Page 64 of Until We Meet Again

The force of his thrusts gradually slows, and I witness the immediate shift within him. With a tenderness that takes me by surprise, he releases my wrists, allowing me the freedom to move. He leans on one arm, then reaches out and brushes his hand against my cheek.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" All I can manage is a slight nod and a wide smile as my hand raises and caresses the outline of his perfectly defined jaw as if tracing a path to happiness. "Are you sure?" I nod again, hoping it will be enough to reassure him this time. "I need you to tell me immediately if it ever becomes too much."

"I need that side of you, Zane."

He lowers his mouth to mine, pouring himself into the way he kisses me.

As he slowly slides out of me, he looks down between my legs. He shakes his head in awe, as if mesmerized by the sight of me.

"You're covered in me, Tessa, and it's the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

He crawls back over my body, possessively claiming my mouth, and I lose myself in his kiss.

A new favorite moment of mine is when Zane holds me after we've been intimate. I'm not sure if it's something I expected or believed I needed from him, but I always feel so at peace in his arms. I look up at him, trying to make sense of my feelings for him, and I can't help but wonder if he feels anything remotely close to what I do, and if he does, would he ever acknowledge it? Because I can't imagine having this with anybody other than him.

His fingers gently glide across the surface of my arms as I intertwine a leg with his, lost in conversation as if we've known each other our entire lives.

"Are you ready for graduation?"

"I don't know, am I? You should know better than anyone." I giggle playfully, and he echos my laughter.

"You'll be graduating with the grades you already know you deserve, and I can't wait to watch you up on that stage." I feel a gentle kiss on my head, and I swear I almost melt away into a pool of bliss.

"My parents will be there. Maybe my sisters, too."

"They're going to fly in?"

"Yeah, they wouldn't miss it."

A short silence follows, giving me an opening to ask him about his family. But I'm hesitant. He could withdraw even more, but I want him to know that he can trust me with parts of himself that he shields so closely.

"Zane?"

"Yes, sweetheart."

"Will you tell me about your sister?" He tenses up, just like the last time we spoke about her. But this time, I push him to open up. "It's just that I see her face every time you take out your phone, but you never talk about her or your family."

"There isn't much to tell."

"If she's anything like you, that can't be true."

"She was my twin."

Was.

Shit. I'm an asshole.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me anything."

I meet his eyes as he locks his gaze on mine. The sadness staring back at me is so painfully clear that it tugs at my heart, threatening to shatter it into a thousand pieces.

"We lost her last year."

"I'm so sorry, Zane."

"The picture on my phone is one of the last ones we took together before she was diagnosed with cancer."

I hold on to him tightly, trying to comfort him with my closeness as he shows me a side of himself that he's hidden from me until now.

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