Our bare bodies pressed against each other, igniting me, and when I pulled back to lie down on the blankets on the floor, he came with me, taking my mouth in another slow, sliding kiss once we were both lying down.
"I've always loved the way we fit together," Kyland murmured, pressing his body closer to mine. I felt his hardness nestled between my legs and moaned longingly. "Spread your legs a little, Ten," he said against my mouth. Lust shot through my body and I did as he said, widening my legs so he could guide himself to my opening.
He eased in just a little, inch by slow inch, the expression on his face one of focused bliss. God, he was beautiful, his high cheekbones tinged with pink, his lips parted, and a slight sheen on his brow. "I love you," I said.
He moaned. "I love you, too. Always have. Always will." And then with one thrust, he was completely inside me. I gasped out at the intense feeling of fullness, my body relaxing around his invasion as I wrapped my legs around his hips.
For just a second I recalled the way he'd felt the first time he'd thrust into me, tearing my flesh and filling me in a way I'd never been filled before. It had hurt so much I'd almost told him to stop, but I hadn't. And after a few minutes, the worst of the pain had begun to ease and I'd been able to focus on the wonder of Kyland above me, moving inside me. I'd been so desperately in love with him.
I still was.
He brought his mouth to my nipple and flicked it with his tongue as he began to move and I was suddenly very much back in the present. I groaned and wove my fingers into his short hair, my fingernails scratching his scalp. A groan escaped his mouth as he came up off one breast and moved to the other, still thrusting leisurely into me. "Kyland, oh God," I moaned. I brought my hands down to his shoulders. The steady drumbeat of arousal between my legs was increasing. I raised my hips to meet his thrusts.
"You feel so good, Tenleigh."
I tried to speak, but my words dissolved on my tongue as the most intense orgasm I'd ever had detonated and sent shock waves all the way down to my toes. I leaned my head back with a whimper as I clenched and spasmed around Kyland.
His movements became jerky and uneven and then he thrust into me one final time, spilling into me as he moaned his orgasm into my neck.
We lay there for several minutes, our breathing labored, our skin dewy with exertion. Finally, Kyland brought his head up and smiled down at me. "God, I missed you so damn much. I wondered if yesterday would be the last time." His smile was tender, but there was sadness in his eyes.
I put my hand up on his cheek and ran my thumb over his cheekbone. "We have a lot to make up for. But all the time in the world." I smiled, my heart filled with hope and joy.
Kyland pulled out of me and I winced slightly. He rolled to the side and sat up slightly to pull a blanket over us. Then he gathered me in his arms and I rested my head on his chest.
"I'm really sorry about this bed situation."
I snuggled closer and turned my nose into his skin, inhaled, and then kissed his nipple. "What bed situation?" I asked, smiling against his chest.
He chuckled. "I don't know. I forgot what I was talking about."
I laughed softly, too. I brought my hands up, propped them on his chest, and rested my chin on them so I could look up at him.
"What are we gonna do, Ky?"
He smoothed my hair back off my forehead. "About what?"
"About everything. About us."
His hand halted. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to figure out where we're going to live—"
He released a breath. "Oh. We'll figure all that out. Once I find the will power to get out of this bed with you. Which could be three months from now."
I laughed. But I got up and sat on my knees facing him and looked at him very seriously. "I have to stay here and finish this school. I made a commitment and it's important to me. And I know you're still working to pay for my mama's care." Love and gratitude filled my heart at all he'd done for me and I grabbed his hand. "But after that, Kyland, I can hire someone else to run the funding for the school and I can work anywhere. Like I said, I get to give that gift back to you now. And so it's your turn to go to college." I was speaking quickly, the ideas coming fast and furious into my brain. "Rather than staying here, I could come with you, wherever you want to go—anywhere. And I'll get a teaching job there and we'll get a really small, inexpensive apartment and we might have to take out a small loan, but—"
Kyland laughed, a tender, but joyful sound. I halted talking and looked at him, realizing that for the very first time since I'd met him, his expression was filled only with joy. "That's all very sweet and we can talk about all that, but, Ten, you're topless right now and I haven't had any sex for four years, so I'm finding it hard to concentrate here."
I laughed and leaned in and kissed him. He smiled against my mouth, kissing me back. I squealed when he flipped me over and gazed down at me grinning his beautiful grin. "We have options now, beautiful girl. I have a couple more months at the mine and your mama is going to be in the hospital for a few more months, too, but after that, the world is our oyster. Or at least it feels like it." Peace. That's what I saw in his handsome face. That smile spoke peace, peace and hope.
The breeze blew through the open window next to Kyland's makeshift bed, ruffling the curtains, and I smelled the unmistakable smell of lavender. I gasped and turned my head. "There's lavender out there."
He nodded. "That's why I used the computer at the Evansly library to look up how to plant it initially. The smell of it reminded me of you. It helped me remember why the suffering was worth it. It helped me focus on what I was doing and why. It helped me remember the moment at the edge of our lavender field after we'd made love, when I realized I'd do anything to get you out of here, even if it meant breaking your heart." Sadness filled his expression. "I brought some inside in the winter. Christmas was the hardest time for me."
"Oh, Kyland." My breath hitched and heartbreak moved up my throat. "For me, too," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut as I recalled those desolate holidays—the ones I'd spent with our old principal's niece who had taken me in when I'd first moved to San Diego.
He shook his head. "Let's not be sad. You're here now. It was worth it. And also, that's how I found out about lavender being a good cash crop. It's helped a few people. Some good came from it."
I nodded. "Yes," I whispered. I leaned up and kissed his lips softly.
He made love to me again, this time soft and slow, our initial desperation quenched. Afterward, as we lay together in the dwindling daylight, the sun slanting through his window, and as I gazed at the man I loved—finally beside me—the world seemed only full of light and hope.