I’d never had a doorbell before. And lying there in bed after my feeble attempt at trying to sleep, I was ready to rip the fucking thing from the wall.

“Rayna! Could you get the goddamn door?” I shouted at the top of my lungs, but she didn’t answer. “Ray-na!” I shouted again. Still no fucking answer. She’d obviously gone out in a bad mood after our earlier conversation. I huffed and pulled my jeans up my legs and made my way down the stairs.

I almost yanked the door off its hinges in my frustration. An old guy stood there holding a bouquet of flowers. It obviously hadn’t taken Rayna long to get an admirer. I frowned. “Sorry, sir. My sister’s out. Can I sign for them?”

A look of confusion settled on his wrinkled features. “Oh… erm… these are for you, I think, young man. Are you… are you Cameron?”

For a split second in my sleep-fogged mind, I almost said no dude, my name’s Cain. “Oh… um, yeah… yeah, that’s me.”

“Well, here you go, sonny.” He handed me the small hand-tied bunch of roses, and I inhaled the sweet scent of them as I took them from him. I was immediately transported into Kelly’s arms, and I had to shake my head to dislodge the disconcerting image in my mind.

The old guy brandished something at me. “Oh, and this goes with them.” He handed me a CD. I furrowed my brow and took it from him. The envelope was blank.

“Thank you. Do you happen to know who sent them?”

The old guy shrugged and turned away without speaking, leaving me to wonder who the hell had sent a bearded ex-biker flowers. The one person who came to mind was Kelly, but I didn’t want to be right, because what could they mean but goodbye?

I inhaled the intoxicating scent again before placing the flowers on the coffee table, and I pulled the CD out of the sleeve. A piece of paper dropped to the floor and I bent to grab it.

Hi.

I know we don’t know each other, but it appears that this song means something to you that I could never understand. It turns out that what’s right in theory isn’t always right in practise.

Just listen, okay?

And whatever you do… don’t let her go.

---

The note wasn’t signed. Curiosity got the better of me, so I switched on my stereo, opened the CD, drawer and placed the disc in the tray.

I hesitated, hit play, and waited.

As the opening bars of the song began, a shiver travelled down my spine and I slumped onto the chair beside me. The song took me back to my plane journey home to Utah. The female voice of Paramore’s lead vocalist sang the message that Kelly had sent to me the day I left. That I was her only exception. It was a phrase I’d said to her earlier in the day when I had left her house. It was a phrase that rang true in so many fucking ways when it came to Kelly that it hurt so bad to listen.

After the life she’d had growing up, she was still willing to give me a chance. Me. Someone who represented everything that was wrong in a man. And I had blown it by going back to America and not contacting her at all. It was what she’d asked me to do, but why the hell hadn’t I fought harder for her?

I would have married her. No one else had made me feel that way. She was my only exception. But… the flowers were from someone telling me to not let her go.

Then it hit me.

Dermott had sent the flowers and the CD. Maybe he wasn’t quite as much of a prick as I’d thought.

The realisation hit. She must have told him no. Fuck! Needing to see her, I ran to the front door and ripped it open, ready to run all the fucking way to her home barefoot if necessary. But what I found on my doorstep almost jolted my heart to a stop. There before me stood a beautiful, auburn-haired, green-eyed woman.

“Kelly?” Her name left my body as a quick exhale as shock stunned me to the spot.

She gasped. “Oh… I was just about to knock. I… I made a mistake, Cameron.”

She didn’t want me after all. The world crashed down around me.

Tears sprang from her eyes. “I can’t be with Dermott.”

My heart was trying to burst out of my chest as I stared at her. “You… you can’t?”

“No…” Her voice wavered as she continued, “Because I’m head over heels in love with my only exception. I… I told Dermott no. I told him everything. He… he was shocked at first, but he said he understands because he loves me the same way I love you. He left and said he had something to do… somewhere to go, and I was worried he would turn up here and then… Rayna turned up on my doorstep, and she thought I was marrying him and—” Her words came out in a rush as if she thought she needed to say everything in one breath before I told her to get the hell out of my life.

But in one long stride I stepped over the threshold, scooped her up in my arms, and crushed my lips to hers. I clung to her like I was never letting her go again and carried her into the house, kicking the door closed behind me.

When he opened the door he stood before me shirtless and sleep mussed. His shaggy hair falling over his forehead was begging for me to sweep it back. I trailed my gaze over his taut flesh and my body tingled as I remembered the feel of his skin on mine. He was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen and my heart squeezed in my chest at the mere sight of him. Would he forgive me? Could he?

I had come here needing to explain. Needing to tell him exactly what had happened. But I was sure it was too late. What if Rayna had got here first? What if she had told him her version of things? But he hadn’t given me a chance to finish explaining. When his arms encircled me and he lifted me from the doorstep, my heart soared. He crushed his lips to mine and carried me up the stairs to his room. I swiped the tears from my cheeks as the song that meant so much to me—to both of us, I now knew—floated through the air and enveloped us as we were locked in a passionate kiss.

Once inside his room, my feet reconnected with the floor. He cupped my face and shook his head. “You’re really here? Or am I dreaming?” His voice was a hoarse, disbelieving whisper.

I couldn’t speak and so I pulled myself up on my toes and kissed him with every ounce of the love I had held for him since he lay sleeping in a hospital bed all those months ago. He returned my kiss with just as much fervour, like he couldn’t get enough of my lips. And that was okay because I couldn’t get enough of his.

Keeping our gazes on each other’s body, we removed our clothing piece by piece—neither of us wanting anything between us but skin—and once we were naked, he dropped to his knees before me. He pressed his nose into the soft line of hairs covering my pussy and inhaled. “You always smell so fucking good.” His actions and his words made my nipples peak and my core muscles clench with need. He gripped my behind with his hands, and I stroked his hair tenderly as he nuzzled me and slipped his tongue into my sex to taste me, circling my clit with precision. I groaned in ecstasy at the intimate contact, and he held me to him as he began to place kisses everywhere he could reach.

It was all too much.

Too good to be true.

He stood and with one swift, deft motion, he lifted me and laid me back on the bed. He stroked his hand down my chest, leaving it resting over my heart for a moment as his gaze penetrated my soul. Then, dipping his head, he sucked my nipple into his mouth as he caressed the other one with his fingertips, squeezing and rolling the sensitive bud around. The sensation of intense pleasure shot through my entire body like shafts of light and sparked at the junction of my thighs, making me close my eyes and bite down on my lip to stifle a desperate moan.

I was on the verge of begging him to fuck me.

To love me.

I needed to feel that connection again. To have him inside of my body, not just my heart and my soul—he had already left his permanent mark there.

I heard his breath hitch as he continued to touch me with reverence. “My God, you’re so fucking beautiful. How the hell did I think I’d live without you?” His voice cracked, filled with emotion.

I opened my eyes and they locked immediately on his vivid blue irises. I reached out to touch his face. “You don’t have to think about that now.” And then, purely out of selfishness, I added, “But you did promise you’d make love to me slowly.”

He needed no further encouragement as he smiled and moved his body to cover mine. I parted my thighs, and my wet pussy pulsed in readiness for him. Keeping his eyes focused on mine, he buried his cock deep in my body once again, connecting with me not only physically but emotionally. He lowered his mouth to mine, stealing my breath in a kiss filled with his own love and need.

Our breath mingled as we explored each other’s body, re-familiarising ourselves with every curve and indentation and remembering what elicited those erotic, pleasured moans and gasps.

In all the time we’d been apart and in all the time I had mentally beaten myself up over my feelings for him, never once had they subsided; and as he moved inside of me, driving me toward my delicious release, he muttered words of love and adoration and peppered my skin with feather-light kisses once more.

His movements were slower and more measured than they had been before. He reached down between us and circled his fingers over my clit, forcing me to tighten around him which in turn triggered a deep, throaty groan to be drawn from his chest. Pulling myself up onto my elbows, I watched in awe as his cock sank into me and withdrew… sank in and withdrew.

He was right. We fit together so well. We were made for each other; and when he pulled himself and me up to a sitting position, I gazed into his eyes as he held me close. Our glistening, sweaty bodies slipping and sliding together in perfect synchronisation as we found our release together. He swallowed my cries as he clung to me like he would never let me go. And at that moment I wanted more than anything for him to hold me and love me forever.

In our connection we found a soul-deep love that no amount of miles, bullets, or taboo situations could ruin. And hours later as the soundtrack to our passionate reconnection looped around, once more reminding us that we were indeed each other’s only exception, we fell asleep in each other’s arms.

This was it.

This was real.

This was forever.