Page 63 of From the Ashes

Seeing the rationality in my statement, Walker nods.

“If you’re sure. Thank you.”

Unable to tolerate the distance between our bodies, I reach for his uninjured hand to pull him fully onto my lap.

“Come here.”

He comes willingly, planting his knees on either side of my hips, and when he spreads them wide enough for his groin to sink down onto mine, I fight back a groan.

“You don’t know how much I’ve thought about you since that night,” he tells me. “How much I’vemissedyou. How much I wanted to tell you the truth, but didn’t know how…or evenif you’d want to hear it.”

The first thing I do is trace his lips because they’re just as perfect now as they were back then, and I can’t stand not touching them anymore. He pushes them into a slight pout so he can kiss my fingertips as they caress the soft flesh. Slowly, I wrap my hand behind his neck and pull his face down to meet mine.

“You still want me? Want this?” I ask, trying my hardest to preserve my heart, knowing it’s a lost cause with him.

“Always,” he replies with no hesitation.

His lips part, and I’m in fucking heaven. When he starts sliding back and forth, his cock hardening in his athletic pants, mine follows suit in my jeans, and I can no longer keep mynoises contained. His hips roll in and upward as he ruts against me, and I find myself moving my hands to them, pushing down, grinding him into me even harder.

“Fuck, that feels so good, Phoenix. Let me feel your skin,” he pleads.

Reluctantly, I let go of his hips so I can rip my shirt over my head. I toss it behind the couch before helping him with his. “This too,” I demand.

Careful not to bump his wrist, I slide the material over his body, my fingers leaving goosebumps in their wake as they coast along his sides.

With him straddling me, it’s hard to get our chests flush while I kiss him, so gently, I lay him down on the couch and roll on top of him, careful to support my weight on my forearms. The Velcro straps on his wrist brace scratch the skin on my back as he wraps that arm around me, but I don’t mind. I want all of him, even the broken parts.

I’m trailing my lips down his neck, sucking lightly on the skin below his ear when he whimpers, “Can we take this to a bed? I need more space. More skin. More everything.”

I’m about to agree, my desire ramping higher, until a thought occurs to me.

“What’s wrong?” Walker asks, noticing I’ve paused my movements.

“There’s no way we could keep this a secret,” I point out as disappointment floods my system.

Walker’s brows pinch together. “I wouldn’t want to. Hell, I want nothing more than to tell the whole fucking world that you’re finally mine.”

My chest cracks open as I slip off of him to sit on the floor, my knees bent and my back against the bottom of the couch.

Walker follows me, wiggling his way back onto my lap, which is pretty comical considering he’s slightly taller than me. “No, no, no. Please don’t pull away. I just got you back,” he pleads.

My eyes drop to the phoenix inked into his skin. I trace every line and curve, finally settling on cursive letters I hadn’t noticed before.

“Sit up on your knees,” I command, wanting a better look.

“I’m already on my knees,” he points out, clearly not wanting me to see what’s written here.

Tapping his thigh, I clarify. “You’re sitting down on my lap, sit up higher on your knees. I want to read this.” I brush my finger along the letters.

Slowly, he begins to rise, bringing his skin closer to my face.

There, underneath the bird’s tailfeathers, are my initials, the date of our night together, and the phraseFrom the Ashes.

“Well?” Walker asks nervously.

I have no words for this, but that doesn’t stop me from leaning forward and planting a kiss along the words on his skin, grateful he found the strength to rise despite his world going up in flames. “This is so fucking hard,” I admit, gripping him tighter.

“It doesn’t have to be,” he whispers as he sits back down, fully seating himself in my lap.