Love Lives On (Forever and Ever #24) Read online

  “We can always go to a game.”

  “That never fails.” He played with his glass for a moment before he turned to me and lowered his voice. “Trinity and I aren’t super close or anything but…if you hurt her I will kill you. And I’m not joking.”

  “Sounds like you have a lot of faith in me…”

  “I’m not assuming you will hurt her. But if you did, you’ll have me to answer to.”

  “I would never cheat on her or smack her around or something…”

  “I know. But it’s the big brother warning I have to give. I’m sure you’ll give Arsen the same talk.”

  “No,” I said immediately. “Arsen would never hurt Silke. He’s stupidly in love with her.”

  Arsen heard my words. “Thanks, man.”

  “Besides, if Arsen doesn’t take her, who will?” I laughed at my own joke.

  Conrad didn’t look amused.

  I decided to stay something to put his thoughts at ease. “Years ago she told me she was afraid she would never mean anything to anybody. Every guy would come and go and use her like she was expendable, meaningless. Hearing her say that broke my heart and I wasn’t sure why. Prince Charming didn’t exist and she stopped believing she would find him. I knew I loved her when…I wanted to be Prince Charming for her. And, I want to be that for her for the rest of my life. So, if you ever have any doubt, remember that.”

  He nodded in satisfaction. “Trinity does act like a princess sometimes…”

  “Because she is one.” And I meant it.

  “I’ll drink to that.” Conrad clanked his glass against mine.

  ***

  When the trip was over we headed back to the city. The ride was spent in silence while we listened to the radio. I was a lot more relaxed than I was when we went to Vegas. Not getting arrested and drunk off my ass was a nice change.

  “This party must have been boring for you in comparison,” Dad said from the passenger seat.

  “No, it was a nice break. I like being sober.”

  “I smell like seawater,” Conrad said.

  “Have you tried showering?” I said sarcastically. “The rest of the country does it on a regular basis.”

  “Yes, asshole,” he said. “But the smell won’t leave my hair for at least a week. I don’t know why.”

  “Try shampoo.”

  Conrad rolled his eyes and didn’t argue with me.

  I dropped everyone off in front of their apartment and said goodbye. Then I dropped my dad off last. “Thanks for coming, Dad.”

  He patted my shoulder. “Thanks for having me. You had a good time, right?”

  “Of course I did.”

  He studied my face. “If you ever get nervous, come find me. Alright?”

  “Alright,” I said with a nod.

  “And I can give you pointers for the wedding night.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Pointers that are twenty years old.”

  He laughed. “Your mother and I keep up with the times.”

  “I didn’t ask if you did,” I jabbed.

  He messed up my hair with his hand then kissed me on the side of the head. “I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay.”

  He got out and shut the door. The window was down so he leaned through it. “Tell my daughter I said hi.”

  “I will.”

  He grabbed his bag from the bed of the truck then headed into his building. Then I drove home, excited to see my fiancé. It was irritating I couldn’t have sex with her. I wanted to be inside her, and not just in a physical way. She and I connected our souls when we made love. Without using words, we told each other how we felt. I loved that. I loved everything about our relationship. But not having sex was killing me. I felt like I couldn’t bond with her the same way I could before. Obviously, I also just wanted to come inside her. But there was a lot more to it.

  But it seemed important to her to wait. So, whenever I was around her, I tried not to think about how beautiful she was. Actually, I tried not to look at her at all if I could help it. How did an average guy like me restrain myself around a supermodel like her?

  It was impossible.

  After I parked, I walked upstairs to the small apartment I shared with her, my bag over my shoulder. Then I entered, expecting to see her reading on the couch or working at the kitchen table.

  “You’re home!” She jumped up and ran to me, immediately jumping in my arms.

  I staggered back slightly, almost knocked over by her sudden pounce. “Hey, baby.”

  “I missed you.” She kissed me hard on the mouth and squeezed my hips with her thighs. “So much…”

  She was making me melt. I liked this side of her, the needy and clingy side. “I missed you too.”

  “I hate sleeping without you.”

  “Me too. I almost crawled into Cayson’s bed so I wouldn’t feel alone.”

  It was a testament to how much she missed me when she didn’t laugh or make a joke. “I hugged my pillow and tried to pretend it was you.”

  “You want to know what I did?” It was a little embarrassing.

  “What?”

  “I took one of your shirts…because it smells like you.”

  “And you wore it?”

  “No,” I blurted. “But I put it on the pillow next to me so it would seem like you were there…”

  Her eyes softened and glowed when she looked at me. “You’re so sweet.”

  “Just in love.”

  She gave me a hard kiss then rubbed her nose against mine. “I can’t wait to call you my husband.”

  “I can’t wait to call you my wife.”

  “Why can’t this week just speed by?” she asked. “Or why can’t we get married tomorrow?”

  “It’s not that far away,” I said. “And after that, it’s forever.”

  When Two Becomes One

  Book Twenty-Five of The Forever and Ever Series

  May 18th, 2015

  You are cordially invited to the wedding of Trinity Preston and Slade Sisco. No tigers allowed.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading All I Want Is You. I hope you enjoyed reading Skye and Cayson’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you could leave a short review on Amazon.com, iTunes, or BarnesandNoble.com, it would help me so much! Those reviews are the best kind of support you can give an author. Thank you!

  Wishing you love,

  E. L. Todd

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