ceiling, letting the water rain over my head.
“I’ve never made love.”
Entwining our wet fingers, she brings them to her mouth and kisses every one of my knuckles.
“Just think of it as ‘hanging out,’ only on a more personal level. I have faith that you’re going to be spectacular at it.”
I look down at her, and she’s giving me a playful smile, but I’m only thinking of serious shit. I press my mouth to her soaked hair and trail my lips down to her ear.
“Why did you have faith in me so quickly? What did you see in me?”
“Some people become their pain, Zev. They want those around them to feel the same misery. Otherwise, it would mean they were the only ones on this earth who weren’t worthy of being loved because someone or some event made them believe they didn’t deserve any better.
“But I saw kindness behind your pain. We spent days talking about things that bring happiness. The way you watched me smile told me you wanted free from the hurt. You hadn’t let it consume you like you wanted to believe.
“Once you told me about your mother, I knew you needed a woman to show you that you could love and trust again. That’s what I saw, and I wanted to be that person.”
Her eyes look away from mine, and I see the tears welling like a wave in her ocean blues.
“Then you rejected me. If it couldn’t be me, I at least hoped that one day it could be someone. It’s one of the reasons I did what I did with Noah.
“I hoped once your anger subsided, you would realize you could trust a woman to love you even if that woman wasn’t me.”
Fuck, I love her. My heart could burst over how much gratitude and adoration I feel for this woman.
“It was always you, Tara. It could only ever be you.”
Blood is thundering through my veins. A thousand pounds of weight rests on my chest. I imagine being in my gym, lifting, pushing it off of me: the hurt, the mistrust, the negativity. I shove it all away. My heart is finally free to love to its fullest capacity.
I pull her naked body flush against mine and squeeze her, wishing my emotions could seep into her.
“I love you, Daisy. I love you so damn much. The sacrifice you made for me overwhelms me. You’re part of the Cassano family now.
“You’ll be cherished and protected. I’ll show you that you can trust me, too.”
Tara
Water rolls off of Zev’s thick, black eyelashes. He’s gazing at me like I’m the only other person in the universe, and I feel every bit of the love he’s bestowing.
The pressure in my chest thrusts the billowing sobs from my throat. His loving words are too much. He shuts the water off and grabs a towel outside the glass door. It glides over my hair as I weep.
Noah Sanders let his pain consume him, turning him evil. Zev probably thinks I’m crying from what Noah did to me, but I’m crying because Zev has already replaced it with something beautiful. His words alone will prevent me from scarring.
My cries subside as he dries my body. He rubs the towel over my legs, and I cling to his slick hair. A longing in me cultivates from his kindness and gentleness, and I’m aching for him to touch me in the most sacred places.
Hurriedly, he dries his body. The towel is thrown out the door before he scoops me into his arms like it’s nothing and carries me to his bed.
He leaves me alone as he goes back to the bathroom, and I wonder what he’s doing. He returns with a strip of condoms. I like knowing they’re not in his bedside table.
Zev climbs over top of me with a sober expression. He’s not rushed, and a sense of trepidation owns the space around us. His biceps cage me in as he presses his palms into the mattress and stares down at me.
“I’m tasting you first. Your mouth. Your neck. Your nipples after that. Your stomach and thighs. Then, I’m going to taste your pussy. I’ve missed it.”
Gradually, he lowers his mouth, and for a second I swear I feel his lip quiver over mine. He’s fearful he’s going
“I’ve never made love.”
Entwining our wet fingers, she brings them to her mouth and kisses every one of my knuckles.
“Just think of it as ‘hanging out,’ only on a more personal level. I have faith that you’re going to be spectacular at it.”
I look down at her, and she’s giving me a playful smile, but I’m only thinking of serious shit. I press my mouth to her soaked hair and trail my lips down to her ear.
“Why did you have faith in me so quickly? What did you see in me?”
“Some people become their pain, Zev. They want those around them to feel the same misery. Otherwise, it would mean they were the only ones on this earth who weren’t worthy of being loved because someone or some event made them believe they didn’t deserve any better.
“But I saw kindness behind your pain. We spent days talking about things that bring happiness. The way you watched me smile told me you wanted free from the hurt. You hadn’t let it consume you like you wanted to believe.
“Once you told me about your mother, I knew you needed a woman to show you that you could love and trust again. That’s what I saw, and I wanted to be that person.”
Her eyes look away from mine, and I see the tears welling like a wave in her ocean blues.
“Then you rejected me. If it couldn’t be me, I at least hoped that one day it could be someone. It’s one of the reasons I did what I did with Noah.
“I hoped once your anger subsided, you would realize you could trust a woman to love you even if that woman wasn’t me.”
Fuck, I love her. My heart could burst over how much gratitude and adoration I feel for this woman.
“It was always you, Tara. It could only ever be you.”
Blood is thundering through my veins. A thousand pounds of weight rests on my chest. I imagine being in my gym, lifting, pushing it off of me: the hurt, the mistrust, the negativity. I shove it all away. My heart is finally free to love to its fullest capacity.
I pull her naked body flush against mine and squeeze her, wishing my emotions could seep into her.
“I love you, Daisy. I love you so damn much. The sacrifice you made for me overwhelms me. You’re part of the Cassano family now.
“You’ll be cherished and protected. I’ll show you that you can trust me, too.”
Tara
Water rolls off of Zev’s thick, black eyelashes. He’s gazing at me like I’m the only other person in the universe, and I feel every bit of the love he’s bestowing.
The pressure in my chest thrusts the billowing sobs from my throat. His loving words are too much. He shuts the water off and grabs a towel outside the glass door. It glides over my hair as I weep.
Noah Sanders let his pain consume him, turning him evil. Zev probably thinks I’m crying from what Noah did to me, but I’m crying because Zev has already replaced it with something beautiful. His words alone will prevent me from scarring.
My cries subside as he dries my body. He rubs the towel over my legs, and I cling to his slick hair. A longing in me cultivates from his kindness and gentleness, and I’m aching for him to touch me in the most sacred places.
Hurriedly, he dries his body. The towel is thrown out the door before he scoops me into his arms like it’s nothing and carries me to his bed.
He leaves me alone as he goes back to the bathroom, and I wonder what he’s doing. He returns with a strip of condoms. I like knowing they’re not in his bedside table.
Zev climbs over top of me with a sober expression. He’s not rushed, and a sense of trepidation owns the space around us. His biceps cage me in as he presses his palms into the mattress and stares down at me.
“I’m tasting you first. Your mouth. Your neck. Your nipples after that. Your stomach and thighs. Then, I’m going to taste your pussy. I’ve missed it.”
Gradually, he lowers his mouth, and for a second I swear I feel his lip quiver over mine. He’s fearful he’s going
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