And they give me hope for the future.
When I first came here, I couldn’t have imagined it. Me and Nico, together again? After what he’d done? What hisfatherhad done?
But as much as Nico’s still the same in so many ways, he’s different, too.
He’s older, of course. More experienced. He’s not that boy who took his father’s word as truth. Nico makes his own decisions. He called out his father for the lies he told.
He risked his life for me.
But I don’t want to be with Nico out of gratitude or a wistful longing to revisit the past.
Being with Nico just feelsright.
Being with him feels like coming home after being lost for a very long time.
So, yes. I can see a future for us. Iwanta future for us.
Nico leans forward to kiss me. “I would do anything for you. You know that, right?”
As I look into his eyes, I can see the truth of his words.
“I know.” I cup the back of his head, pulling him back in for another kiss. “And I would do anything for you, too.”
“Soph.”Emotion tightens his features. “You don’t have to. I just want to take care of you. Make you happy. Prove?—”
“You do make me happy.” It’s another truth. Maybe not before, but he does now. And though my inner voice of logic might argue that I’m forgiving Nico too quickly, my heart doesn’t agree.
“I’ll do anything,” he replies. “As many cupcakes as you want. Puzzles. If you want an entire bakery, I’ll buy it. Or an island?—”
“An island? Why would I want an island?”
Nico’s gaze slides to the side. “No reason.”
“I don’t need a bakery. Or an island.” Although, now that I’m thinking about it, a private island getaway doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Brushing a lock of hair back from his face, I add, “Do you know whatwouldmake me happy right now?”
“Tell me. I’ll get it right away.”
I stroke him, tracing a vein down the length of his arousal. “I want you. Inside me. Now.”
“Oh.” A smile curves his lips. “Well. I think I could manage that.” Then he rolls me over onto my back and braces himself above me. “Less jostling your shoulder this way,” he explains. “And your head.”
“I’m fine?—”
Nico silences me with a hard and fast kiss. “I’m not taking any chances, Soph. Later, once the doctor says you’re totally clear, we can do any position you want. But for now?—”
“Like some of the poses in the Kama Sutra?”
He grabs a condom from the nightside table—no sprinting naked across the room this time, which is actually a little disappointing, since I got to see Nico’s bare ass in all its glory as he did it—and tears it open. “I might have to refresh my memory. But sure. Any pose you want.”
“Anypose?” Taking the condom from him, I roll it on. Then I spread my legs in an unspoken invitation.
Nico notches himself at my center. “If I recall, some of them looked pretty… acrobatic. So I might need to take some pilates or something.”
The idea of Nico taking pilates classes makes me laugh. A beat later, the mental image of Nico walking into a class full of women sends jealousy surging through me.
Not that I think he’d hit on any of them, but still.
“You don’t have to take pilates,” I tell him. “We’ll stick to the less acrobatic ones. And maybe we can focus on the ones where you have to hold me up with all your muscles.”
