Page 55 of Edge of Heaven

“Four years, two months, and…” She wrinkles her nose like she’s thinking really hard. “Twelve days? Maybe ten? I don’t remember the exact date we said goodbye. It was mid-February.”

“Yeah. It was.” I press my lips to hers gently, a delicate reminder of what we had four years ago. And maybe a whisper of what we might have again.

We nuzzle and explore, keeping our mouths closed as we reconnect, and her arms wind around my neck.

I love how her body fits against mine, how it feels for us to be close like this. I never realized it before, but I’ve unconsciously compared every woman I’ve been intimate with since we were together to Taryn.

No one else ever had a chance.

And now that I have her back, I’m not letting her go.

I slide my tongue along the seam of her lips, teasing for entrance, and she opens for me. But still, I don’t rush. I can’t.

This kiss has to tell her everything I’m too afraid to vocalize.

“Michael.” My name is a breathy whisper against my mouth.

Ah, fuck.

She only ever calls me by my full name when I’m inside her.

Since this is as close as we’re going to get to that for a while, I understand what she’s trying to tell me—she feels it too.

I slide my tongue against hers and grip her firmly by the waist. She melts into me, and everything becomes a blur of lips and tongues and hot, whispered moans.

“I believe there’s a reason they call you Mick Lips,” she murmurs when we finally break apart.

“You mean other than the fact that my legal name is Lipson?” I tease, pressing my forehead to hers.

“Smartass.”

“I could kiss you all night, babe.”

“And I can’t wait until we can.”

Chapter18

Taryn

The next fewweeks are tricky.

I’m happier than I’ve been since I met Callum, but also more anxious. I know he’ll lose his mind if he finds out about Mick and me, so we’ve had to be extremely cautious. I can only spend about an hour with him on the nights they have shows, and it’s exhausting for both of us.

Mick’s not happy with the situation, but so far, he’s keeping his word and staying away from Callum, which is all I can ask for. Our stolen moments and kisses and conversations are the only things keeping me sane, other than my daily conversations with Toby.

As expected, Callum got grumpy in the week leading up to my going back to L.A. and I breathe a sigh of relief now that my plane landed. My mom is at the airport picking me up so I don’t have to rent a car and can save a little money.

“You look tired, sweetheart,” Mom says, leaning over to kiss my cheek.

“I am tired.” I lean back in the seat and pull in a deep breath.

Last week was harder than usual.

Callum is partying more than he ever has, and he’s meaner than ever when he’s high. The worst part is that he wants me to party too, but I draw the line at drugs. I’ll drink all night long, and occasionally grab a cigarette, but drugs are a hard no. Mostly because they’re bad for you but also because I can’t risk being seen doing drugs. It could impact my ability to get custody of Toby, and though my mother would never keep him from me, she’s been incredibly protective.

“It won’t be much longer,” she says as she pulls into traffic. “I know this has been hard on you.”

“Toby’s worth it.”

---