I stared at her in silence, finding her beautiful even at her worst.
She sauntered into the living room, running her fingers through her hair to pull it from her face. “Mind if I join you?”
“Never.”
Instead of moving to the other couch, she took the seat directly beside me. Her arm grazed mine. Her thigh touched mine. The ends of her strands subtly brushed across my skin before they slipped away.
I froze in place, not having touched her skin in so long.
She tucked her feet behind her ass and leaned into me, her arm hooking through mine so she could rest her head on my shoulder.
The touch was innocent, but it made the low-burning fire inside me leap to life with sky-high flames. The booze lost all effect on my system, and my heart started to beat faster. Her scent entered my nose, a mixture of roses and pure woman. My hands ached to grab her, to turn her face to me so I could kiss her with an embrace so strong that it bruised her mouth.
She sighed in comfort as she relaxed into me.
I stared down at her, feeling more alive in that moment than I had in forever.
“I feel terrible…” Her quiet voice escaped into the air, loud enough to be audible over the flames in the fireplace.
My arm pulled free of her grasp, and I wrapped it around her, pulling her close so she could rest her cheek against my chest. My hand slid into her hair, reuniting with my favorite feature she possessed. My fingers lightly touched her, pulling the strands away from her face but also massaging her scalp at the same time.
She sighed quietly, as if that was exactly what she needed.
Me.
She leaned farther into me and wrapped her arm around my waist.
Now, I watched her instead of the screen—and I paid attention to every subtle move, every breath she took, and I felt such a wave of peace, as if I could do this forever…until the sun set for the last time.
We sat together that way for thirty minutes. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the way I touched her, comfortable against my hard body even though I probably felt like a tree trunk. As long as she enjoyed it, I continued to touch her, to caress her like a precious doll.
She raised her head and looked at me, her eyes possessing a sleepy gaze. “I drank way too much last night…”
“I heard.”
“I haven’t drunk like that since…” Her eyes glazed over as she tried to think. “I can’t even remember.”
“Probably because you never have. My sister is a bad influence.”
“She likes to have fun. Doesn’t make her a bad influence.”
“I disagree.” My fingers never left her hair, continuing to glide through her softness. “Have you had dinner?”
She shook her head. “The last thing I want is food. I puked out all my intestines earlier today.”
“Want a drink?”
She turned to give me an incredulous look.
“It helps, I swear.” I smiled at her confusion because she somehow made that expression cute.
“Maybe it helps for you.”
“Just take a sip.” I grabbed my scotch off the table and handed it to her.
She hesitated before she took a small sip. Then she stuck out her tongue like she was disgusted. “Yuck. God, I’ll never drink again.”
“I hope that’s not true. Drinking is one of the best things in the world.” I’d been in a bad mood for weeks, but once I had her affection, my negativity slipped away. I felt better…a lot better.
She stuck out her tongue again. “I couldn’t disagree more.” She righted herself on the couch and pulled away so she could look at me better. Her knees still touched my thigh, and her scent still surrounded me.
My hand slid from her hair and rested on the back of the couch, but I was desperate to touch her once again, to feel the warmth of her neck, the pulse that trembled at my touch.
She stared at me for a while, her eyes filling with that silent intensity we shared. She felt the chemistry between us, the magnetic pull that wanted us to slam together with a noticeable bang. “I hope I didn’t make an idiot out of myself yesterday.”
“Only my sister did.”
She chuckled. “She’s a funny girl.”
“Funny to look at, maybe.”
She smiled slightly, like she knew I was teasing. “How are you?”
I miss you like crazy. “Fine. You?”
“Right now, I feel like shit. But otherwise…fine.”
My fingers couldn’t fight the urge, and they slid across the back of her neck, coming into contact with that heat. They touched the fall of her hair, slid up as they grazed across her beautiful brown hair.
She visibly melted at my touch, taking a deep breath at the contact. “I think I’m still a little drunk…because I want to kiss you.”
“No. That’s me, not the booze.” I wanted to pull her into me to kiss her, but I listened to Hades’s advice to let her make the first move. “And you can kiss me whenever you want. I’m yours.” I wanted those lips more than anything, wanted to actually feel the woman I’d worked so hard to enjoy.
She scooted closer to me, her hand moving to my bare chest so she could feel my heartbeat. She pressed her palm lightly, as if she wanted to feel the transfer of heat from my body to hers. Her forehead moved closer to mine, but she didn’t kiss me. She just held me there, letting our bodies touch.
I wanted more, but I would settle for this. It was a piece of her. I would collect the rest of the pieces in time.
She came closer, her bottom nearly in my lap. Her hand slid across my cheek and into my hair, the way she used to touch me. Her eyes looked downward, and she stared at my chest as she held me. Moments passed, and neither one of us moved.
Our heartbeats slowed, and our breathing became so quiet neither one of us could hear it. The TV was ignored. The flames died in the hearth without another log to feed its hunger. The connection reminded me of what Hades had described with his wife, that there was an invisible connection stronger than anything else in this world. That was how I felt now, like nothing could ever diminish this feeling between us.
She pulled away, her eyes focused on where her palm rested against my chest. “Could I sleep with you?” She didn’t raise her gaze, as if she were afraid to ask the question, to give me the wrong impression of what she wanted. Her fingertips lightly pressed into my chest, her fingers cold in comparison to my naturally scorching skin.
I wanted her in any way I could have her, whether that meant I could touch her or not. “Always.” I grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. My half-full glass was abandoned on the table, and I knew the fire would finish dying out on its own. When we used to be together, she liked staring at the fire as she fell asleep, so I let it be.
We left the couch, and Annabella immediately headed to the bed, the side that used to be hers. She pulled the covers back then slipped inside, making herself at home even though it’d been over six months since the last time she’d been there.
I closed the curtains so the sunlight wouldn’t wake her in the morning. I was up at seven, so the sunlight didn’t make a difference to me. I poured her a glass of water and set it on the nightstand beside her.
She was turned on her side, facing my usual position in the bed. She immediately fell into old habits, pulling the sheets to just below her shoulder. Her hand scooped her hair away, pushing it onto the pillow behind her.