Julia
The tickle of the ocean breeze against my skin stirred me awake, seagulls squawking in the distance cutting through the haze of a hard-fought few hours’ sleep. I hadn’t wanted to fall asleep in the first place, both Lachlan and I doing everything to resist succumbing to our body’s needs, not wanting to waste a second of what little time we had together with something as unimportant as sleep.
But we were powerless to resist.
Now, I didn’t want to open my eyes for fear I would be met with the brilliant sun streaming into the bedroom, a reminder that it was day.
And the hours we had left were now down to mere minutes.
As if sensing my brain stirring, Lachlan snaked an arm around my waist, pulling my body flush with his, my back to his front. He left a trail of kisses along my shoulder blades, and I sighed into his touch.
“Whatever you do, don’t open your eyes, love,” he crooned, his voice husky from sleep.
“Why?”
“Because that bastard sun has made a rather unwelcome appearance.”
“It couldn’t be. It’s far too early. It must be the moon.”
On a long sigh, he tightened his embrace, as if by doing so, it would make my statement true. “You’re right. It’s the moon.”
I turned over in bed, meeting his gaze. “See?” I smiled sadly, a tear sliding down my cheek. “It’s still night. We still have time.”
He drew in a quivering breath. “We still have time.”
He crushed his mouth to mine, desperation and heartache dripping from every inch of him as he kissed me for one of the last times.
My heart physically ached at the reminder I’d have to go to sleep all alone tonight. That I’d wake up all alone tomorrow. Then have breakfast all alone. It had only been a week, but in that time, this man had become such a huge part of my everyday life. At least here on Hawaii.
A voice inside me reminded me he could be a part of my life in Atlanta, too, if I would finally take a risk.
But like I’d cautioned myself repeatedly over the past few days, and especially last night as Lachlan and I spent hours exploring his Hawaii, everything about it making me feel like we were a real couple, I didn’t have a choice. I had too much to lose.
Deepening the kiss in the hopes of drowning out that voice, I pushed him onto his back. I circled my hips against his erection, the feeling of him teasing and tempting in all the ways I’d grown accustomed.
I pulled away, eyes locking with his as he brought his arousal up to me.
He arched a brow. “One last time?”
I nodded, swallowing past the painful lump in my throat. “One last time,” I managed to say.
He slowly eased inside me, filling me in the way only he could. In a way I doubted anyone ever would again.
Neither one of us said a word as I moved against him. We didn’t need to. Words had become inconsequential and unnecessary between us. Instead, we communicated the way we had all week. With our bodies. Our hearts. Our souls.
“Remember me,” he begged, his words puncturing my heart. He cupped my cheek, his hold unwavering, powerful.
I covered his hand with mine, not wanting to let go for fear this would all be over. But it had to end.
It had to.
“I’ll never forget,” I promised, lowering my lips back to his. “I’ll never forget.”
“Julia,” he exhaled, his words a mix between a moan and a cry. A rare moment of vulnerability for a man who, a week ago, masked his feelings with anger and resentment. Now, he happily exposed his emotions for me to see.
To allow me to possess the parts of him no one ever had.
Just as I’d allowed him to possess the pieces of me I’d refused to give anybody else. The pieces of myself I didn’t think existed. The pieces of myself I thought Nick had killed ages ago.
But he hadn’t. I just needed the right person to bring them out again. To give them life once more.
Breaths increasing, my motions became more frenzied as I chased that sensation I’d grown to crave. At the same time, I fought it, not wanting this to be over so soon, struggling to draw it out as long as possible.
But when Lachlan pressed his thumb to my clit and rubbed it in that achingly perfect way he knew I hungered for, I could no longer fight this carnal need for release and satisfaction, my body a slave to his touch.
When his lips captured mine, his tongue teasing mine was the last straw. I fell apart around him just as he released a strangled cry, giving in to one last moment of bliss.
Of euphoria.
Of happiness.