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"I won’t," she said, her voice tre hiazed at her, the contrast between her scarred skin and the dark undergarile, and he could never live with himself if he somehow broke her

She reached over and unbuttoned his top button, but he grabbed her hands "Relax, okay? Let me worship you"

Her lips curved at his words He unclasped her bra, tossing it on the floor, and gazed at her as he grazed his hand across her breasts A blush started on her cheeks and trickled the whole way down her body

She lay on the bed when he finished undressing her, fisting the comforter Loud moans bounced off the cabin walls as he caressed every inch of her flesh with his tongue Her body writhed, her legs vibrating as she melted for him She smelled sweet like nectar he was desperate to consu before

She cried out when her body exploded in pleasure, the sight of her pushing Car it with Haven’s clothes, before kissing her deeply She wrapped her ar erratic as he unbuckled his pants and dropped them to the floor "We can stop--"

Her voice was a ball of fire "I don’t want to stop"

Relieved, his excite over her, he kissed her jaw and nipped at her neck, his heart thu froers lightly over the scar on his side She tilted her head as he kissed the dip in her throat, his lipsher collarbones

His nerves flared as he reached between the to hiid when he pushed inside of her A whiive her tientile e tanto onesta pare la donna mia," he whispered, the words fro froua deven treuardare"

His voice was breathy fro h his body at the sensation

"That was beautiful," she said

"The poe the words "Shit, I shouldn’t have said that"

"I meant the poem, but the other part’s nice so far too," she said shyly "And you should’ve said that, because that’s who you are"

"Yeah, well, I’ to be tender," he said "You deserve to be romanced"

"I don’t need romance I need you"

Her eyes fluttered closed Electricity coursed through hi up as shivers ripped down his spine As he made love to her, he finally felt what that ether, an intensity he’d never felt before It was all of her, every inch of her body, inside and out,with his

"Only you," she whispered, as if she could read his nited a fire inside of hi together, forever, just like this Theyinto a perfect rhythrabbed one of her hands, linking their fingers together as he pressed it into the mattress

"I love you," she said breathlessly

A noise escaped his throat involuntarily in response, a ruh him "Ti amo Christ, I love you, Haven"

There was an ache in his chest, originating in his heart, the pain of all-consu love, so powerful it took his breath away He continued to fill her and took her other hand, placing it above her head on the bed His body weight rested against her as he hitched her knees up Nuzzling into her neck, he tasted the saltiness of sweat as their bodies slid together sled against hi heart They lay together, legs entangled, as they relished in the postcoital glow He wanted to ask if she could feel his heart beating, but he kept hisinstead to enjoy the silence

Just two kids, together and in love There was still nothing that needed to be said

30

The weeks that followed their stay in the cabin flew by, half a year having elapsed since Haven had been forced to leave her mama behind She adapted to the world outside the desert, little things that once intiular part of her life She still kept up with her work, cooking and cleaning every day, but there was always tis leisurely, and theback

Free tih

Drawing and painting, reading and crafts--her days were a flurry of unrestrained creativity She had taken soes ords, scribbling down everything on her mind It was disjointed, riddled with errors, but it wasn’t , like a valve had been turned, the pressure inside her releasing The nightmares came less often after that, like she had chased away the rewoutside the house too Car her cash so she could count it out and pay She ordered her own food, picked out her own things, and spoke for herself whenever the opportunity arose

Life hadn’t only changed for Haven--it shifted for all of theo while Doraduate in a few raduating, but she was staying close by in Charlotte

Haven was in the kitchen early theup breakfast as Car her as usual "What do you wanna do today?"

She shrugged "Whatever you want to do"

"If I knehat I wanted to do, do you think I’d bother asking?"