“Athena?” I query, and when she whips her head to stare at me, I wish I would’ve kept my mouth shut. However, I’m determined to give her the complete and utter truth, even if that truth may destroy her. “Rebecca was the one who kissed me.”
Her mouth opens, closes, and then opens again. She seems at a loss for words, those large eyes of hers blinking rapidly. A single tear cascades down her cheek, and I don’t hesitate to kiss it away. She trembles, almost as if she wishes to cower, but she doesn’t. My girl is too brave, too stubborn.
“My best friend?” she whispers, voice soft. Sad. Broken. “That Rebecca?”
It shocked me as well. I’ve known Rebecca just as long as I’ve known Emily, and I always considered her a little sister.
At my barely perceptible nod, she releases a hushed sob. Lowering her face to her hands, she asks, “Do you have feelings for her?”
“No!” I capture both of her wrists, forcing her to turn towards me with tear-soaked eyes. “None. I promise you, Em. None. I’m in love with you and only you.”
“Then why are you hurting me like this?” she sobs. “Why are you pushing me away?”
“Because it’s my fault!” I snap, releasing her and pacing the width of the room. “We fought…and then we got dropped into this new world with no memories. I should’ve been there for you! I should’ve been the one who protected and cared for you all of these years, not Avery. I forgot about you! And it’s probably what I deserve, after all. I have to wonder if Helio played a part in this. Losing you…it’s karma for what I did and the pain I caused you.”
“Desmond—”
“I tried to kill you!” I interrupt, my anguish bleeding through. “I tried to hurt the only person in this world I give a damn about. How can I live with that? How can you live with that? I can’t help but think that none of this would’ve happened if I had just… Fuck, I don’t know!” I scratch at my neck as pain and panic consume me.
“Des, listen to me.” She grips my face between her small, dainty hands, and I can’t help but lean into her palm. “This is not your fault, and I don’t blame you for any of it. Rebecca kissed you. You didn’t kiss her back. You didn’t betray me. And what happened to us? That was not your fucking fault. I don’t blame you for what happened last night either. You didn’t remember me—”
“But…” I cut in, helpless. “But I should’ve. Helio must’ve had some inkling of what you meant to us—what you mean to us. Same with Avery.”
“I. Don’t. Blame. You.” She pushes up onto her tiptoes. “Do you still love me?”
“More than anything,” I whisper.
“Our time here…it changed us,” she admits shakily. “And I think in some ways, that change has been good. I grew closer to Avery—” When I make a noise of protest, she hurries on, “That’s a good thing, Des. I’ve always loved him, but now, our relationship is bathed in friendship. Before, it was lust and respect, but it’s something other now, something even more beautiful. I refuse to believe that only bad things have come out of this. We found each other, all of us, and we’ll get through this. I don’t blame you for what you tried to do to me, and I sure as fuck don’t blame you for what that traitorous bitch did.” For a brief moment, anger and hatred darkens her face, making her almost unrecognizable.
The need to assuage my guilt dissipates with a new need—proving my love to my goddess.
This time when I smile, it’s not tainted by sadness or guilt. It’s wicked and sensual, and her answering one causes goosebumps to ripple on my flesh.
“On a scale of one to murder, how pissed do you think Avery will be if we…?” I nod towards his rumpled bed sheets.
“If we what?” She grins mischievously as she slowly backs up. “Have a pillow fight?”
“As long as we’re naked,” I jest.
Emily surprises the shit out of me when she quickly tugs down her pants and panties and then whips her shirt and bra over her head. My breath hitches as I stare at her delectable, perfect body. Even with the return of my memories, it’s like I’m seeing her for the first time.
Her breasts are easily a handful, the nipples beaded nubs that I yearn to put in my mouth. When she skips forward, they bounce enticingly, causing my cock to become rock hard. I’ve always been a boobs man.
“Well?” She lifts a brow and cocks her hips to the side.
“Well what?” I try to lift my head to meet her eyes, I honestly do, but I can’t pull my gaze away from her heaving chest.
“Get naked, dammit.” She grabs a pillow from Avery’s bed and tosses it to me.
“Seriously?” I ask, but I’m already stripping as fast as I fucking can. My cock bobs painfully as it zeros in on the exquisite female before us like a missile latching on to its target.
Before I can act on my desires, she hits me as hard as she can with one of Avery’s fluffy pillows. She giggles, the sound rushing straight to my cock, and I just barely hold in my groan.
But I can’t resist pillow combat any more than I can physical combat.
I begin to whack her with the pillow as she jumps onto the bed. From this angle, I can see her pussy lips glimmering with the evidence of her arousal. As she bounces up and down, her breasts jiggle, those perfect pink nipples becoming impossibly hard.
“Fuck, come here, sweetheart,” I instruct, watching through hooded eyes as she complies without question, tossing her pillow to the side. I immediately release mine as well.
Biting down on her lower
