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“Kyler’s been through a lot in the past few years,” she continued. “And it took her a while to find the strength to speak her truth. But she finally found her voice, and she was able to get justice for herself. I know most of you here probably know what happened to me with my stalker. There was a song that helped me through the aftermath of that awful experience, and I still listen to it all the time because it helps me remember how much power words can hold and how powerful and freeing the truth is. So, let’s show Kyler some love tonight. Sing with me if you know this one.”
I recognized the song from the very first drumbeat: Sara Bareilles’s “Brave.” I didn’t sing it because I couldnotsing to save my life, but pretty much everyone else in the audience did. Kyler leaned against me, nestling herself into my side, and I felt a few tears wet my shirt as we listened to an eighteen-thousand-person audience serenade her, reminding her how courageous she was.
* * *
It was late by the time we got home. Really late. We got changed and got into bed, but neither of us was tired, so I pulled upCriminal Mindson Netflix, because we needed something we didn’t have to think about and we’d both seen every single episode multiple times.
Kyler gingerly took her arm out of its sling and curled up next to me, draping said arm across my chest and resting her head on my shoulder. And, out of nowhere, it just hit me how right this felt. How rightshefelt. I turned to kiss her forehead, but instead of letting me, she captured my lips with her own.
I let myself get drunk on this kiss, but before my control snapped and I took it to a place we couldn’t go, I pulled back. Only she didn’t let me. She kissed me again, and I didn’t have the willpower to stop her. At least not right away. But when she picked her bandaged arm up off my chest and tried to slide my shirt up, I pulled back.
“Ky, we can’t,” I sighed.
“I won’t break, Ian. I miss you. I miss us. Please,” she begged.
“Your arm,” I reminded her.
“I know. That’s why you’re going to have to do most of the work,” she said, giving me another kiss and pulling me down with her as she lay back.
Damn it. I couldn’t say no to her. Not when I heard the need in her voice. And not when I needed this as much as she did. But she’djustbeen through a huge trauma, and her arm was still healing too.
“Stop thinking so much,” she whispered between kisses. “I’ll be okay. I promise. I’m not afraid of you, Ian. I love you. You’ve been treating me like I’m made of glass, and I get why, but I need us to go back to normal. I need you not to treat me like you’re afraid I’ll break. And right now, I need you to stop thinking so much and make love to me.”
I melted. I couldn’t even wrap my head around how much I loved this girl.
After another kiss, I rid her of her shirt. Then I grabbed a couple of pillows and stacked them up next to her.
“Prop your arm up on those. And donotmove it. If I see your arm move even an inch, I’ll stop,” I told her. “Got it?”
She nodded, and I kissed her until I went dizzy from lack of oxygen. Then I ripped my shirt off and crawled down to relieve her of her pants and panties. I was already about to lose all of my fucking control just seeing her undressed again, and I knew I wouldn’t last once I was inside her. I needed to make sure she came first, so I spread her legs apart and dove in headfirst, devouring her like she was my last meal.
How in the hell had I almost forgotten how sweet she was? I wished I could just live on this taste alone. She started to squirm, and I wrapped an arm around her and pressed down on her hip to hold her in place.
“God, Ian!” she cried.
“Keep it down, Ky. We’re not alone,” I murmured, sliding two fingers inside her and sucking on her clit.
She whimpered and groaned, and her good hand went to my head as she started to buck her hips against my face.
Yeah, I needed us to be alone soon. Because other than the first time we’d made love, we’d always had to be conscious of how much noise we were making. I hated that so much. I knew what she sounded like when she just completely let herself go and lost all of her inhibitions, and I hated to silence any part of that.
And I especially hated the muffled cries that I knew meant she was burying her face in a pillow as she unraveled. Those sounds were mine, and I was being robbed of enjoying them.
I didn’t stop until she went limp underneath me. Only then did I quickly shed my pants and crawl back up between her legs.
“You sure about this, baby?” I asked her.
“What did I tell you about thinking?” she mock scolded, using her good arm to pull me down for a kiss. “Stop it. I need you inside me. Now.”
Who was this girl and what had she done with my girlfriend? She’d never been this demanding before. I loved that she was confident enough to ask for what she wanted now, but this was different.
“Ky, talk to me,” I whispered against her lips. “What’s going on in that gorgeous head of yours?”
“I almost died, Ian.” Her voice was thick with emotion. “And do you know what the last thing I thought about before I passed out was? I just kept thinking that all I wanted was one more chance to tell you how much I love you. One more chance toshowyou how much I love you. Now I have that chance. I have all the chances in the world, but it feels like you don’t want it anymore. It feels like you don’t wantmeanymore.”
Damn it. Once again, in my efforts to do the right thing, I’d ended up hurting her. I needed to stop assuming that I knew what she needed better than she did.
I gave her another kiss and grabbed her good hand, moving it between us and placing it on my painfully hard dick. She gingerly wrapped her fingers around me and gave a gentle squeeze. I sucked in a breath as I felt that simple touch all the way down to my bones. Fuck, even her hand felt incredible.
