“The darkness.”
“They’ll be shrouded in the night sky that matches the shadows of my soul.” Natalie’s voice whispers the words with me from the doorway. “They’ll be the reminder that the brilliance of stars can only be seen in darkness.”
“Martin Luther King, Jr?” Chase whispers.
“Inspired by, yeah.” Nat replies. “Jamie’s take on the words.”
I wrote them not long after my divorce. Natalie had been texting me almost daily at that point, trying to encourage me to date again, but I said I hadn’t found the right person. That was my answer when she asked me to describe the right person. I’m a little dramatic when I’m depressed, but I was right. Lexi knows the dark, but she doesn’t hide from it. She embraces it as her own and that’s why she could always see my darkness. It’s why I was so drawn to her from the start.
I grab Lexi’s face and pull her to me, our mouths crashing together like freight trains that have run off course. I want her. I need her. Not just now, always. She breaks the kiss and leans back. Her face is a mess with streaks of charcoal from my fingers and somehow, it’s made her more captivating.
“You’re not a single light in the darkness. Your my gothic muse. You are the darkness that makes the light more brilliant.” I trace her bottom lip with my thumb. “I’m not afraid anymore. I’m not afraid of love or life so long as it’s with you. All I want is to drown in you. You’re my ocean. My air. My home.”
Lexi stares at me and I worry I’ve gone too far, said too much. Then she grabs my face and kisses me back, matching my ferocity.
“Ooh, I know where this is going. Come on, Coop,” Natalie says softly as she shuts the door behind her.
We’re all over each other in an instant, pulling and tugging at clothes—so many clothes. Our mouths can’t seem to leave each other as the kiss intensifies and deepens. We’re drinking from the last fountain on earth while the world burns into oblivion around us.
“James?” Her voice is airy and beautiful.
I pull back, holding her face again. I can see her worry, her fears. I can read it all now, like a book written only for me to decipher.
“I will never leave you. I will never let you go. I will never hurt you. I’ll stand next to you forever.” I run my nose up hers and close my eyes. I want to feel this moment. “I want your tomorrow, your yesterdays, your nows…I want you always.”
“I want you, too.”
I smile against her lips and kiss her again while she grabs my face and leans backward, pulling me down to the floor with her. I trace kisses along her jaw and to her ear while I settle on top of her.
“Open your legs for me, Angel.”
She’s so wet that I slide into her with one deep thrust, and we moan together. I lock eyes on hers as the soft squeak slips through her perfect lips. Already she’s blissed out and we both know this is not a marathon session. I’m still as we look at each other, feeling each other for the first time. Her body tightens around my cock and I let loose a high-pitched whimper. I don’t think I’ve ever made that noise before. This woman is a sledgehammer, breaking down long-standing barriers and dragging me to her heart. She’s my escape from the prison I’ve built myself. She’s my freedom. She’s the one who will slay my monsters over and over, and all I want is to worship her for eternity.
Her fingers curl in my hair and her legs wrap around me, pulling me deeper. She sounds primal and exotic as I pull all the way out and thrust slowly back into her, releasing her own demons that have held her captive. I watch her find her strength and her power as she takes all of me.
“Say that you’re mine,” I whisper in a shaky breath.“Say it, Alexis. Tell me you want me.”
“For as long as you’re mine to have, James. Yes.”
“Always. I’m yours forever.”
Heat builds rapidly inside me and we’re dancing on the edges of bliss. Her back arches as my hips take over on their own. Our voices echo nothing but our names, clashing and tumbling together. My head falls to her shoulder as we gulp the dusty studio air, and she holds me there, whispering promises until we both fall asleep.
* * *
Waking up, I feel her fingers tracing over my scars. In my dreamy haze, I can see night outside the window, stars if I squint hard enough. I kiss her forehead and smile before I get up and head across the room to my dad’s bench. Clearing the clutter, I open an old record player to findRumorsstill sitting there waiting to be played again. My dad was in love with Stevie Nicks and even said she was his muse. As “Dreams” fills the air, I grab a couple of blankets from a trunk and walk back to the woman who forever holds my heart. Unlike dad, I have my muse here in more than just music.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
She looks at herself and laughs. “I’m naked on a dirty garage floor and covered in art supplies.”
“Exactly. You have no idea how badly I want to run into the house and get one of my cameras.” I hold out my hand and help her stand, pulling her into my arms where I want her to stay forever.
Her fingers dance over my face and I can see the tears she’s trying to fight. “James? Is this…is this what happiness feels like?”
“I sure hope so, Angel. I don’t think I could take anymore without dropping dead right here.” Her eyes glisten, and mine do, too. “I love you and I can’t get enough of you.”
“Not to ruin your perfectly romantic moment there, but yeah, I can tell.” She glances down and then winks at me.
