Light in Mourning

“A girl, man?” I cocked an eyebrow at Gavin. “You’re in trouble if you have a girl.”

“A mini-Drew? Christ, can you imagine?” Silas jibed.

“Hey.” Drew glared at him.

“I don’t care what it is, as long as it’s healthy.” Gavin leaned into Drew and rubbed her tummy. It was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen. I glanced over at Georgia and watched her watching them. Her features had softened as a thoughtful look crossed her face.

“Wait, you have an announcement too, right?” Drew perked up and glanced at Georgia. “Oh my God. Are you pregnant too? That would be amazing! Our kids could grow up together.”

My eyes widened in surprise.

Georgia? Pregnant?

“No, I’m not pregnant,” she said as she looked over at me, a sheepish look on her face. “We’re moving in together,” she finished.

“That’s great.” Drew beamed.

“Really?” Silas frowned.

“Yeah, after the new year, we’re going to start moving my stuff in. I need to rent the beach house next summer, so it just made the most sense.”

“You make it sound like a business arrangement.” Drew frowned.

“No, it’s just convenient.”

My jaw ticked at her words. I was convenient?

Irritation flared in my stomach. I didn’t like the sound of that at all.

12

“A convenient business arrangement? Is that what I am to you?” He had me pinned underneath him in bed later that night.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” I breathed as he skimmed his hand up my torso and pulled the shirt over my head.

“How was it meant?” he muttered as he pulled at the cup of my bra with his teeth. My tummy fluttered and rolled, anxious to feel skin on skin. Holidays were tough for me, always tough. It was so easy for me to get lost in my head with the memories, but Tristan was what I needed to keep me in the present. And he did an epic job of it.

“I just meant . . .” I groaned as he pulled down the cup of my bra, bringing my puckering flesh to his mouth. His lips wrapped around my nipple and lightning bolts of desire flamed cross my body and landed in a pool between my legs. I shifted underneath him on a moan.

“You just meant what?” He pulled away and blew warm breath across my hardened peak.

“Oh God.” I threaded my fingers in his long hair and pulled his lips back to my chest.

“That’s what I thought.” He nuzzled my breast before latching onto my nipple again. “Last I checked, business arrangements didn’t include my head between your legs.” Goose bumps erupted across my skin as he breathed his way down my stomach. “Are we a business arrangement, Georgia?” He hooked his fingertips under the lace of my panties at my hips.

“God, no,” I breathed.

“Am I just convenient for you?” he murmured as he peeled my panties off my legs and nuzzled my wet and throbbing center with his nose.

“Never,” I choked.

“Is this something you would do with a business partner?” He dragged his tongue up my length and nipped at my clit when he reached the top.

“Never.” I tightened my legs around his head, desperate for him not to move.

“This is for me, your boyfriend. The boyfriend that you live with.” He thrust two fingers into my heat and I bucked underneath him. His lips latched around my clit and he sucked so hard, stars burst behind my closed eyelids. My hands fisted in his hair and pulled him tighter to me. I moaned and panted his name as he worked his fingers in and out. He laved his tongue up my wet heat, back and forth, teasing the swollen flesh before he added a third finger. I bucked and writhed and, with two long draws, an orgasm ripped through me, the likes of which I’d never felt before. My legs shook and tightened around his head as he continued to suck and nurse the orgasm from my body. His fingers slowed their thrusting before he finally eased them out of me.

I lay against the white sheets of his king-sized bed, limp and sated.

Breathing heavily, a smile dancing across my lips, I murmured, “I knew there was a reason why I kept you around.”

One eyebrow ticked up as he crawled up my body. The hand still between my breasts darted over to give my nipple a rough pinch. “Watch it, baby.”

My eyes fluttered open and I took in his beautiful face. A few locks of hair fell across his forehead and he looked utterly delicious. I reached a hand up to cup his cheek, my thumb running across his full bottom lip, still glistening from my juices.

“You’ve got a talent the likes of which I’ve never seen before.” A smile split across my face as I teased him.

“Worth the risk?” His eyes sparkled in that mesmerizing way.

“Worth every risk,” I murmured before pulling his head down to me and plastering a long, drawn out kiss on his lips. Our tongues mingled and explored. He slipped a hand in my tangled locks and massaged my scalp.

“You’re worth everything to me,” he murmured as he slid his jeans and boxers down his legs and kicked them off. “I’d do it all for you. Do it all over again. Go back to the very start. You’re worth every risk.” He eased into me and slowly worked in and out. Each push in and each draw out dragged across every sensitized nerve ending I had, and so many more I hadn't even known existed. I shuddered as he eased out to the tip, and the air escaped my lungs in a pleasurable rush when he eased back in, taking it slow, savoring every inch. My eyelids fluttered closed as I enjoyed his skin pressed to mine.

“Eyes, Georgia. I want to see your eyes when I'm inside you.”

My eyes shot open and found his lovely deep green orbs burning into me, taking my breath away, just like they always did.

“This,” he motioned between us. “We aren’t convenient. We’re everything.” He emphasized each word with one delicious pull out, one delicious push back in. My nerves fired off, little fireworks shooting across my body. I laced my legs around his waist and held him tight to me so he couldn’t ease all the way out again. I couldn’t lose him, not for another instant.

“We’re everything,” I repeated and locked my arms around his neck, holding onto him with every muscle I had. “You’re everything,” I murmured in his ear. He sucked in a sharp breath as if I’d caught him by surprise.

13

Fuck, she'd taken my breath away.

Every minute, she took my breath away.

Every smile, every movement, every word—an endless array of stolen breaths.

She hadn’t said those words, those three words we’d each said once this summer, and I wondered if she still felt them. They threatened to burst through at every emotionally charged moment, and it was becoming harder and harder for me to keep them in. I felt everything with this girl, and it was becoming nearly unbearable for me not to share it with her. I knew I had to let her take the lead, though. I was terrified of running her off,