“Okay? I think you’ve ruined me. That…that wasn’t sex.”
“What was it?” he asked, finally stopping that slow glide to settle his hips flush against mine.
I stared up at him. Tremors still buzzed through me, but I finally managed to say, “Metamorphosis.”
Milo dropped his forehead to my collarbone, nuzzling his beard against the sensitive skin there. He was silent for so long that I thought the conversation was over. My eyelids drifted shut, my pulse finally slowed, and I felt like my body had melted into the bed beneath me.
“Sweet Eden,” he whispered. “Do you have any idea how fucking grateful I am that you walked back into my life?”
I threaded my fingers through his hair, overwhelmed by the rush of emotion in my chest. It was another moment before I could respond.
“Yes, because I feel the same.”
Themagicdidn’tfade.
It wasn’t like fumbling to recreate a memory—no, it was like worldbuilding, expanding our experiences until the result was all-encompassing. Milo was both anchor and rocketship, keeping me safely grounded while letting me soar.
At some point, I fell asleep tangled up in him, but he must have slipped out of bed to let Jiji in and turn off the lights, because I woke up with the cat curled into the small of my back. My head was tucked into Milo’s neck, the soft pine scent of his beard wafting over me with every breath. I stayed awake only long enough to think that he was right about this being paradise, then dozed off again.
The next time I woke up, Milo’s thigh was wedged between my legs. Without intending to, I rocked sleepily against it. His heavy lids lifted in the dark, his hand found my breast, and the next round began.
Throughout the night, the cycle repeated a few times, dreamlike in its perfection, each interlude more magical than the last.
A plaintive meow from outside the bedroom door filtered through my hazy thoughts as I blinked the world into focus. I was on my side with Milo’s warmth curved along my back and his arm draped over my middle.
Every muscle in my body was deliciously sore.
The meow came again and I tried to ease myself out from under Milo’s arm, which tightened around me. A low, sleepy rumble accompanied the soft abrasion of his beard against my neck.
“Where are you going?”
“Your cat is yelling for breakfast.”
Milo’s lips feathered over my shoulder. “I’ll feed him. I want you here, all soft and sleepy and warm, when I get back.”
“If you insist,” I mumbled, but my exhausted muscles were glad for the reprieve.
Though I lost his heat at my back, he tucked the blanket around me as he slipped out of bed. I cracked an eyelid to watch him pull on a pair of black sweatpants.
“You should go shirtless more often,” I called out before he rounded the bed.
When he grinned, I opened both eyes to soak in the glory of it. He strolled back toward me, dropped a kiss to my lips, and went to take care of Jiji.
I breathed deep, drawing the scent of him into my lungs, then snuggled into the cocoon of blankets and closed my eyes again.
Magic, or paradise?Maybe this feeling was simply…both.
Chapter Seventeen
Milo
ThenightImetEden had been the best night of my life—until having her spread across my own bed, tucked safely in my arms, knowing she wasn’t going to disappear again.
That definitely topped it.
Last night was different from the first, but in all the best ways. This time, I knew more about who she was, and we were both clearly more comfortable with one another. That threw our already off the charts chemistry into the stratosphere. I’d never experienced anything like it, physically or emotionally.
Her trust was an aphrodisiac of the highest order.
