Grasping his arms, she did her best to meet his bruising, soul-searing pace. Much too soon, electricity flickered to life, low in her stomach. It grew and grew until it shot into her core and lightninged into her extremities.
Her back arched, and Zeke tensed above her, releasing a pleasure-packed, “Fuuuck.”
Moments later, their chests heaved against each other, and Zeke’s breaths fanned across her damp skin.
Lifting his head, he kissed her tenderly, so tenderly that tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. He pushed himself into a standing position, raked his gaze down her satiated naked body before padding to the bathroom.
She should feel ridiculous, lying there with her legs dangling over the side of the bed, but the emotion that rose to the surface was joy.
Pure joy. Happiness that she hadn’t felt in a long time.
For the first time since Tyler’s death, she looked forward to the future. Somehow it no longer stretched out before her like the endless, barren wild-scape of a Mojave winter.
The miles of undulating sand of before now blossomed with red, orange, white, and purple spring flowers. A vibrant landscape of possibilities and hope.
She prayed a late-night frost wouldn’t descend and kill it all.