“Let me get this straight, Maisy,” he says, eyes flashing angrily. “You decided what I could handle, and what I couldn’t.You decided not to even give me the chance to show up for you. You chose to just shut me out. Did I understand that right?”
I open my mouth to protest, but no words come out, so I just nod because he’s right. He sits forward, elbows on his knees, fingers laced together so tightly his knuckles turn white.
“Do you have any idea what that felt like? One day I’m thinking about the next competition, the next trip we could take together once you recover, the future plans we made together, and the next day I’m—” His voice cracks and he swallows hard, forcing himself to go on. “I’m standing there while the only person I’ve ever loved tells me it’s over, that it should’ve never been more than friends. Like everything we were working towards didn’t even matter.”
I bite my lips, tears spilling faster now as he blurs before me, but I stay quiet.
He shakes his head, still staring at the fire. “I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t even breathe without you. I would look at the board, at the mountains, at everything I thought I wanted, and none of it meant anything anymore. Not without you.”
The blizzard rattles the windows, and a low howl blows outside the chalet. Sterling finally turns to me again. “You should’ve told me how you were feeling, Mais. We could’ve figured it out together.”
“I know,” I whisper. “You’re right, I should’ve told you. I should’ve trusted you enough to let you in, and I’m so sorry I didn’t. I’ve regretted it every single day.”
He searches my face like he’s trying to decide whether I mean what I’m saying.
I take a shaky breath, my heart pounding. “I never stopped loving you, Sterling. Not once. And being here with you now…it feels like breathing again. I tried so hard to push you away when you first got here, because I was so scared you’d realize how Iactually felt. But I literally feel like I’ve been holding my breath for three years and I finally want to let it out.”
His jaw tightens, but his eyes drop to my lips, hungry with need. Before I can second-guess myself, I lean in and kiss him. Slow at first, until he groans against my lips, one hand cupping the back of my head.
“Twice in one night wasn’t enough for you?” he mumbles against my lips. “Greedy girl.”
I can’t stop the smile that spreads on my lips, but this time I don’t let him take control. I push him back, easing him down onto the blanket, straddling his lap in front of the fire, damp hair clinging to my skin. His hands slide up my thighs and then higher as he slowly undoes my towel and tosses it to the side.
I lower my hands and unwrap his towel from his waist, adjusting myself over him so that I can push it away. I grind down against his hardening length, and his head tips back on a groan.
“Maisy,” he says.
It sounds like a warning, a plea, and a prayer all in one.
“Let me,” I whisper, my hands braced on his chest. “This time, let me.”
His gaze locks on mine, and when I roll my hips again, he nods, jaw tight. I reach down and guide his cock to my wet entrance, sinking down slowly, inch by inch, until he’s buried deep inside. My breath hitches as once again my pussy stretches around him, and he squeezes his eyes shut, a guttural curse slipping past his lips.
“I want you to feel how sorry I am…how much I love you. Every second of it.”
I roll my hips, but he still bucks upwards, matching my slow rhythm, wanting me to feel every inch of him.
“You feel like home,” he rasps.
Tears spill hot and fast down my cheeks again, and I cup his face between my palms, forcing him to see the truth in my eyes. “I am home,” I breathe. “With you. Always with you.”
His lips crash against mine, desperate, like he’s been starving for me, too. I ride him slowly, dragging it out while I pour every ounce of love and regret into the way I take him.
There’s no running this time. No hiding as his body tangles with mine on the rug. Every thrust feels like it’s binding us back together, piece by piece. It doesn’t take long for his whole body to tense, his forehead pressing against mine as a strangled groan tears from his chest. He shudders, spilling deep inside me, his release warming me from the inside out. I keep moving through it, rocking gently until his breathing evens out.
“I love you, Maisy,” he finally whispers, and in this moment, I know that this is where I’m meant to be.
TWENTY-THREE
STERLING
“Wouldyou ever try going pro with snowboarding again?” Maisy asks softly.
We’re wrapped up in blankets in front of the crackling fireplace, the flames painting her skin gold, her head resting against my chest as she traces lazy circles on my abs with her fingertips. I feel so comfortable, so content, I’m amazed I haven’t drifted off already.
I let out a low hum. “I thought about doing it for a while after I quit,” I admit. “But I don’t think it’s my passion anymore.”
She pauses her tracing for a beat and then continues, looping an infinity sign just above my navel. “Whatisyour passion now?”
