Survival is optional as long as we have each other.
I hold her close, feeling the way our hearts race against my ribs in perfect sync with mine, and I can’t stop kissing her until my lungs are burning and black dots start to dance behind my eyelids.
When I finally do pull back, my voice is husky with emotion. “I missed you,” I whisper against her lips. “God, I’ve missed you so damn much, Stephanie. My world ended when I lost you. I died that day—and I only came back to life when I found you.”
26
STEPHANIE
White-hot fire pounds through my veins as I look up into Gio’s beautiful hazel eyes.
They’re dark with emotion, his gaze boring into mine with an intensity that steals the breath from my lungs, and for a moment, I can’t speak.
Gio’s words might just be the single most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.
And when he says my name—my name—it’s like a symphony to my ears.
He says it with such agonized need, and yet, the way he breathes it is almost reverent.
Like he’s been holding back all this time, dying to say it but couldn’t.
And all I want is to hear him say it again.
Stephanie.
That’s who I am.
And while I’m still hurt and scared and confused, when Gio kissed me, it was as though I’d found the eye of the storm.
All the chaos inside me stilled, and I could feel the love and devotion between us, the insatiable attraction we share.
I now know without a shred of doubt that my romantic and rather erotic dreams with a faceless man were real—they were memories of Gio fighting to come back to me in whatever way they could.
And my spine tingles to think of all the passion we’ve shared.
Every stolen glance and hidden kiss—making love anywhere and everywhere because nothing could stop us.
He’s the love of my life, the most incredible, most considerate,bestman I’ve ever met—even if he lied to me. And all I want is to be with him.
Now that my memories are back, my headache seems to have vanished.
In its place, I feel overwhelmed by the lifetime of emotions and experiences that come to me in rapid-fire, like flashes of a camera, behind my mind’s eye.
I gasp as a crushing sense of longing plows through me—when I think about all the time I spent alone, wishing for someone exactly like Gio, someone who understands me intrinsically, who makes life feel good and right, even on a bad day.
And as I stare into his tumultuous eyes, he must see how much I want him, because in the next breath, his hand is cradling the back of my neck, and he’s kissing me once more.
As soon as our lips meet, my instincts take over.
I respond with all the attraction I felt for him eight years ago combined with my growing feelings for who he is now.
To me, he seems like two completely different people, and yet I’ve fallen so completely in love with them both, it makes my head spin.
The only reasonable explanation I can come up with to explain it is that we were meant for each other.
Because whenever he’s near me, I can’t stay away.
Gio’s hands travel slowly down my body, taking their time to appreciate every curve and dip.
