On us.
His mouth parted as he looked between us, at where we met, at where his long length pressed inside of me again and again. It was so erotic, watching him watch us, and when he lowered himself back down again, it was with a needy kiss, a sweep of his tongue over mine, a desperate pull of my shoulders, a whisper of more.
My orgasm built slowly but fiercely, like a volcano formed over millions of years. It burned inside me, singeing the bones of my rib cage, melting the walls of my heart. I felt every spark, every lick of the flame until it bubbled out of me, and I dug my nails into Theo’s back, holding on as he picked up the pace to drive me over the edge.
I cried out, back arching, Theo’s name on my lips as I found my release. I realized then that Theo was there, too, grunting and gripping me just as tight as he came undone inside me. It was the first time we’d come together, that we’d been so wrapped up in each other that our bodies caught fire at the same moment.
We trembled in tandem when we were both spent, Theo’s slick forehead dropping to my chest as I sheltered him with my arms. I kissed his hair, and he squeezed me tighter where he held me, our breaths slowly evening out.
“I love you,” Theo whispered against my chest, and I couldn’t stop the tears that pricked the corners of my eyes at such a sweet sound.
“I love you,” I whispered in return.
We fell asleep wrapped in each other in a tangle of arms and legs and silky sheets, with our hearts soaring, our souls on high. At the core of who I was, I truly felt like nothing could touch us, like nothing and no one could ever rip us apart.
For the first time all summer — perhaps all my life — I felt secure, and safe, and sound.
And in the blissful, nescient sleep I slipped into with Theo’s arms around me, I didn’t hear the distant crack of thunder warning me that I was wrong.
Two days later, we anchored outside of Athens on a balmy August morning. It was the last place Theo had work to tend to, and he was desperate to wrap up and spend a couple more weeks on a true vacation with me before we headed back to the States.
Back to the States — together.
It made me giddy any time I thought of it, flying in his private jet back to New York City. I had no idea what would happen after that, what my parents would think when I told them everything that transpired over the summer, or where we would live, or if I’d go back to Colorado and he’d stay in New York. There was so much to discuss, which was another reason Theo was anxious to get his work done so we could have the time to figure it all out.
He was off the boat as soon as we anchored, and I watched the tender take him to shore as I sipped my coffee and breathed in the fresh sea air. I was still all bliss and sunshine, high off love when an idea struck me.
“I want to make Theo dinner,” I told Emma, slightly out of breath by the time I found her down in the crew mess. She was trying to have her own breakfast in peace — coffee and a blueberry scone — but she chuckled at the sight of me and gestured for me to have a seat across from her.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Well, back home, I learned how to make a delicious pan-fried trout from my mom. It’s kind of a rite of passage growing up in Colorado.” I cringed. “Any way we could find some trout here?”
Emma chuckled again. “Aspen, you’re dating a billionaire. The word impossible doesn’t apply to you anymore. Not with money like that at your fingertips.”
I blushed, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Well, I want to pay for dinner, too. Here,” I said, fishing my card out of my pocket and handing it to her. “Charge it to that.”
“You know we have a card specifically for getting provisions, right?” Emma asked with an arched brow.
“Yes, I know, but I haven’t spent a single dime of my own money in what feels like forever and I…” I rolled my lips together, thinking of all Theo had done for me, and how I desperately wanted to do something special for him, too. “Just let me do this.”
Emma shook her head on a smile, but took my card anyway and told me to give her a list before noon so she could get everything I needed.
I spent the better half of the morning planning out the meal, considering what type of salad I wanted to make, what appetizer and dessert would complement the trout, and thinking of the best wine pairing. Even though I didn’t drink, I knew Theo appreciated a good bottle of wine, and I wanted the night to be perfect.
Once Emma had my list, she took the second stewardess to shore for provisions and I changed into my swimsuit, climbing my way up to the sun deck with a fresh lemonade in hand, thanks to Claude. I spent the afternoon sunning and reading and waiting for four o’clock when I could video chat my sister without her killing me for calling too early.
“Well, if it isn’t my too-busy-traipsing-around-Europe-to-call-home sister,” Juniper answered with a yawn, her dorm room still completely dark. I knew by now she was back at CU, and when she flicked on the lamp on her bedside table, I smiled at the familiar set up of a dorm similar to
