snaked his arms around my waist. Our lips met somewhere in the middle.
It was a slow, languid, lingering kiss, a perfect meeting of lips and tongues and mouths and breaths. That familiar spark of desire flared to life low in my stomach, then spread through the rest of my body, but this wasn't about giving in to that want. At least, not yet. No, this was about the silent, heartfelt promise that we were both making to each other, never to take this, us, for granted again.
Finally, the kiss ended, although I kept staring into Owen's eyes, wondering at all the love that I saw there.
I drew away from him, got to my feet, and held out my hand. He took it.
I led Owen to a bathroom on the other side of the house, where we would have some privacy. This was the largest bathroom in the house, with two sinks and an oversize, walk-in shower that took up most of one wall.
I shut and locked the door behind us, then turned the water on in the shower. Not too cold, not too hot.
We'd both be that, soon enough.
The steady hiss of the water was the only sound as we slowly undressed each other. I helped him shrug out of his shirt. He unzipped my vest. I unbuttoned his jeans. He did the same to mine. Our clothes quickly disappeared, until we stood there naked in front of each other. I smoothed my hands over his broad, muscled shoulders and then down his chest. He traced his fingers down my neck, before leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to the hollow of my throat, making me shiver.
I held my hand out again. He took it, and I drew him into the shower.
Steam rose all around us as I grabbed the soap, lathered up my hands, and ran my fingers over his body, from his slightly crooked nose to his flat stomach and strong legs and all the way down to his toes. I went slowly and carefully, gently washing off all the blood and dirt of his battle with Grimes and Hazel. Owen had done the same thing for me once upon a time, and it seemed fitting to return the gesture. A fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning, in more ways than one.
I kissed every spot that I cleaned, lightly nipping at some of the more sensitive areas with my teeth. By the time I'd worked my way down to his cock, he was more than ready for me. I kissed that too, running my lips and tongue all over him.
Owen groaned. "If you keep doing that, this shower is going to be shorter than either one of us wants it to be. "
I grinned and kept up with my ministrations a minute longer before kissing my way back up his body.
"Tease," he muttered in a hoarse voice, his violet eyes as bright as amethysts.
"And don't you love it. "
He grinned and reached for the shampoo.
Owen turned me around so that my back was to him, then started washing my hair. I moaned at the feel of his fingers digging into my scalp. Soap suds cascaded down my body, and Owen's fingers quickly followed. Still behind me, he cupped my breasts in his hands, his fingers circling and massaging my nipples before moving lower.
