My chest heaved as I lowered it to hers, pressing my forehead against hers, our breaths mixing together in the air. Sweat dripped down my brow, and I wanted to pull back, but Sierra placed her hands on my cheeks.
“I’m so glad it was you.” She didn’t give me time to respond before her lips were on mine. Gentle and loving.
What she didn’t realize was that to me, she was all-consuming. Even though it was both our first time, I didn’t think I ever needed to experience sex with anyone else. I was confident that nothing would ever compare to the feeling of her wrapped around me, our bodies the closest that they could ever humanly be.
A couple hours later, after cleaning up in the shower, we lay under the covers wrapped up in each other, the sheets messy and our breathing starting to slow into a steady pattern.
“You’re perfect. You’re everything to me,” I murmured into her hair.
Sierra stirred, sitting up like she was going to leave, so I sat up, too, prompting her to look at me, her green eyes seeming to glow, even in the absence of light.
“Sierra.” Her name came out as a whisper.
“I—”
“Please don’t go.” I blinked back the tears welling in my eyes as I brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, thumb stroking the pink scar under her eye. “Stay. Even if it’s just for tonight.”
She opened her mouth like she was about to protest but then decided against it, instead cuddling into my side, resting her head against my chest.
We just lay there together in the silence, eventually moving into a more comfortable position. My hands never left her hair, fingers brushing through the strands, as I started to fall into a gentle slumber.
I was convinced she was the greatest love of my life.
My one and only.
Our souls were intertwined. There was no me without her.
When I woke up the next morning, Sierra’s side of the bed was cold, the sheets and comforter neatly made.
She was gone.
And I didn’t even get to say goodbye.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
sierra
PRESENT DAY
Aloud crash and the sound of glass breaking in the living room jolted me out of sleep.
“What was that?” I hissed.
“I don’t know, but stay here.” Hayden crawled out from under the covers and threw on a shirt, his back muscles rippling as he pulled it down his torso.
God, Sierra, stop that.
Snapping out of my trance, I jumped out of bed, too. “I’m not just going to sit here. What if there’s someone out there? They can’t take on both of us.”
Hayden let out an exacerbated sigh. “Fine, but stay behind me.”
His bedroom door creaked as he slowly opened it, letting the light from the hallway and the main parts of the house filter in.
“Is someone there?” he called out.
“What are you doing?” I hissed. “This is how literally everyone in movies ends up getting murdered!”
He looked back at me, rolling his eyes. “No, the worstthing is investigating the scary noises, which is what we’re already doing. Besides, this isn’tThe Conjuring, Skip.”
