Page 94 of Mr. Match

He takes in a long draw of air and lets it out very, very slowly. And then he walks around the island and takes my hand. Pulling me off the stool. We walk past the beautifully lit up buckeye and climb the stairs to the bedroom.

When we get to the top, he lets go of my hand as we stand at the foot of the bed.

He undresses me. He slips the green dress over one shoulder, then the next. It falls to my waist as he palms my breasts, just for a moment, before reaching behind me to unclasp my bra. I let him take that off and lick my nipples. Trading off, one to the next, like he’s afraid they might feel neglected if he only pays attention to one. His mouth covers them. Sucks and nips them.

“Sit,” he says, lightly pushing me to lower myself to the bed. He kneels in front of me and lifts up one of my boots. He drags the zipper down and takes it off, his palm flat against the bare skin of my calf. His touch so light, it sends a chill up my body. Then he goes to work on the next one.

He stands me up again after that. And the dress is pulled over my hips and falls to the floor.

I stand there in only my underwear and let him look. I let him get a good long look at the words that he wrote on my body this morning. And I wonder how that day and this day can be the same one.

When his eyes finally come back up to mine, I say, “Your turn now.”

Chapter Forty-One - OLIVER

“No,” I say. “There are no turns tonight.” And then I walk over to the bedside table and grab the markers I was using on her body last night. “I’m not done yet, Katya. I have so much more to say.”

She sighs and then I get a smile. “Well,” she says, looking at her body. “What’s left?”

“Everything’s left,” I say, taking her hand as she looks puzzled. “We have everything in front of us.”

I pull the cap off the marker with my teeth and start writing on her hand. This is the hand Oliver will hold onto, never letting go, for as long as he lives.

When I’m done writing and look up at her, she’s smiling again. “Do you plan on handcuffing us together?”

“If that’s what it takes.” I lower her hand and begin to write on mine. This is the hand Katya will hold onto, never letting go, for as long as she lives.

We hold each other then. Hands, bodies, hearts, and souls. “We’re a perfect match, darlin’,” I say. “I’m not after anything from you, Katya. I’m just after you.”

She frowns and buries her head in my neck, wrapping her arms around me tight. “I think I’ve made some bad choices, Oliver.”

I shrug, still holding her close. “I think we’re probably about even in that respect.”

“No.” She sighs. “You have no idea what my life is like.”

I have a lot of ideas, but that’s not what we need to talk about tonight. “The past is the past,” I say. “Sometimes you just have to forgive yourself and go forward.”

She lifts her head from my shoulder and looks at me. So serious. “What do you regret?”

“Not kidnapping you and making you my prisoner four years ago.”

I get a very small smile from that response. “Do you think it would have turned out differently?”

“No, Katya. No. It wouldn’t have. And that’s why I let you go. But I regret it. I do. I regret not learning more about what was happening. I regret not thinking our future together through a little better.”

“But I was young?” she asks.

“Very,” I say. “In age, anyway. You’re one of those old souls, Katya. People who have seen and heard it all before. But I’m sorry I let you down.” I kneel down in front of her naked body and kiss the words on her belly. “I’m sorry I let you travel that road without me.” And then I read them out loud. “‘I give you my love more precious than money. Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me? Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?’”

She kneels down with me and we settle on the floor. Both her hands come up to my scratchy face as she stares into my eyes. And then she leans in and we kiss.

When I pull away she’s crying. “What?” I ask, my turn to hold her face and look for meaning. “What’s wrong, Kat? If something’s happening, please tell me. No matter what it is, I will not let you travel alone again. I promise.”

She breathes heavy for several moments, trying to figure out if she should take that leap of faith. And then she draws in one final breath, holds it, and let everything pour out of her.

“My sister is into something very bad, Oliver. Those Silver people?” She sniffs. “Do you know them?”

I nod. “I do. We’re in trouble with them too. I’m just not sure why we’re in trouble yet. How did your sister get involved?”