Time blurs—seconds, minutes, it doesn't matter—until he eases me down, a cocky, satisfied grin spreading across his face. My release glistens on him, and heat rushes to my cheeks.
Before I can catch my breath, he pulls me up, lips soft and insistent on mine, chest pressing into me. His hardness is hard to ignore. I reach for him, desperate to feel, to give him a taste of what he's just done to me—but he stops my hand with a soft, firm grip.
“As much as I want to feel you wrapped around my cock. I need to get you home before you catch a cold.”
I pout, bottom lip jutting out, and he can't help but laugh.
“Don’t worry.” he scoops me up effortlessly. “You'll have plenty of time to have your way with me… but right now? I think you need a coconut latte.”
He winks, and I huff in mock annoyance, though heat blooms in my chest. I can't deny how much I love that he knows me—knows exactly what I want, what I need—without me having to say a word.
I know things are about to get more complicated. Messier. Harder in ways I can already feel creeping in around the edges.
But as I’m wrapped up in him and everything he makes me feel, I can't bring myself to care. Some things are worth the risk. And I’m almost certain… he’s one of them.
Chapter 18
Willow
It's beautiful today.
A rare stretch of sunshine, the kind you feel obligated to enjoy, so I've claimed the swing chair in the back garden, curled into the colourful cushions with my feet tucked beneath me. The frame creaks softly every time I move, the fabric warm from the sun, swaying just enough to lull me into stillness.
Sassy is draped beside me, utterly shameless, sprawled on her back with her fluffy belly on full display, paws twitching as I scratch her just right. She's always been a creature of comfort, but give her even the smallest patch of sunlight, and she will hunt it down like it's her life's purpose. Today, with the garden bathed in gold, she's in absolute heaven—and honestly, so am I.
It might also have something to do with the fact that Elijah made me feel happier than I have in a long time last night. Not just because he gave me the best orgasm with just his tongue, or that he's painfully good-looking in a way that should be illegal, but because he has feelings for me. Real ones.
When we got back last night, he made me a coffee to take to bed. He kissed me goodnight before disappearing down the hall to his room, leaving me smiling like an idiot into my pillow. Then, far too early this morning—something I absolutely complained about—he woke me up with kisses pressed over my face, murmuring how beautiful I am before he had to leave for work.
It's a long day for him today. He booked this weekend off for his niece's birthday, which means I’ll be meeting his family for the first time. Just thinking about that makes my stomach flutter.
I know we have a lot to talk about. What we've started isn't simple, and it definitely isn't something everyone will understand. He's still going through a divorce, and River wouldn't take this well at all. I hate that we’ll have to keep us a secret, that we’ll have to be careful and quiet about something that already feels so real to me.
But for now, it feels like the lesser evil—better than hurting the people around us. Even if part of me can't stop wondering if this turns out to be temporary for him, and permanent for me.
Quinn also gave me a proper earful this morning when she FaceTimed me. I hadn't even fully woken up before she launched straight into interrogation mode, firing questions faster than my half-sleep brain could process. I couldn't tell her anything anyway, with River and Rose still in the house, which only made her more dramatic about it all.
So, naturally, she filled the silence by telling me about her night instead. Apparently, it ended with her somehow spilling the bubble machine all over the DJ booth—how that even happened, I’ll never know. Ezra threatened to kick her out, she threatened to get him barred from BeanTastics, and they somehow found themselves in bed together with a leggy blonde.
That particular detail is information I will be taking to my grave. River absolutely does not need to know that.
I close my eyes and let the world settle around me—the birds singing softly in the trees, Sassy's steady purr against my leg, children laughing somewhere in the distance. For the first time in a while, I realise the sadness isn't crushing me today.
It's still there, of course. It always is. But it's quieter. Manageable. It's a little easier to wake up, to swing my legs outof bed, to exist without feeling like I’m dragging the weight of the world behind me.
Don't get me wrong—there isn't a part of me that wouldn't give everything I have to get him back. But I know, deep down, that he never really left. Before he died, he told me I would never be alone. That his life was tied to mine. As long as I kept living, so would he.
Somewhere up there, he's probably fuming, hands on his hips, giving me a full-on lecture for falling for his ex-best friend. Honestly, I wouldn't even argue—he’d have a point.
“Thought I’d find you out here doing nothing.”
Just like that, my little bubble pops.
It was nice while it lasted. I keep my eyes shut, not even giving her the satisfaction of a response. She's got this talent for finding the tiniest things to nitpick, just to start an argument.
Not today, Satan.
“I don't appreciate being ignored,” she huffs.
