Never Standing Still (The Never Duet #1)(67)

“Well…” His question caught me off guard. Yes, I went there to apologize, but I also was there to finally be with him, to throw away everything that had kept us apart in the past. “Nothing else matters if you don’t forgive me.”

“Of course I forgive you,” he said, finally moving to me and pulling me into his arms.

My breath left me as his arms wrapped around my shoulders, all the tension of the last month falling away. His hand landed on the back of my neck and I melted. I’d never belonged anywhere more than I belonged in his arms.

“I wasn’t ever going to give up, Kal, but I was starting to think you were gone for good,” he whispered in my ear, his fingers gently squeezing my neck.

“I never thought I’d come back either,” I said against his chest. “There are a lot of things that keep me from being happy, but the biggest one is just me. I have to let that go, let go of the fear of losing love, or having love taken from me.” I pulled back from him just far enough to look up into his eyes. “Love is supposed to make us feel good, not make us afraid.” I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, then open my eyes to stare into his caramel ones. “I’m so tired of being afraid.”

“I’m never going to leave you, Kalli,” Riot said, his hands on the sides of my face, thumbs brushing over my cheeks. His voice was soft and sincere, and it was the first time I’d ever truly believed him as he said those words. I took in a breath and it might have been the easiest breath I’d taken in over twenty years. The tears came, but they were happy tears.

“I believe you,” I whispered through the pinch in my throat, smiling despite the tears.

He leaned down to me, pressing his lips against mine and everything outside of us and our kiss fell away. He moved slowly against my mouth, as if he were testing the waters to see what I was comfortable with, how far I wanted to take the kiss. I wanted everything from him, wanted to feel him against me, inside me, around me.

“I need you,” I mumbled against his mouth, and with a growl he picked me up and carried me to his bedroom. He never let me go as he walked me to his bed and gently laid me down, pressing his long body all along mine, covering me, holding me down with his weight.

I pulled on the back of his shirt, wanting to feel his skin against mine, and he eagerly pulled it off the rest of the way, then pulled mine over my head as well. We went through the motions of removing our clothing, never breaking contact, never taking our lips off each other. If his lips were on my shoulder, mine were on his neck. If his hands were on my waist, mine were on his back. We were connected at every juncture, possibly afraid to let go, but definitely happy to be reunited.

His lips found my neck while his hand found my breast. I gasped at the combination of sensations as his teeth grazed my skin and his fingers tugged on my nipple. My legs drew up around his waist and he slid into me effortlessly, as if our bodies were just waiting to be reunited.

He groaned around the skin of my neck once he was fully seated inside of me, and I couldn’t hold in the cry that left my mouth. He was everything I needed in that moment. I was full of him and love and light. I was grounded in that moment, tied to him, embracing everything that being with him gave to me.

His hands came to rest on the sides of my face and his mouth brushed over mine, kissing me softly as he pumped in and out of me, slowly gliding, not hurried or frantic, but slow and smooth, enjoying every single moment. His kiss matched the movement, taking long and slow swipes through my mouth, nipping at my bottom lip, humming in satisfaction as he stroked into me.

Eventually, his pace quickened and his thrusts became more forceful. My climax started building and with every drive I was pushed a little closer to the edge. My cries rang out, and one of Riot’s hands came to the back of my neck, holding me still, while the other reached between us. The pads of his fingers began circling my clit and I was lost. I felt his breath on my face as he demanded, “Come for me, Kalli,” and I did.

I came hard, loud, and long. And it was glorious. It wasn’t just a release of a sexual nature, but also a release of all the bullshit I’d been carrying around with me for years. I hadn’t known it before that moment, but Riot had always been the key, and I was finally unlocked.

“I love you,” I managed to rasp out while coming down from my incredible orgasm, watching his eyes as he continued to slide in and out of me.

“I love you too,” he responded just before he buried his face in my neck and found his own release.



It was hours later and the afternoon sun was sinking lower in the sky as we laid in his bed enjoying each other. I watched as the light slowly dwindled, his fingers making slow and lazy circles on my back, my front draped over his chest. His caramel eyes stared at me, crinkled at the very corners with a slight smile. His other hand came up and he ran his fingers very loosely through my hair, making my eyes close.

When I drifted off to sleep in his arms, it was possibly the first, and definitely the last, moment I had of true contentment.





Chapter Nineteen


Slipping Away


I woke up to darkness, a little confused as to what dragged me from sleep, but felt Riot’s arm wrapped around me, holding my back to his front, his feet tangled beneath the sheets with mine. Then I heard the faint buzzing from the living room through the thin walls of his apartment.

Even though it might have been easy to fall back asleep, there was a voice in the back of my mind telling me get up and find my phone, and the voice instructing me to do so sounded panicked and urgent. Even though my body was still trying to fully wake up, my heart started thundering in my chest and my hands were shaking as I pulled the covers back and slid out of Riot’s bed.