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“Yes, please, I'm right there,” I plead as the warmth of his release filling me sends me over the edge. He holds me tight, his lips meeting mine as we work each other through our pleasure.
We collapse in a heap of limbs, trying desperately to catch our breaths. Nox rolls off of me and pulls me into his side. With my head resting on his shoulder, I let my fingers roam across his chest.
“I love you, Lennox. Always have and always will. Even when I was hundreds of miles away, you were the one who had my heart.” His mouth opens to speak, but I shush him with a finger to his lips, and then grab his hand in mine.
“You don’t need to say it back, not yet at least. I put you through absolute hell, and you deserve the time to process all of this.” His lips find the top of my head as he pulls me in closer.
“So, when you’re truly ready. Like, really ready, I'm here for it. I'm all in.”
We lie there in silence as my words sink in, every single one of them true. I sigh as my hand remains clenched in his. Then I feel a light squeeze.
Not once.
Not twice.
But three times.
Fourteen
Shifting slightly on my feet, I wait for Colton to step through the door. I chose not to go with Nox to the airport so he could have a few minutes with his brother to catch up…and so I could prepare myself.
I'm beyond nervous about seeing Colton. My disappearing affected him just as deeply as it had Nox, and I don’t know if I'm ready for the ass-chewing he’s about to dish out. That’s the thing with Colton and I, we always promised to be brutally honest with each other. And for the entirety of that last month, before I left, I broke that promise.
The crunching of the gravel driveway has me gnawing on my lip. Thank goodness Kiran is sleeping right now. I’d be too distracted to focus.
I steady myself for Colton’s scowl, but that is not what I get when he opens the door. Instead, I’m being rushed and wrapped up in my best friend’s loving embrace.
“Fuck, Em, I’ve missed you so damn much,” he says into my hair, and the dam breaks. Tears stream down my face as my body shakes with each sob.
“I'm so sorry, Colton…” I say through tears.
“Shh, shh. It's okay, Emmy. Nox explained everything. I'm sorry I didn’t know things had gotten that bad there...” he says, gently stroking my head as I hug him tighter. “What kind of best friend doesn’t realize—” I cut him off when I feel the tension radiate through his body.
“You stop that right now.” Leaning back so I can see his face, my fingers wipe away his tears.
“This is in no way on you. I never want you to feel the burden of what happened… No one could have prevented it.”
He shakes his head in disagreement, but remains wordless. “Colton, please listen to me.”
I force his eyes on me again. “It’s okay to be mad, but not at yourself. Holding on to that anger will do nothing. Let his soul rot in Hell, where it belongs. He doesn’t deserve another thought.”
Colton closes his eyes and hugs me tighter. My hand instinctively cups the back of his head and holds him close. Peeking over his shoulder, I find Nox’s gaze.
This, this right here, is exactly what I’ve been missing. My best friend and my soulmate, both back in my life. And this time, it’s forever.
It's weird to think of forever. It's never something I truly believed in before. But having Kiran and experiencing life without Nox by my side, I realized it’s something I always craved, but was too scared to want.
A soft whimper sounds over the monitor and breaks the moment. Colton pulls away, rubbing his face dry.
Nox clears his throat, no doubt affected by the emotions flowing through the room.
“I’ll get him. You guys take another minute.”
Colton stares at me and studies my face. “I'm happy you're back… We all are.” His hands still grip my arms firmly, as if he’s afraid I'll disappear again.
“Love you, Colt, and I promise I'm not going anywhere.” I give him another tight squeeze and press a kiss on his cheek.
“Now let’s go meet your nephew, Kiran James,” I say, grabbing his hand and tugging him along.
