I’ve never been loved like that before.
And I pray he’ll be the last because what happened tonight is permanently imprinted on every fiber of my being. It has changed me, and I don’t want to go back.
“Talon?” His name is a whisper in the space between us as I trace the lines and scars of his hand with mine.
“Yeah?” His smile is sleepy—boyish—and I can’t get enough.
“You said we’re doing this, right?” His expression falters, his arm wrapping around my waist like he’s anchoring me to him.
“Yes.”
“Can I ask you something?” I nibble my bottom lip, looking between us before meeting the confusion in his eyes.
“Anything.”
“What happened to my grandfather’s jewelry box? The one from the auction?” I swallow hard, looking over his shoulder. “I know it was a long time ago, and I know we were kids but I just…need to know what happened to it.” I blink hard as the memories of that day wash over me, tearing at the scars that had seemingly healed over the years.
Talon’s lips brush softly against mine. “Hold on,” he says before rolling over and climbing off the bed. Standing gloriously naked in front of the closet, his back and ass are muscled perfection as he reaches for something on the top shelf.
Turning slowly, he takes a step, and a sob bursts from my lungs, the mattress dipping as he sits against the headboard and pulls me between his legs. His heart beats wildly against my back as I accept the box with shaking hands, my tears rolling down my face and onto the sheet.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs against my shoulder before pressing a lingering kiss against my skin. “I don’t have a good reason or any reason, really, for what I did. I was crazy about you and you never even looked at me, and I wanted something that you wanted. I wanted tobesomething you wanted.”
He swallows hard, regret infused in the way he caresses my arm and says, “I was supposed to give that money to my father for a down payment on a car he had sitting at the shop. He wasn’t impressed that I’d spent it on something to get back at a girl.”
I let out a choked laugh as I let my fingers dance over the intricately carved design. The roses and vines had always been my favorite—seeing how each layer of wood removed revealed a different grain.
There was so much beauty in this piece. A piece my grandfather had made for my grandmother. A piece I thought was lost forever.
“You kept it.”
“I tried to give it back.”
My mind pulls up hazy memories, settling on one where I’d screamed awful, hateful things at a bonfire on the beach I’d come back for after graduation.
“I was still too hurt to hear you.” Starting to open the lid, I pause. “I’m sorry for the things I said.”
“It was a long time ago, and so much of it was true and I hated that it was. Plus it was a hollow victory being president senior year. I ran unopposed and I hated every minute of it.”
Surrounded by the graduating class and a variety of others, I’d called him a coward and an asshole. I’d screamed at him and I wasn’t proud—even back then.
“I think my favorite one was when you called me a disgusting piece of shit who couldn’t get his dick up.”
“Oh my God, I said that, didn’t I?” I groan and let my head fall back against his shoulder, his body shaking with not-so-silent laughter.
“Took a while for me to find a date after that.”
My cheeks heat at the admission, and I offer one of my own. “I was still a virgin and hadn’t had any up-close interactions with any penises. So my knowledge at that time was pretty limited.” Turning my head, I press a kiss to his neck and wiggle back against him. “You seem to get it up just fine though.”
Talon grunts and wraps his arms around my middle, his palm reaching up to cup my breast.
It feelsgoodto be touched.
To be appreciated and worshipped in a way I never truly have before. My eyes prick with tears just thinking about the way he looked at me with adoration and desire, and I know it’s a moment I’ll remember as long as I live.
Sighing, I open the top, my fingers brushing over the worn velvet inside, the ghost of a smile playing on my lips. I love thisbox so much, and the piece of my heart that had broken the day I’d lost it seems to heal just like the rest of me.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
