“Don’t stop!”
“I’m not.” My voice was gruff as I pushed her body down onto the bed and positioned myself over her.
I couldn’t wait anymore. I had to have her. I slid into her slowly, afraid that I would come before we even started. Every part of my body demanded that I take her hard and fast. We hadn’t been together in months, and she was tight. I moaned as I filled her completely. Nothing in the world could compare to this.
“I love you, Emma.”
“I love you, too.”
I pulled out and pushed back inside, going slow to make sure that I didn’t hurt her. I wanted everything about this to be perfect for her. She wrapped her legs around my hips, pulling me deeper inside her. I groaned as my thrusts became harder. I couldn’t contain myself any longer. The need to be with her took complete control of me, and I let go.
“I’ll never leave you. I swear it,” I said as I continued to pound into her.
She moaned in response and squeezed her legs tighter around me. My thrusts became erratic as I tried to keep myself from coming. I wouldn’t come until she did. I leaned down and sucked her nipple into my mouth. She cried out, and I felt her body tense as she came. I continued to suck and thrust my hips, prolonging her orgasm as long as possible.
I gave one final thrust and exploded inside of her. Unwilling to let her go just yet, I rested my weight on my elbows and stared down at her. She looked beautiful, even more so than normal. Her lips were swollen from our kisses, and I leaned down to kiss her again, unable to stop myself. I felt closer to her now than I had in a long time.
“Thank you for that,” I whispered.
She smiled up at me. “No, thank you. It sounds stupid, but I needed that. I needed to feel close to you.”
I forced myself to pull out, and I rolled over to lie beside her. “That’s about as close as you can get.”
She laughed. “I guess it is.”
“Will you talk to me now?”
She bit her lip as she looked over at me. “Yes, I will. Just bear with me.”
“Take your time, babe. I’m all yours.”
I listened as she started at the beginning and continued from there. I let her get everything out that she needed to say. I held her as she cried for not only what had happened to her but for Ally as well. We lay together for hours after she was finished. I held her tightly in my arms until she fell asleep.
She still had a lot of healing to do, but she was definitely getting there. I was willing to wait for her and help in any way I could. We would figure things out together.
At the end of the day, love is not perfect. It doesn’t protect us or save us from the darkness surrounding our lives. Instead, it is the light that shines through to help us. Without it, we would be consumed by the darkness.
Life was the craziest journey that a person could ever take. I had no idea where Emma and I would be ten months or ten years from now, and I didn’t care. All I knew was that she would be with me wherever I ended up at in life.
After all, we’d been to hell and made it back alive.
Epilogue: Jesse
Five Years Later
I knew something was up the minute Emma walked through the door. She was trying her hardest not to smile, but she was failing miserably. She’d always been terrible at keeping secrets.
“What’s up with you?” I asked.
“Nothing. Why?” she asked innocently.
I wasn’t buying it. “Bull. You can barely contain yourself. What did you do?”
“Promise me that you won’t be mad first, or I won’t tell you.”
I raised an eyebrow. I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d been mad at Emma. She never gave me a reason to be mad. She made my life perfect.
“I promise,” I said slowly.
“Okay, so you’ll have enough hours to become certified soon, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Why?”
I’d finished college over a year ago with a bachelor’s degree in business. My mother had been thrilled until I told her my plans to get an apprenticeship at a local tattoo shop. She couldn’t understand why I would waste four years of my life at college if I hadn’t planned to use my degree for anything. She thought I was throwing my life away instead of bettering myself like she’d hoped. I’d never seen my mom so angry with me as when I told her I only went to college for her. I’d explained that I had done it to make her happy, but a desk job just wasn’t for me. I wanted to tattoo. She’d cried and begged me to reconsider, but I’d held my ground.
In the back of my mind, I think I always knew that I would go back to tattooing. Or maybe I would have done what my mom had wanted if it wasn’t for Emma. She’d convinced me to go after my dream. I’d told her no over and over at first. I knew I wouldn’t make a lot of money tattooing, and I wanted her to have the best of everything.
Emma had laughed at me every time I’d told her that. She’d said money didn’t matter to her as long as we were together. I knew she meant what she said, but she’d never lived without money before. It was a completely different thing to actually live that kind of life rather than talk about it.
I’d finally caved a few months before I graduated college. The closer we had gotten to graduation, the more depressed I’d become. I knew once I had my diploma in my hand, working life would become a reality, and I’d need to find a job within my chosen career path.
I knew I couldn’t spend my entire life doing something I hated, so I took a chance and walked into a local tattoo shop for the first time in years. I hadn’t known how much I’d missed it until I was back in one. There was just something about the sound of a tattoo gun and rock music playing somewhere in the shop that felt like home. I’d been lucky and caught the owner at the shop when I stopped by. He was a nice enough guy, and he’d agreed to give me a chance.
I’d started by working at the shop part-time while I finished college. Once I’d had my diploma, I’d started taking the courses I needed before I could start my official apprenticeship. Once I had finished them, I’d started my apprenticeship. I was paid next to nothing, but I loved every minute of it.
Emma and I had moved into another house right before we started our sophomore year of college. Neither of us could stand to be in the house that was tied to Ally. The new house was smaller, but it worked fine for us. I tried to find another part-time job to help with rent and bills, but Emma wouldn’t have it. Instead, I felt like the biggest ass ever as Emma paid for everything.
“You know what? I think I’d rather show you instead of telling you. Come on,” Emma said as she grabbed my hand and led me out of the house.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Shush. You’ll see soon enough,” she teased.
I was silent as Emma drove across town. I had no idea what she was up to. Usually, I could tell what she was thinking but not this time.
She pulled up to an empty building close to the college campus. “We’re here,” she said excitedly.
“Where is here exactly?” I asked.
“Come on.”
I stepped out of the car and followed her to the empty building. I noticed a sign in the front window that had For Sale written across it.
“Emma, what did you do?”