Home > Work > After Rain Falls (River of Rain #2)
21 " You fucking heard me,” he says, his voice just as hoarse as he walks up to me. “But in case it was somehow lost in translation, I’ll say it again. I love you. And all I want is you too.” Holy shit. "
― C.E. Ricci , After Rain Falls (River of Rain #2)
22 " Insatiable as ever," he quips, licking my bottom lip. Fuck, you have no idea. I honestly don't think I'll ever tire of this. Of his touch, the way his body affects mine at every turn. "
23 " It’s perfect,” he smiles, coming over to place a kiss on my lips. “I already see a lot of surfaces for us to—” “Really? You’re insatiable,” I laugh, cutting him off. "
24 " A slow smile creeps onto his face, one I swear he created just for me. "I know," he tells me as he yanks my shirt over my head before mouths and hands roam each other’s bodies. "
25 " If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is. "
26 " Holding the ring up for him to see, I push my anxiety to the side and offer everything I have to give. “Because you fought for us at every turn, even when you had no reason to. Gave me hope for a better future. Held my hand and had my back and supported me through whatever life threw my way. And I want to do those things for you too. I want to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you make me, if you’ll let me. "
27 " Mussed hair and swollen lips and amber eyes filled with love and lust, I’ve never seen anything more perfect in my goddamn life. "
28 " I’m fucking sure,” I pant against his mouth when we're finally forced to come up for air. “This is gonna come out sounding stupid and fucking corny, but my world begins and ends with you. I see you, the real you. The you kept hidden from everyone else. I know who you are, baby. And despite the shit we went through and all the shit we still have to overcome, I’m undeniably in love with you. "
29 " And I swear to you, River. No matter what, I’ll follow you anywhere. "
30 " Attempt to find happiness when, let’s face it, do any of us even know what that looks like? "
31 " Would you put his,” he says, pointing toward the West wing of the house, “happiness above your own? Do anything in the world to give it to him, even if it meant sacrificing your own?” In a heartbeat. "
32 " The only thing that isn’t a secret is the love I still hold in my heart for the person who will never feel the same. A love that will, more than likely, be there until my last day on Earth. Another thing taken to the death. But none of it matters in the end. "
33 " Because you didn’t have to ask! I could see it in your eyes. You were terrified to let me go.” I watch, helpless, as tears begin to well in his eyes. “But fucking hell, Rain. You’re even more terrified to let me in. "
34 " Inside me,” he pants against my lips and I can’t help but smile. There was a time when he was adamant this would never happen. He fought it at every turn. Now he’s asking for it. Needing it. "
35 " I hear him choke on a sob before his rough whisper breaks the air. “Breaking Benjamin. ‘Give Me A Sign.’” My body fractures and I don’t even know how I’m standing at this point, I’ve never felt so destroyed. Cracks start making their way through my armor as tears stream down my face. How am I ever supposed to let him go? “I can’t fucking stand this, Abhainn. I can’t do this anymore. "
36 " My hips piston into him hard and slow, letting him feel me hit the deepest part of him imaginable. And then lean up straight to look down into his love-drunk expression, smiling. "
37 " Nothing I do or say will ever express how far he’s rooted himself into my very being. "
38 " The cost outweighs the gain, River. It’s not what you want to hear, but it’s fucking true. It’s not safe.” His lip trembles as it curls up into a grimace. “It wouldn’t be called a risk if it was safe. "
39 " And I know now, we’re no longer an almost. We’re everything. "
40 " He was willing to risk having my name marking his body for the rest of his life, even if we never reconciled? "