“Fuck,” he bit out, chasing his own orgasm.

“That’s the point,” I laughed, still catching my breath.

His brows furrowed and his hands gripped my hips to the point I was sure it would bruise. The way he held me so tightly, yet so reverently did crazy things to me. His orgasm ripped through him and the potency was enough to trigger a second orgasm for me. This time we screamed together and found ourselves floating into oblivion.

Grayson’s eyes found mine, despite the spraying water, and in them I saw my present and my future. He gave me his lazy post-orgasm smile and said, “I can’t wait to call you my wife.” If I could, I would’ve pulled him closer to me, but we were already as close as we could possibly be. There was no more space between us.

“And I can’t wait to marry you,” I replied.

He kissed me then, like it was my breath alone that gave him life, and for the second time in my life, my heart left my body and jumped right into Grayson’s.

I knocked on Demi’s front door and tucked my hands in the front of my jeans while I waited for her to answer. I’d seen her a few hours ago at the ranch and yet I was nervous. My body was still thrumming after our kiss and the prospect of seeing her again negated all my feelings of guilt over hitting Jeff.

The door opened and Demi’s face was a mixture of surprise and annoyance. “Brody? What are you doing here?”

I frowned. “I’m here to fetch Hunter.”

“Uh, there must be a mistake. He’s with me tonight.”

“Grayson asked me to take him tonight,” I replied.

“Well Huntley asked me.” Demi crossed her arms and quirked her eyebrow. It was her challenge me stance, one I had seen many, many times before.

When it started to sink in, I couldn’t help but smile. A laugh burst from my mouth and Demi stared at me as if I’d gone mad.

“I can’t believe he did it,” I murmured. I looked down and rubbed my neck. Grayson had orchestrated this.

“Did what?” Demi asked, confused.

“Grayson… he uh… he planned this.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. It made perfect sense, but only to me. Grayson knew how badly I wanted to talk to Demi and it’s just like him to come up with a way to get us together.

“I’ve actually just put Hunter to bed,” Demi said, “I think it will be silly to wake him up now.” I couldn’t argue with that. It was already late.

“Right. I’m sorry to have disturbed you.” I turned around and prepared to walk away when Demi’s delicate hand stopped me.

“Have you had dinner yet?” she asked quietly. Now that she’d mentioned it, I was starving. Sienna decided to have dinner without me and I’d been so eager to get away that I’d forgotten about dinner.

“No. I’ll get something on my way home.”

“I’ve just made some pizza and it’s too much for me to eat alone. Do you want…to join me?”

“Sure,” my voice wavered, “I’d like that.”

I followed Demi inside and closed the door while she headed into the kitchen. Everything about this house was so distinctly ‘Demi’ that I couldn’t help but smile a little. It was warm, and welcoming. It was a home. Part of me ached because creating a home was something I had been desperate to do with her. When I walked into the kitchen, seeing Demi doing something as simple as placing food on our plates brought an onslaught of memories that I’d spent months suppressing. We’d spent many nights in the kitchen making food together, eating in nothing but our underwear and cleaning up the mess we made after I’d made love to her on the kitchen counter. It was impossible not to get lost in the memories that had held me prisoner in my own mind…

I lifted Demi up onto the counter and stood between her bare legs. She was wearing one of my shirts and nothing else. Her hair was a wild, red mess of waves and her eyes were bright. With swollen lips, she kissed my neck and slid her hands down my back. My sweats hung low on my hips and Demi started pushing them down with her feet. I started unbuttoning the shirt she was wearing and stopped when her pink nipples were exposed. She moaned when I sucked one into my mouth and locked her ankles behind my back, pulling me closer to her. I felt the heat between her legs and my cock started hardening immediately. Demi grinned and it was wicked. She was a naughty little minx and as insatiable when it came to sex with me as I was with her.

“You’re going to kill me,” I murmured. I kissed a trail from the valley between her perfect tits and stopped over her heart, smiling when I felt her pulse jump.

“There are worse ways to go,” she replied, her voice rough and breathy. “I can’t think of a better way to die than with you deep inside me.”

My smile faltered and our eyes locked in a heated stare. Her dirty talk drove to the brink of insanity and I’d be a fool to deny how much I loved it.

“Baby, having your hot, tight little pussy wrapped around me is only one of two ways I’d want to die.”

Her brows creased and I smoothed it with my thumb. “What’s the first?” she asked. I held her nape and pulled her face closer to mine until we were sharing our breaths. “When we’re ninety,” I replied, “and old and grey and surrounded by all our grandchildren. I want to look back and see you in every memory, every moment and know that we’ve lived this life side-by-side, just you and me. Always.”

I watched Demi’s eyes glisten and kissed away the single tear that spilled over her rosy cheek.

“I didn’t think I could love you more,” she whispered. “You are my heart, my soul, my present and my future. Everything I have ever done, every decision I have ever made has led me here, to you. I love you, Brody, so much.”

I kissed her gently and murmured, “I love you too, Demetria Rosemead, more than anything.”

“Show me,” she said.

And I did…

“Brody?”

I shook the memory and looked up. Demi was standing next to me, holding both our plates. “Are you okay?” she asked. I was surprised to see the genuine concern on her face.

“Yes, sorry,” I cleared my throat, “I just have a lot on my mind.”

Demi nodded and handed me my food. I took a sniff and hummed. “You were always good at making pizza’s.”

“It’s your lucky night,” she laughed lightly, “it’s your favorite. Ground beef and green peppers with steak sauce and Mozzarella cheese.”

We exchanged a look, words escaping me, and took a walk outside onto the deck. Demi sat down on one of the lounge chairs, on the left like she used to, and I sat on the right.

“It’s a nice night,” Demi said before taking a bite of a pizza slice. I looked up and the sight was exquisite. Thousands and thousand of stars littered the sky and it was the second most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. The first was the day I met Demi. She was wearing a pink and blue polka dot dress and I remember thinking she was the prettiest girl on the playground. The moment she threw that mud pie in my face was the moment I knew she was the one I’d be spending the rest of my life with. How had we lost that? How had I drifted so far away from that that the woman sitting next to me felt like a stranger? I’d made so many mistakes in my life, but Demetria was the one thing I got right and I fucked it up royally. All for a job I now hated and I life I thought I wanted.