Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(49)

“Can you carry her?” I heard Ashten say.

“Brady, get Libby,” Landen said.

“Willow, baby, hold on. I’ll carry you home.”

I felt the current and hum of the string and lost all consciousness. I fell into a deep sleep, dreamless at first. When I opened my eyes I could see a beautiful canopy above me. I had made it to my home again.

When I reached next to me, Landen wasn’t there, but I could feel him just outside the doorway that led to the porch. I felt his turmoil, and I imagined he was still lost in the worst day we’d lived through so far. Rising from the bed, I noticed that I was wearing a white night gown that barely reached my thighs. The straps were a beautiful lace. It looked like nothing that I’d ever owned, and I loved the way it felt against my skin.

Wanting to hold Landen, I walked slowly, feeling the pain in my sore muscles, to where he was standing. He was looking out at the crescent moon. His arms were spread wide across the banister. The gleam from the night sky highlighted every lean muscle in his back. The site of him took my breath away.

I could see that my father had treated his wound; a wide white bandage was wrapped around his arm, and another was on his shoulder. I walked to him and wrapped my arms around his lean, firm waist.

He let out a deep breath. Relief filled him. He felt so real, more real than he had in any dream I’d ever had before. He kissed my hands softly before slowly turning around. When I saw his eyes, I could see how troubled and tired they were. I reached up and ran my fingers over them, and he drew my face up to his and kissed me tenderly. I could sense him forcing himself to be gentle. I pulled him closer knowing I didn’t have the same amount of self-control that he had.

I could feel all the warmth of his skin as if I were awake. Each temperate movement of his hands across my gown left me breathless. I wanted to doubt it was a dream when I heard the subtle sounds, the breaths, but I didn’t have the chance to. I was intensely aware of him, every part of him.

His kiss gained power as his tongue danced with mine. His long arms reached down, far below where my gown fell, he grasped my thighs then moved his hands forward at a slow calculated pace. My heart was beating deep and slow. The sensation of his touch was so powerful that my knees felt weak. I grasped his chest for balance, and began to bring him the same sweet agony he was bestowing upon me, as I moved my hands across his powerful chest then traced the rim of his pants. I could have sworn I heard him moan.

A heartbeat later he gracefully picked me up and carried me through the doors to our bed. I could feel the white sheets and smell the flowers at our bedside.

He laid me down across the duvet. His eyes slowly traveled over every inch of me; his passion and love were saturating his emotions, spilling into the room and swimming with mine.

His hands reached for my knees, and his thumbs moved in slow sensual circles. I closed my eyes devouring that simple sensation. I felt his lips there next. I let out at gasp and dared to arch my back. His lips slid across my body as his hands paved a path, easing my gown away.

I reached for his face wanting to feel his lips against mine. A subtle movement of his hands would cause me to gasp. He would break away from my kiss and let his lips trail down to my neck to that sweet spot that made every part of me hum. It was like he knew, he knew exactly how to touch me, where to touch me. We were not new lovers in this moment. We were old lovers welcoming the other home after a long absence.

I was using my insight to seduce him; his emotions let me know exactly how to hold him. This dance of taking each other to new levels went on for hours. We were both in an euphoric state, high on the presence of each other. I pulled him into the cradle of my body, he hovered just above me, staring somewhere deep in my soul. He held that stare as we became one, for the first time.

An insane tingling sensation encased my soul as my body felt a mixture of pain and bliss. It was a good pain, not the agony I went through when he left me. The fleeting thought of that caused me to pull him closer, for me to find the courage to be more assertive than I knew I had the nerve to be in this sensual moment.

Every movement of his body against mine sent a surge of energy through my veins. A euphoric high came over me. I wanted to be close to him, to stay there with him in that dream, feeling only his emotion and his strength. I found myself losing my breath. I couldn’t believe how real it all seemed to be.

Landen then whispered, “I love you,” just beneath my ear.

I knew then that it wasn’t a dream. It was real. We were home. We were together, both embracing this sacred, breathless first. The unimaginable high only intensified from that moment on.





Chapter Nine




The sunlight filling the room brought me out of a peaceful sleep. I glanced to my side and saw Landen sleeping soundly. I watched his chest rise and fall, assuring myself that he was real. Smiling, I let my memory flow over the night that we’d shared, but then the day that we’d lived before came crashing through my thoughts.

I had so many questions? Is everyone safe now? Is Drake only a bad memory? I couldn’t bring myself to wake him; he looked too serene. I decided to get up and explore my new surroundings. There was a long dresser on the opposite wall of our bed. I saw the bag that I’d packed in Franklin sitting on top of it.

My photo album was open to the picture of graduation night. Monica was the valedictorian, and Olivia and I were kissing her cheeks as she smiled widely. An uneasy breath escaped me, I wanted them all to be safe and wished only for a moment that they’d never known me. I reasoned that, if that were true, they’d be safe. I continued to turn the pages, missing all of them more and more—even Chase.