Chapter Thirty-Seven

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Starlet

Late one Saturday night, I stood on Milo’s front porch. It took everything in me to ring his doorbell, and when I had, I almost darted into the bushes to hide. My nerves sat in my throat, but I stayed still as stone. I couldn’t leave things the way we had. After talking to my father, I felt as if I had to speak to Milo one last time from my heart.

I didn’t know what words would come out once he stood before me, but I was ready to try to find said words.

When he opened the door, I saw the look of shock on his face.

“Hey. What are you doing here? Are you okay?” he asked, alert. “Come inside,” he said, stepping to the side of his door. The care in his tone told me all I needed to know. He loved me more than any person had ever loved me before.

“It felt off to me,” I whispered as I stepped into the foyer of his house.

He raised an eyebrow. “What felt off?”

“The last time we had sex. Looking back, I knew it was different. I could see it in your eyes, too, and I couldn’t pinpoint it, but now I get it.”

“Listen—”

“No,” I cut in. I took a step toward him and placed his hands into mine. I stared down at our intertwined fingers. I missed his touch so much that his warmth almost knocked me backward. “I need you to listen first. I need you to know that I understand why you pushed me away. I get why you think I need to refocus myself. You’re right. I am lost and need to figure myself out before I can be with you. But I will be with you, Milo. So I have an issue with how you made love to me the other night.”

“What do you mean?”

“You made love to me as if it were goodbye. That’s not sitting well with me because that’s not the end of this story. We aren’t saying goodbye to one another. We are taking a pause to figure ourselves out before coming back together, okay?”

He pulled me closer and rested his forehead against mine as he closed his eyes. “I can’t ask you to wait for me to figure my stuff out. Plus, the journey with my vision is only at the beginning stages. I don’t want you to give up your life so you can care for mine.”

“I know what I’m signing up for, Milo. Trust me, I do. I’m not asking that you allow me to wait for you.” I grazed my lips against his and whispered. “I’m asking for you to wait for me.”

His eyes softened. “I’ll wait for you forever, Star. You’re all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Good.” I stepped away from him and smiled as I removed my coat and dropped it to the floor. “I’m staying the night. In the morning, I’ll leave and journey to find myself. In the morning, I’ll begin again. But tonight, I need you to make love to me as if you’re promising me forever instead of saying goodbye.”

His eyes flashed with the same passion I saw the first night he took me in. He reached forward, wrapped his fingers around my white T-shirt, and pulled me back to him. My hands fell against his chest, and my heartbeats intensified as I stared into those eyes I loved so much.

“You want me to show you how I promise forever?” he whispered against the edge of my ear. His hot breaths sent tingling sensations down my spine.

“Yes,” I breathlessly sighed, feeling emotions racing through my system. I wanted all of him that night. No rules, no limitations.

“No reigns?”

“None.”

“And I have until sunrise?”

“Yes.”

His voice dropped an octave. “You’ve made a mistake, Star,” he warned.

My heart skipped a few beats as he said those words. “What do you mean?”

“What I mean is…” His mouth moved to the nape of my neck, and his tongue glided against my skin, creating tiny circles as he spoke. “I hope you’re not tired because this will take a while.”

I parted my mouth to respond, but he lifted me into his arms and took me to the kitchen, where he sat me against the countertop. “Take off your shirt and lay backward,” he ordered as he unbuttoned my jeans.

My fingers wrapped around my T-shirt, and I pulled it over my head, exposing my black bra. I laid backward, feeling the chill of the marbled countertop as Milo removed my jeans down my thighs, and I lifted my hips to wiggle them off, watching the look of sweet discovery find him as his eyes fell on my black lace thong.

His hands wrapped beneath my ass cheeks as he lowered himself between my legs. “Mine,” he whispered as his tongue swept against the thin fabric of the panties. “All mine.”

A pool of heat fell to my stomach as his tongue began lapping up and down. The palms of his hands sat against my thick thighs, and he pushed them apart as he gripped the thong between his teeth and moved it to the side. His hot breaths melted against my clit right before he licked it so subtly, so teasingly that without any thought, my hips arched, needing more attention.

“Please,” I whimpered, tossing my arms to the sides of the countertop and gripping the edges. My legs quivered as he swept his tongue against it again, making my thighs move closer, trying to hold him in place to force more pleasure from his mouth.

He took a finger and moved the panties further to the side, then began circling his thumb against my clit. “I missed you, Star, so please forgive me as I take my time to taste every inch of you,” he said before his face fell against my core. My hips rocked against his face as his tongue moved up and down my lips slowly, then picked up speed as if he were starting to feast on his favorite meal. I cried out for more, feeling every inch of my body heating up from his pleasure as he slid a finger inside me.

I spread my legs wider, giving him more room to breathe me in, and with that freedom, he added another finger. I stared down at him, my heart racing faster as the man of my dreams made love to my pussy as if he’d been dreaming of doing so for the longest time. I fell back on the countertop, twisting and turning as his hand speed quickened. He worked my body like I were a goddess, and he came to my temple for worship. His voice groaned against my core as his tongue intertwined with the movements.

“Look at me, Star,” he ordered, pulling his face away, still working those fingers nonstop, holding eye contact. “ Con amore ,” he whispered. “ Sempre .”

With love always.

My breaths were panting as his eyes locked with mine. My heartbeats intensified as his words filled me with a peace I didn’t know I could find. I pushed myself onto my elbows and kept his gaze as he worked his magic within me. My back arched as I grew closer and closer to losing myself entirely from his words.

With love always.

He meant it.

I felt it, too.

“I…it…you…” I stumbled over my words, no longer able to form sentences. I fell into a euphoric state as he brought me closer and closer to my climax.

“That’s it, Star, keep your eyes right here,” he said, his voice dripping with sex appeal and love. I liked when he did that. I liked when he took control of my body and my soul.

“I’m going to…Milo, I’m going…”

He picked up his speed, sliding in deeper and harder, working me as if his only goal was to make me come repeatedly. My body quivered against his fingers as I cried out his name. My thighs throbbed against the countertop as he took his free hand and thumbed my clit in circles, working more and more to bring me to the most earth-shattering orgasm I’d yet to discover.

“Oh my gosh.” I gasped.

Aftershocks raced through me as he slowly pulled his fingers from me. He kept eye contact as he removed his pants and slid his hardness inside me.

“Milo,” I breathlessly panted, slamming my hands against the countertop.

The love in his eyes, the small part to his lips as he groaned out in a torturous pleasure, made me fall for him even more than I had before. This didn’t feel like goodbye. He was making love to me with a silent promise that he’d be back for more.

Mine.

All mine.

Con amore sempre.

He leaned in and rolled his tongue against my lips before placing his hand against my back pulling me closer to him. My hand fell to his chest as he began thrusting harder, more profound. The feeling of him entering me repeatedly made my breaths manic and untamed. The wildness of his lovemaking made my legs tremble against him as his hands fell against my hips.

He cursed under his breath as he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to mine.

My mouth parted to speak, but words were a mystery that I couldn’t obtain as he brought me closer and closer to another orgasm. Each thrust felt as if it were signed with forever, and each touch was marked with always.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. He lifted me, allowing me to place my arms around his waist as he moved us to the refrigerator. My back fell against the steel, cool fridge, and he thrust even deeper, making the entire appliance vibrate with us.

“Yes, yes, please,” I begged, feeling my thirst for more of him building with every intense thrust. His mouth landed against mine, and he parted my lips with his tongue. Our tongues swirled together as we kissed like hungry animals, not wanting to miss a drop of one another’s tastes.

“Bed,” I pleaded, feeling the quivering of another orgasm building more and more.

“Bed?” he whispered against my mouth.

“Bed,” I replied, wanting to bring him to the same place of wonderment he’d brought me multiple times.

He carried me to his bedroom and laid me in the bed, keeping the lights on so he could see every inch of me. He climbed over me and tangled his hands in my wild hair. Slowly, he pulled me closer to him and rested his forehead against mine. “I love you so much, Star. I hope you feel that, too. I hope you feel my love,” he whispered as his hardness sat against my entrance.

He wasn’t as wild as he’d been in the kitchen. No, his movements were steadier and tamer as he kept eye contact with me the whole time. I felt my chest tighten as emotions swept over me.

Milo wasn’t saying goodbye at all. As he entered me, each thrust was him telling me he’d wait. Every deepening second was him locking my heart with his key. He made love to me in that bedroom as our bodies intertwined and became one system, one rhythm, one love story.

As we were drenched in love, I arched toward him, and he quickened his pace. My fingers dug into his back as I pressed myself to his body. We kissed hard, but we made love harder repeatedly that night. When he came inside me, I fell apart along with him, feeling our bond only growing.

At one point, we fell against the mattress, exhausted. I closed my eyes as he trailed kisses across my whole body, making me feel loved, safe, and free.

As he laid beside me, I moved closer, fitting against his body as if he were my missing puzzle piece. My head fell to his chest, and I listened to his heartbeats. He held me in his arms for hours, making love to me spontaneously throughout the night. Filling me up with his passion and sealing said love with kisses all over my body. He loved me in all ways possible that night. Hard and intensely. Slow and romantically. He laid every version of love against me, making it impossible for me to doubt said love.

I didn’t feel like we were saying goodbye when the sun rose. I only felt closer to him. We imprinted on one another’s souls, and the promise of forever was preserved for us both.

Milo was slow to get out of bed. He collected my clothes and dressed me. His hands caressed my chilled skin, feeling every inch of me.

After he stepped into his sweatpants, we moved to the porch, and he wrapped his hand around my neck, pulling me closer. His kiss was long and slow, and I wished it could’ve lasted for the remainder of my days. A part of me was afraid to pull away, but then I remembered what he had shown me the prior night and what I’d be coming home to later.

“Can you make me a promise?” I asked.

“Anything.”

“Can you not stay by yourself? Let your friends and family care for you when you need them, okay? When things get hard, don’t face those issues alone.”

“I promise,” he said. “Can you make me a promise?”

“Anything.”

“When you’re done finding yourself...” He placed his lips against my forehead and gently kissed me. “Please come find me.”