"Well then." He reaches into his pocket. "Before we go, there's something I want to give you."

Stepping closer, he pulls something out, holding it up. It catches the bit of light streaming in through the windows, the shiny metal sparkling.

I recognize it right away.

My necklace.

"I found it the other day. It was lying on the floor, the chain snapped. I took it and had it fixed. Figured you'd want it back."

A smile touches my lips as tears burn my eyes. I looked for it, when I made it back home, but the thing was gone. I thought I'd lost it forever.

I've never in my life been so happy to be wrong.

Wordlessly, I turn around, pulling my hair up, out of the way. Naz slips it around my neck, his rough fingertips brushing against my warm skin.

"There's just something about you, Karissa," he whispers, "something I've sought for a very long time."

Jesus Christ. Don't cry. He's about to turn me into a blubbering mess. The swell of emotion that consumes me is intense. "Is that right?"

"It is."

Leaning down, Naz kisses the nape of my neck, before I let my hair drop. I go to turn around, to look at him, but instead he wraps his arms around me, pulling me back into him. I relax into his touch as I reach up, toying with the sparkly pendant. "I love you, Naz."

"Not as much as I love you."

"Pfft, yeah right." I let go of the necklace. "I don't think that's humanly possible."

He doesn't argue with me.

Neither of us says anything for a while.

We just stand there, reveling in the silence, enjoying the moment. Is this what forever will feel like? Just me and him...

And the baby, of course.

Our own little family.

A fresh start. A new beginning.

"Do you wanna, you know, play around one more time before we leave?" I ask, slipping around in his arms, gazing up at him. "Go out with a bang, so to speak?"

There's a twinkle in his eye as he looks down at me. "What do you have in mind?"

"Maybe you can fuck me like you hate me again."

He reaches up, nudging my chin, his thumb grazing my lips. "I think that kind of play will have to wait… for another couple months, at least."

I smile, feeling the blush on my cheeks. "Darn."

"I can, however, give you something even better."

"What's that?"

"I can show you how much I love you."

"Hmm, I like the sound of that."

He leans closer, pausing just a breath from my lips. "Thought you would."

Instead of kissing me, he pulls away, grabbing my hand to lead me from the den. I follow him upstairs, my heart pounding hard in my chest, my skin prickling from anticipation.

As soon as we're in the bedroom, he shuts the door, even though it's pointless. Killer is outside. Nobody's going to burst in the room.

"So beautiful," he says, pulling my shirt off. I raise my hands in the air, making it easier for him. He tosses it to the floor, like its nothing, before reaching around and unhooking my bra, getting rid of it.

Kneeling, Naz unbuttons my jeans, tugging down the zipper, before his hands slip in. He cups my ass, slipping inside my panties, and pulls it all down at once, shedding me of them. The second I kick my pants off, leaving me naked, Naz's mouth is on me.

Holy shit.

My knees nearly buckle.

He licks and sucks, his tongue working magic, as he pins me there in front of him. Tilting my head back, I let out a shaky breath, spreading my legs wider, making it easier for him. My hands somehow find their way to his head, and I stand there, legs trembling, gripping tightly to his wavy hair, as he makes love to me with his mouth.

Jesus Christ, he ravishes me.

I can barely take it.

Can barely handle the sensations flowing down my spine.

It's a jolt of electricity, a strike of lightening.

It almost takes me down.

I'm moaning, gasping. It's heaven. It's torture. Just when I'm on the brink of losing it, Naz picks me up, moving me over to the bed.

He throws me down on it, not wasting even a second, his lips trailing down my stomach before finding my sweet spot again. He works magic, the kind of magic only he's capable of. In less than a minute, I'm writhing, crying out his name. "Oh God, Naz... Oh God..."

Orgasm rips through me. My back arches. My body shakes. It takes my breath away for a second before I gasp for air. As soon as the sensations start to fade, he moves up in the bed, his lips trailing up my stomach, kissing and caressing, before he finds my mouth.

I kiss him deeply, desperately, as I paw at his clothes, and he tolerates it for a moment. Just a moment. Long enough for me to unbutton his shirt. In a blink, his hand snatches ahold of my wrists, pinning them together, pinning them down to the bed above my head. Pulling back some, he looks me in the eyes.

He says nothing.

He just stares.

Studying me again.

It's almost a minute, as I count the torturous seconds in my head. It should been awkward, but it isn't. It's erotic. His gaze penetrates me, effectively fucking my soul.

He lets go after a moment, sitting back on the bed. He strips then, taking it all off, leaving him stark naked.

The second he's back on me, he's stroking himself, finding his way between my legs. I feel him, hesitating at my entrancing, pausing there.

He pushes in then, slowly, deeply, stroking a chord inside of me. My breath hitches. Oh God.

"I love that sound," he whispers, his voice gritty. "It's the best music in the world."

I wrap my arms around him. "Maybe that should be your ringtone, then."

He laughs, his face nuzzled into my neck. "That wouldn't work."

"Why?"

"Because others would hear it. That sound belongs only to my ears."

He makes love to me then, like only Naz can, alternating between slow and deep and rough and hard, sending me into a tailspin. It's a breath-catching, skin-slapping, soul-capturing kind of love. The man owns me. He consumes me. Every part of me was made for every part of him. It's the kind of love I can't imagine ever living without. It's raw, and real, and it's ours.

It's ours.

It goes on forever.

Life flashes before my eyes.

We're old and gray and happy. We're happy.

Nothing is going to get in our way now.

He shows me that, and I feel it, as he holds me tightly, making love to me. I'm sweaty, and exhausted, by the time it's over. My body is spent from orgasms, and my heart feels like it goes to explode. I say nothing, though, afraid to speak, afraid to offer him any words. Because if I do, I might spew a fucking rainbow. I might spout out the kind of nonsense found in Napoleon's romance novella.

Naz lies on top of me for a moment after he finishes before finally pulling out. He stands up, gathering our clothes, tossing mine to me as I lay on the bed.

"I'm sure now," I manage to say, as I watch Naz getting dressed.

He turns to me. "Yeah?"

I nod as I sit up, clutching a hold of my necklace. "I've got everything I want."

I 'm going to tell you a story, a story about a hunter that killed a powerful lion not long ago. The hunter gave no thought to the consequences, gave no thought as to how it would affect the future.