“I love your ass.”
“And these?” She lifts my hand to her breast. “You like these?”
“I love them. You have an incredibly hot body.”
“You think so?”
“I do. It turns me on.”
“I like turning you on.”
“I can see that.”
She kisses me, tugging my bottom lip with her teeth. “I want to watch you come.”
I groan. “I’m close.”
“Quietly, Cullen,” she teases, placing tiny kisses on my lips. “Do I need to cover your mouth?”
I roll my eyes, recognizing my own words from the night before, and she chuckles, still moving on top of me. “How close are you?” she whispers.
“Very close.” Tension is building inside me. “You want me to come for you?”
Her eyes flare. “Yes.”
“Inside you, baby?”
“Oh yes…”
I close my eyes as heat sweeps up through me and then gasp as pleasure explodes. Beautiful pulses make me twitch as I spill inside her, and she kisses me as if she wants to capture my ecstasy, and keep it as proof of how she made me feel.
When I come back down to earth, I open my eyes and look up to see her watching me. The sun has almost set, and the room has grown dark, but her turquoise eyes glitter in the fairy lights.
“I’ve fallen in love with you,” she says.
I blink, my brain fogged from sex, shocked by her admission. “Isla…”
She smiles. “It’s okay, you don’t have to say it back. I know it hasn’t been long. And I’m not trying to trap you or force you to stay. But I thought you should know.” She kisses my face.
My head whirls, her words like snowflakes whipped up by the wind. But as she kisses me, they slowly settle, and I realize what she’s saying. She acknowledged that it hasn’t been long. She’s not saying she loves me, because that’s something that develops over time, and it’s not something you can declare after knowing someone for only a week.
She’s saying that she likes being with me. And she’s enjoyed sharing herself with me. Right now, tonight, she’s feeling something—a little Christmas magic, maybe.
I can feel the magic too. Maybe I feel the same? However, even though I don’t want to disappoint her, I’m not ready to say it back. Instead I say, “It’s been an amazing week, hasn’t it?”
“It really has. I didn’t expect it.”
“Me neither.” I hesitate and brush my thumb across her bottom lip. “Can I ask one thing, though?”
“Of course.”
“Can we wait until tomorrow to discuss this more? It’s just… I need to get past it first.”
Tomorrow is the anniversary of Jack’s passing. It’s going to be a tough day for us both. I don’t know how I’m going to feel or react, and I don’t want to make promises I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep. But after tomorrow, I think things will be clearer.
“Of course,” she says again, pressing her lips to my nose. “No worries at all. I understand.”
“Thank you.” I cup her face and kiss her again. “You’re a wonderful woman. And I’m so lucky to have found you.” I don’t want to lose her. But I just need time, and I’m so relieved she gets that.
