MY ARMS FEEL LEADEN as I stuff the last few shirts from my bottom drawer into the cardboard box. It makes no sense that I’m so worn out after two hours of packing.
I thought I would love moving out of the guesthouse, since I’m constantly surrounded with reminders of her here, but clearing it all out leaves me somehow even more miserable, and I didn’t think it could be any worse.
This was home for a brief moment. The eighteen hours she spent in this house were the happiest of my life.
I may never feel that again.
There’s a knock at the door, and my stomach jolts.
It’s soft, just like her knock. But my mom’s knock is soft, too. Not like Livvy’s though. Oh God, I think it’s her.
As I rush to the door, I try hard to manage my expectations. It’s probably not her. I’m probably hearing things because I’m so desperate to see her.
When I open the door and find her beautiful smiling face, a dizziness settles over me. “It’s July!”
“It is July.” She smiles cheekily and looks to the side.
My pulse pounds like hammer against my throat. “Livvy, don’t fuck with me. Why are you here?”
When her eyes widen, I flinch. Jesus, why am I practically yelling in her face when she might be here to tell me she wants to be with me? I shut my eyes and take a deep breath. “Sorry, you just surprised me.”
She sets her soft hand on my arm, and I could die at the pleasure of it. “It’s okay,” she says. “I’ll spare you the suspense. I’m taking you off hold. I want to be with you.”
Everything grows heavy. The joyful misery that began five years ago has finally come to an end. I love her, and she’s mine.
I grab her so quickly that she shrieks. Maybe I’m acting like a madman, but I couldn’t stop myself if I tried. I lift her up high in the air and throw her over my shoulder.
“Oh my gosh,” she shouts. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking you to my bedroom.”
She giggles. “I thought we were going to talk first.”
“We can talk later. I caught you. You’re mine now.”
I toss her roughly onto the bed, pulling off her clothes as I crawl on top of her. She’s grown bolder since the last time we did this, unzipping my jeans and pulling them off along with my boxers.
“Are you moving?” she asks as she cups my balls.
I hiss as I grab her face and kiss her frantically. “Yeah, tomorrow.” I pull away and lower my head to her chest. “God, I’ve missed this.” I suck on her nipple. “I’ve thought about nothing but this these last three weeks.”
“Me too.”
I trail my fingers up her thigh and slip one inside her pussy. “You’re wet for me already. Good girl.”
She releases a breathless laugh. “I can’t believe this is happening so fast.”
“Get used to it.”
I press soft kisses along her neck, and she hums. “I will.”
As soon as I get the condom on, I shove myself inside her. I can’t do preliminaries. Not when I’ve been so starved for her. Not when I’ve spent the three weeks wondering if I would ever be in heaven again.
“I love you,” I tell her as I thrust.
“I love you too.”
I pull all the way out and ram back in. “Why did you take me off hold early?”
She whimpers. “I needed more of this.”
I want to laugh, but instead, I make my body grow still. “No. Be a good girl and tell me the real reason.”
She smiles faintly as she lifts her hand into the air and spreads her fingers apart. She pulls off the silver ring, grabs my hand, and drops it into my palm. “I wanted to give you this.”
I close my hand around it. “You took me off hold to give me your purity ring?”
“I’ve been trying to get rid of it for weeks, and I haven’t been able to. I finally realized why.” Her smile fades. “I always imagined giving it to you.”
I swallow. “You thought I’d be your husband someday.”
Her nod is jerky. “I’m done with purity culture, but I’m not done with you. This is only the beginning for us.”
My vision grows misty. “Oh fuck, Livvy.” My voice trembles. “Are you real? Are you sure you’re not an angel?”
She shoots me a sultry smile before lifting her head and biting down softly on my neck. “I hope not. I like being naughty too much.”
I grin as I pull out of her and thrust back inside her tightness. Fuck, she’s perfect.
“I’m never letting you go,” I grit out. “You’re never getting away from me.”
She lifts her hips to meet mine. “I’m yours now.”
The next several minutes are a fever dream, as if my body disappears into hers. She’s the only thing I need. My fallen angel who’s mine because I caught her.
