42. Macie

Chapter forty-two

Macie

B utterflies, nerves, anxiety, hopes, expectations, and a whole lot of nerves again overtook me as I led Relic to the back of the property. Relic felt like sand in the bottom of the hourglass, already deposited into the memory of time. He had given up, relinquished himself and us to these brief few hours of this evening, and whatever little time we had tomorrow as I tried to describe the tattoo. But I couldn't allow him to renounce this beautiful life he had been building for himself or these treasured relationships he had been building with Demarius, Lev, Melanie…and me. He deserved more. He deserved better. He deserved the world.

When we reached our destination, I took a deep breath and tried to smile past my nerves. "We're here! What do you think?"

Relic took in the area, and he had that stoic look that he wore when he didn't know what to think. He studied the white playhouse that had purple shutters and trim, then the tree fort built seven feet off the ground, complete with ladder and swinging rope. He walked to the edge of the fire pit centered in the wooden deck. From there, he stared upon the wildflowers popping up through the brown dirt and the babbling brook that cut off our property to the one behind us.

"I used to call this Fairy Cove," I said into the silence. "When I was little, I thought this was the most magical place in the world. I used to play here all the time. My dad, along with his friends, built the play and tree houses and this deck. I even hammered in a few nails myself."

Relic smirked. "I believe that. I can't imagine you sitting out on anything."

But I had sat out, for the last few months. Relic had brought me back to life, though. "I thought we could make a fire. I hauled a cooler down here and I brought hot dogs to roast and all the fixings for s'mores. What do you think?"

There was an awe in Relic's expression and a heaviness that made me want to wrap him up and never let go. "I think this may be the best night of my life."

Mine, too. We stared at each other for so long that it felt like time stood still. I glanced away and cleared my throat. "Do you know how to make a fire?"

"No idea, but I'm game to learn."

"First off, we need kindling, so try to find small sticks to burn."

***

The fire before us flickered into the night, and Relic and I sat next to each other on a blanket eating the s'mores we had made. He had a smile on his gorgeous face, his blue eyes danced with our conversation, and all the weights that had been chained to him when he first arrived seemed to have evaporated into the air with the ash and smoke. I finished telling him a story of a guest run-in that had gone humorously wrong, and we both laughed at the end.

I loved his laugh. Loved how it came from his soul. Loved how it echoed into the night. Loved how it felt like it seeped past my muscles and bones and wrapped my soul up tight in a hug.

He finished the last bit of his s'more and glanced over at me with eyes that were still laughing at my story. "You're great at what you do. I bet you're great at whatever you put your head to."

I didn't know much about my life, not anymore, but that didn't bother me. I was now learning how to go with the flow, how to embrace life's twists and turns. "I'm not scared of living anymore like I have been after what happened. What's super weird is that I feel like I should say that I've returned to normal, but I haven't. I wasn't scared of living before, but I wasn't exactly alive either. I did what I was supposed to do. Checking off one box just to go to the next. Now there aren't any boxes. There's whatever it is I want in life."

Relic's gaze flickered over my face. "I'm going to remember you, right here, in this moment for the rest of my life. Looking so damn beautiful with the firelight softly highlighting your face. The bright light in your eyes and a smile I'd easily die to see again. You look like sunshine even in the middle of the night, radiating all the possibilities I wished belonged to me."

"You don't have to remember anything." I took Relic's hand and placed it over my heart. His eyes snapped to mine, as placing it there also meant his touching the swells of my breasts. Desire deepened his blue eyes to the color of the Caribbean Sea, and I wondered if he could feel my heart thundering beneath his touch. "I'm yours, Relic. Not just tonight, but always."

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, and my lips turned up with the question because I loved those words coming out of his tempting mouth. Loved how he asked for my permission each and every time, as if my lips touching his was a gift he cherished above all else.

"Yes," I whispered. "I'd love for you to kiss me." I nibbled on my bottom lip and glanced at him from beneath my eyelashes. "I'd also like to explore like we have and maybe do a bit more."

He gave me a pirate smile. "More?"

"More," I repeated before I lost my nerve. He thankfully nodded like he understood, and I could scarcely breathe as he leaned in and kissed me.

The first few presses were sweet, questioning, and curious, but then I touched him, my hands skimming along his muscled chest. In response, Relic wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, bringing our bodies flush with one another. Soon, there was a longing inside me—this need, this fire that burned for more, and Relic was my only answer for relief.

We kissed, we touched, we explored. My hands wandered beneath his shirt, and he gave me the most beautiful smile as I leaned back and pulled the material off his body then rid myself of my shirt— leaving my bra as the only material between our chests. Relic edged forward, kissed me again, and used his body and arms to lower me back.

Adrenaline pumped through me as I lay upon the blanket and Relic settled his body over mine. I welcomed his muscled weight, and I softly moaned with the fantastic feeling of his body aligning with mine. Our kisses grew frantic, our touches bolder, and when Relic moved his body, my head spun, and I gasped with the sensation.

"Anytime you want to stop," he whispered then nibbled on my ear.

"I don't want to stop," I exclaimed before I reclaimed his mouth with mine. And so, we touched, we kissed, we explored, and we moved. Moved in such a fantastic rhythm that grew in pace. Moved in a way that created delicious hungers and needs I had never felt before—in such a way that, suddenly, there was this fantastic edge that I found myself hurtling toward. And then, when I went over the edge, there were explosions. I held onto Relic, let out a cry, and closed my eyes as I rode out this glorious experience.

We laid on the blanket, holding each other, gently giving each other sweet kisses, and just when I thought the world couldn't be as wonderful as it was right now, Relic whispered in my ear, "I love you, Macie Hutchins."