For a moment, she could only breathe, trembling in the aftermath.But then she felt him shift above her, his weight settling between her legs, and when their eyes met in the moonlight, she saw everything she felt reflected back at her.Love…trust…the simple knowledge that this was where they both belonged.
When they finally joined, it was physical, of course, and yet she also felt something far more profound, a completion that went beyond bodies, beyond the moment itself.She felt it in the way he held her gaze, in the catch of his breath that matched her own, in the slow, deliberate rhythm that built between them until there was no separation between his pleasure and hers.
The release that followed left them both breathless, clinging to each other as if they’d survived something far more intense than any supernatural battle.And in a way, Delia thought as Caleb pressed his forehead to hers, they had.They’d survived the journey to this moment — all the fear and doubt and danger — and emerged on the other side, whole and together.
This was what she would treasure forever.Not just the physical intimacy, but the absolute certainty that Caleb Lockwood loved her.
Before, when she’d been with other men, she’d thought she loved them, or at least cared for them.She’d never been one to become intimate until her heart was engaged.Now, though…now she realized it could be so much more, was all about her soul flowing into his and somehow, inexplicably, finding herself healed in return.
Afterward, they lay tangled together in the moonlight, Delia’s head pillowed on his chest while his fingers played with her loose hair.His breaths were deep and slow, and she could sense his contentment, the feeling of finally being exactly where he belonged.
“No regrets?”she asked softly.
“None,” he replied, then pressed a kiss to the top of her head.“You?”
“Only that it took us this long to get here,” she said before she settled more deeply into his arms.
They slept then, slept for so long that the room was flooded with sunlight when Delia finally awoke.The clock on the nightstand told her it was nearly ten.
Well, she supposed they’d earned a good sleep.
Next to her, Caleb shifted, and she allowed herself a moment of wonder at the sight of him in her bed, that this incredible man had trusted her enough to be vulnerable with her.
Then his eyes opened, and he propped himself up on one pillow.
“Good morning,” he said, and she smiled.
“Good morning.”
They leaned in and kissed one another.Her body stirred, but she thought she was content for the moment.Later, though….
“Do you think it’ll be easier now?”she asked.“Living with what we are, I mean.”
“Honestly?”Caleb responded as his shoulders lifted ever so slightly.“I don’t really know.But I do know it’ll be easier doing it together.”
She tilted her head as she gazed at him, studying the handsome planes of his face in the bright morning light.“Even if it means more supernatural crises?More demons or angels or whatever else is out there?”
“We’ll deal with it when it happens…ifit happens,” he said, then pressed a soft kiss on the top of her head.“For now, let’s just enjoy the fact that we’re both alive and that Las Vegas is still standing.”
“Fair point,” she agreed.“But maybe we should have Pru check to make sure everything really is fine.”
“Later,” Caleb said firmly.“Right now, the only thing I want to check on is this.”
He demonstrated what “this” entailed by rolling her beneath him and kissing her with the kind of thorough attention that successfully derailed any further discussion about demons or angels or the otherworldly currents that had flowed through Las Vegas.
For the first time since this whole supernatural mess had begun, she felt like she was exactly where she belonged.
They’d both fallen asleep again after that round of lovemaking, and when Delia woke once more, the sun was even higher in the sky, and she was alone in bed.For a moment, disorientation made her wonder if the events of the night before and earlier this morning had been nothing more than an elaborate dream, but then she caught the rich scent of coffee drifting in from the kitchen and smiled.
She pulled on her silk robe — she’d have to suggest that Caleb leave a few things here, as long as he was amenable to that — and padded barefoot down the hallway, her loose hair falling around her shoulders.She found him standing at the counter, dressed in his jeans from the day before, muscular torso gloriously bare, looking utterly at home in her kitchen as he sipped from a big mug of coffee.
The sight of him made something warm and contented unfurl in her chest.
Or maybe somewhere a bit lower down.
She was just reaching for a mug for herself when her phone rang.It had been sitting in the kitchen all this time, since she’d left it on the counter the night before.The caller ID showed Pru’s name, and Delia sighed.
“Good morning, Pru,” she said after she put the phone to her ear.
