Alys

Devon and I arrived at JFK Airport and met up with Kenna. I threw myself into her arms, needing her calm, aloof nature to ground me for what I was going to face back home.

The NOLA’s Own jet was ready to bring the three of us to New Orleans.

Once we arrived, Siggie drove us to the Plantation House where Phil stood on the front steps, just waiting to tackle his wife and haul her back to their half.

“Do you know where Connor is?” I asked no one in particular.

“Home,” Phil replied over his left shoulder, as Kenna was dangling over his right.

Devon gently pressed a hand between my shoulder blades. “Go put that kid out of his misery.”

Kid, I thought sardonically. He could eat you for breakfast, Devon.

On wobbly legs, I walked through the immense backyard, toward home. The sound of an acoustic guitar floated over the wooden fence. It sounded sad, a broken heart of a melody. It was the sound of Connor’s soul.

Quietly, I lifted the latch to the gate and made my way to the back porch.

Connor sat there alone, his guitar across his thighs, his long fingers plucking and strumming over the strings, as though he had been born for just this purpose—to fill the universe with music.

Drawing a shaky breath, I found the courage to move forward, toward my greatest love.

My only love really.

He’d know I was here. The second step up to the porch creaked when weight was applied. I wasn’t disappointed. The moment my foot pressed down on it, Connor’s gaze met mine.

The shock in his features would have been comical if this situation wasn’t so damn serious.

“Hi,” I croaked.

Slowly, he put aside the acoustic and got to his feet.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. When I opened them again, he was only a couple of feet away from me. I raised my hand to prevent him from coming any closer.

“I have something I need to say, okay? So, just…don’t touch me or say anything until I’m finished.”

His Adam’s apple worked hard as he tried to swallow. In the dim porch light, his eyes shimmered as bright as stars. He said nothing, waiting for me.

He’s always waiting for me. That thought broke my heart clean in two. What have I given him? Postponed promises, soul-crushing regret, heartache…

“I was scared. More than anyone, Connor, you have the power to annihilate me. I was hurt and jealous and angry. For a little while there, I hated you, too. And that hurt the worst. Being away from everything, from you…it didn’t make it any easier. I should’ve stood by you while you were going through the scariest time of your life.”

“Alys—”

I held up my hand again. “Wait, please. I need you to know that I love you. I’ll always love you. I’m so sorry for never truly giving us a chance, for hiding us from the world, for keeping my love for you a secret. It’s not something I ever should have been ashamed about. If you still want me, still want to have a relationship…I want that. No matter what comes with it. I know I will love your son because he’s a part of you. I swear, I’m past…Christ, I’m just so over all the fucking drama, Connor.”

“The baby isn’t mine.”

In a sudden rush, my air left me, and all the blood in my body pooled in my feet. “What?”

“It’s not my baby. Duck’s the father.”

“What?”

He grinned.

I swayed.

“Shit!” he said, reaching out to steady me.

“You’re not the father?”

He shook his head. “She’s not as pregnant as she told us. Sheri saw the ultrasound and figured it out. Quinn’s only six months along, if that.”

“I think I’m going to puke.”

He led me over to the table and chairs, making me take a seat. Shoving the table back, he knelt before me and took my hands in his. “I’ve been nauseous since she crashed the wedding.”

I gave him a weak smile, the blood flowing more freely through my body now. “I bet.”

He squeezed my hands. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

“More than anything.”

“You’re positive?”

“Absolutely.”

“And how are you feeling?”

I laughed. “A little shaky, but otherwise…happy as all hell.”

“Good.”

Without warning, he lifted me into his arms and carried me into the house. We passed his bedroom as he headed for the stairs. Instead of taking me to my room, he stopped in front of Kenna’s.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Holding me tighter, he reached for the door handle and pushed open the door. “Taking you to my room.” Once inside, he set me on my feet.

Surprised, I looked around the space to see that all of Kenna’s personal belongings were missing. The furniture was still there, as was the big bed, but Connor’s things took up the surfaces. His many basses and guitars were on display on the wall behind the four-poster.

From behind, Connor wound his arms around me, pulling me into his warmth, his strong, solid body.

“I need you,” he whispered in my ear. “I need to be inside you, Alys.”

I turned around in his arms and wrapped mine around his shoulders. Hungrily, his mouth came down on mine, and everything inside me exploded in a shimmer of warm light, the color of sunshine. In an instant, Connor swept away my fears, misgivings, and doubts.

There was nothing but us. There had never been anything but the two of us. Since the day Da had placed Connor’s infant self in my arms, he was the greatest source of joy and love I’d ever known.

His tongue coaxed my lips apart, dipping into my mouth. He tasted sweet and smoky.

“I love you,” he panted, his hands moving to the hem of my shirt. “I love you so much.”

My T-shirt was tugged over my head and tossed away. I pushed his up his chest, and he pulled it over his head, throwing it to the floor.

“Do we need protection?” he asked, popping the fly on his pants.

What he was really asking me was if I had slept with anyone while I was away.

“No,” I replied.

The relief in him was so strong; it poured off him in a tangible wave. He swiftly lifted me up, kissing me deep, and then deposited me on the bed. I undid my jeans and whipped them and my panties off in a nanosecond. His cargo shorts and boxers dropped to the floor, and he was between my legs in no time.

Large hands took my face as he kissed me, his hard cock grinding into my throbbing center. It felt so good; I could feel myself growing wet, desperate to feel him in me.

Fuck foreplay. I need completion.

Reaching between our bodies, I grasped him and pushed him toward my opening.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he rasped.

“I do,” I replied, arching against him.

The head of him pressed into me.

“I’m wet enough,” I panted. “I just need you inside me.”

He slowly thrust until he was seated deep inside. It burned a little but in the most amazing way. I was as full as I’d ever been. Full of love, of life…of Connor.

“Ohh gods…” he groaned, straining even harder. His long fingers speared through my hair, snagging and pulling. “Fuck, Alys. It’s never so fucking right unless it’s with you.”

I wrapped my arms around his back, my hands fisting into the muscles. “More.”

He rolled us so that I was on top. Before I could find my bearings, he unclasped my bra and flung it across the room. Then, his hands grabbed my hips in a hard grip, pulling me down as he thrust up.

“I’m not gonna last, Sunshine,” he panted. “Ride me hard. I’ll make you come a hundred times after. I promise.”

I didn’t need such a promise. I didn’t need to come either. As long as Connor was a part of me, I was whole.

I rose up and slid back down the length of him. His fingers dug into my flesh, urging me to go harder, faster.

Damn, he felt amazing. It had been so long, and he was all I needed, all I loved.

He might not have thought I’d come, but I was. Rushing headlong into pure sensation, my climax lifted me up and flung my soul into the heavens.

Connor’s hands kept me anchored to the earth. To him.

From a distance, I heard him roar out my name. I could feel the liquid heat of him flood me from the inside, his cock pulsing violently.

The next thing I knew, I was beneath him, crushed in his embrace, as he slowly rode in and out of me. He wasn’t stopping, wasn’t allowing himself to grow soft.

“It’s only ever been you, Alys. It’ll always be you. I’m never letting you go again.”

“Promise?”

“I fucking swear on my life.”

Connor’s fingertips trailed lazily over my belly and then back up between my breasts.

“This is it, Alys,” he whispered.

Craning my neck, I turned my face up to him. “What do you mean?”

“No more obstacles, no more waiting, no other people joining us in this relationship. This is it. I need you on board with those conditions.”

“I am.”

His breath whooshed out of him. “I’ve been waiting for this moment since I’ve been loving you.”

I snorted. “A Led Zeppelin song? Really?”

He cracked up. “Shit, that’s kind of funny. It’s like their music really has invaded our entire existence.”

“Are you complaining?”

He pulled me into his arms. “Right now, in this moment, I’m living pure music. It’s joyous, it’s warm, it’s vibrating through every part of me. It’s you, and it’s all I’ll ever need.”