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With a sharp moan as if it hurt to pull away, Neri planted her hands on my shoulders and pushed back. Her lips were swollen and a delicious shade of red, making blood roar through my veins and my body snarl for more.
Climbing off my lap, she stood with a woozy sway. With a smile that captured the rest of my sorry soul, she bent down and offered me her hand. “Let’s go inside.”
For a moment, I panicked.
I’d never tried standing from kneeling before.
Would she know I was different?
I would tell her eventually.
She would see for herself that the man who’d left her wasn’t the same man who’d returned but...for now, I wanted her to see me as whole, just for a little longer.
Gritting my teeth, I accepted her hand and manoeuvred myself enough that my whole leg took most of the heavy lifting. My other swung neatly into position and the prosthetic barely moved thanks to the snug fit and tight strapping.
It didn’t ache or distract me, and I walked forward with her by my side.
We walked hand in hand down the side of the house where she now lived, past a deep-looking pool, over glittery pavers, and through a sliding door into an open-plan living, dining, and kitchen. Driftwood coffee tables, linen couches, and woven rugs gave it a beach-homey vibe.
Side lamps had been turned on, casting everything in a warm glow, but there was no sign of the guys or Ayla. Even traces of wet footprints had dried thanks to the age Neri and I had sunk into one another outside.
“You live here?” I asked quietly as Neri tugged me through the space.
My slight limp went unnoticed in the gloom as she nodded and caught my eyes. “Yes. For almost the entire time you were gone. I couldn’t...” Her voice caught, and she swallowed with a quick smile. “I couldn’t stay in our apartment in Townsville, especially not after I found out I was pregnant. And then I couldn’t stay in my old room at Mum and Dad’s. I-I don’t know if you saw the sala, but—”
“It’s gone.”
She flinched. “I burned it.”
“You did?”
“I didn’t know how to deal with the loss inside me. I was angry and sad, twisted and grieving, guilty and petrified. It was best for everyone that I move somewhere with no memories of you.” She stopped suddenly and wedged a fist into her belly. Her curves beneath her swimming costume threatened to undo me. “This is so surreal. I keep having to pinch myself that this is real. That you’re truly here. That I’ve not snapped like everyone said I would, and I’m not rocking in some insane asylum talking to myself.”
My chest squeezed.
Tugging her hand, I pulled her into me and wrapped my arms around her. “I’m here. This is real. I have the same problem. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and—” I cut myself off. She didn’t need to know about the catacombs or the chair. Not yet at least. She’d see for herself the minute she removed my clothes, but in this fragile moment, I wanted to be strong for her. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you while you were pregnant.” I winced. “How...I mean...you were always so careful with birth control. I don’t understand how it failed.”
“The blue dragon.” She laughed under her breath. “I can laugh about it now because I have—we have—the most incredible, wonderful daughter, but I definitely underestimated the venom of that nasty little nudibranch. I was sicker than I let on, and I guess my pill failed.”
“Fuck, Neri. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have given in to you while you were ill.”
“Don’t be.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss me. “You gave me Ayla.” A darkness etched her face as she admitted. “I-I don’t know if I would be standing here if I didn’t have her. And that eats me up inside because...I would never have felt this again.” She rested her fingertips over my chest. “Felt you again. Felt this overwhelming sense of rightness and home.”
I dipped my chin and kissed her deeper.
We lost track of time as we stood in the middle of the home she shared with two men and kissed away the past. Her tongue touched mine, and I licked her back. Her lips opened wider; I followed. Our breathing slowly picked up, and the lust from before returned.
Sighing heavily, she sank back down to her heels and blinked up at me. Dreamy and teary but luminous with love.
Love that’d lasted five years of distance and despair.
“Seni seviyorum, Nerida.”
“I love you, Aslan. So damn much.” Looking at her hand on my chest, she didn’t speak for a moment before murmuring, “I know we need to talk. I know there are things you need to tell me and me to tell you, but...I’m not ready. A part of me already knows what you’re going to say...somehow. I know that it will hurt to hear. I know I’ll probably spend the rest of my life horrified at what you’ve endured to return to me, but...I just need to exist in this for a little longer.” Her fingers dug deeper over my heart. “I need to trust this first. Trust us. Trust that no matter what happened, it doesn’t matter because we’re still here, still together. Everything else is over now...it’s in the past. You’re back where you belong.”
