They say when you fall in love, you don't have a choice but to let your guard down. I did the same with Adrian. I pushed my insecurities aside and entered the love castle he created for us, bare feet. And God, did he let me reign his heart like a queen?

When I woke up this morning, my cheek pressed against his gloriously naked back, I realized it wasn't all a dream. He had come back to me. Our separation was over, and we were finally ready to start our love story from the very beginning.

I lie on my back and press a hand against my chest, blinking against the morning sun. Last night was the night of reunion and naked truths. And this morning is all about reminiscing the beautiful marks he left on my heart and body.

Rolling toward the man responsible for my newfound passion and desires, I rest my smile against the curve of his bicep. He groans something unintelligible in his sleep, throwing his hand over my waist and pulling me against his side.

Face down in my bed, hugging me like his favorite teddy bear, and the permanent, gentle scowl makes me bite a smile tugging on my lips. I admire his thick dark lashes fanning toward sharp cheekbones and the purple bite mark I left across his jaw. If there's one thing I wanted the most, it would be waking up wrapped in his warmth every morning.

He shifts, kissing the top of my head in his sleep. Sweet lord in heaven, he is deliciously nude, the line of his spine cutting a groove between toned shoulders and a slim waist. Adrian surely outruns me in having a fit body and a purposeful mind.

When he's on his back, I feather my fingers over the flower of my name tattooed over his heart, follow the dips of his abs but stop myself from disturbing his sleep. It is only six in the morning, and we slept only a couple of hours ago, thanks to our insatiable need for each other.

His breath stumbles at my touch, and he cracks open his eyes to regard me with his half-mast gaze.

"You're awake, V?" He rasps groggily, creeping a hand toward my face, sliding away the strand of hair from my bare shoulder, and planting a hot kiss on my collarbone.

"Good morning to you too, Adri," I smile, trailing kisses over his shoulder.

He leans over and kisses me lazily on the corner of my mouth, making me want to pounce him. I wrap my legs around his waist and seek out a kiss on my lips.

"Hey now," he says softly, biting his lower lips and eyes fixed on my mouth. "I have to be somewhere important this morning. And if we kiss now, I'm afraid I won't be able to make it on time."

"I don't care." The words come out in breathless pants. "I've only just got you after months. Everything else can wait."

He looks down at my face from where he's leaning above me, his palms planted on the bed on either side of my head, flashing one of his playful smiles. "How are you so perfect for me, little sinner?"

I never thought I would be blushing and breaking eye contact with a boy whom I had known since I was thirteen, but right this moment, as his heated gaze caresses my face, I flush evenly. "You're right. You should go before dad finds out that you jumped through my window again last night."

"Shh," he places a finger on my lips and then trails it down to my throat, tracing circles over my sternum. His breath comes out in a ragged exhale that turns into a curse. "I thought about it all the time...kissing you on your mouth."

I blink a few times, gulping away the anticipation that formed in my throat. Just like that, his mood changes from casual to passionate in a second, and it doesn't fail to entice me every single time.

"Morning breath, Adri. Let's brush our teeth and -" he kisses the words from my mouth with a passion that has both urgency and peace. He bends over me, framing my face with his elbows, his hands lacing through my hair. With every growing second, it gets intense, his determined and starved mouth making love with mine. He kisses me deeply, with barely suppressed ferocity, and I feel myself melting against him.

Then he leaves me high on his kiss, pulling away in a flash. By the time I recover from the ecstasy and rise on my elbows to look over him, he's already stepping out of my window. He's dressed only in briefs, his clothes thrown carelessly over his shoulder.

"Adri, that's not fair. Come back!" I shout breathlessly, holding the sheets against my chest.

"I'll come for you in the evening, love." He winks at me with a smug grin, leaning on my window ledge. "But I gotta go now."

***

This place is familiar - our high school. So many of our teenage memories are infused inside these brick walls. Some beautiful, others not so much, but none easy to forget. However, what takes me by surprise though, is the decoration. It looks exactly the way I saw in pictures all those years back, the prom I missed.

Adrian stands in front of me, dressed in a tailored black tuxedo, his hair a messy arrangement atop his head and his sweet, endearing smile glowing across his face.

It must have taken him an entire day to decorate the gymnasium, turning it into a high school prom, and he didn't miss a trick in that.

"Do you like it, V?" He asks, picking one of the heart-shaped balloons around my feet and offering it to me with a grin. "I wanted to take you to the prom, and now that I finally have the courage, I want to do this perfectly."

I chuckle, taking the balloon from his hand. "This is perfect. Everything is just as I had imagined. You, me, us, and this."

He pulls me to himself in a quick move, his hands sliding around my waist and his minty breath fanning over my face. His expression shows the raw affection in his voice as he caresses my jaw with his thumb and stares at my mouth. "You look like a dream in this violet dress, my little sinner. I wish we didn't miss that prom in our junior year. I'm sure I would've done this much, much earlier."

"What-"

He leaves me hanging on that one word as he closes the gap between our mouths and kisses me. His tall frame envelopes me, vibrating with pure certainty and power. His hands tangle in my hair, and his mouth devours my gasp as I claw the balloon he gave me, busting it. We don't break from the kiss, tasting and savoring each other's needs.

Despite the urgency surrounding us, his mouth is gentle against mine. A tender kiss is what we share. He licks across the inside of my upper lip, then nips the bottom one. "I never want to stop doing this," he whispers against my lips.

"Then we won't," I confirm, tracing the sharp line of his jaw, practically humming with the thought that this beautiful man is all mine to keep.

"I thought I had lost you forever, V." He lifts my hand and touches his lips against the inside of my wrist. "You've no idea the hell I went through to let you choose Augustus over me, knowing that it was all my fault in the first place."

Your name, Dear Augustus, hardens my stomach. Even after a year, my heart caves whenever I remember your amber eyes and golden hair resembling the sunshine you reflect through your dimpled smile. I feel the loss all over again. But as always, I'm pulled to the shore with two arresting green eyes. And there's peace and solidarity in the way he holds me together, not letting me break, now, ever.

With a shiver, I shake my head, roaming my hands across his shirt and tracing the rigid muscle beneath. "No, none of this is your fault or mine. We were young and reckless and maybe a little naïve too."

He nods, eyes hard and unblinking as he takes a step away and holds out his hand for me. "Violet Eve, can I have this dance with you? I promise to behave and keep my hands to myself as much as possible."

"Yes," I laugh, taking his hand and letting him guide me to the middle of the room. He pulls out his phone and plays Until I Found You by Stephen Sanchez as we sway to the music, my hands on his shoulders, his around my waist. Then we are closer, chest to chest, hand in hand, hearts beating.

I place my head over his heart and listen to my favorite music, his heartbeats. And this is the song, the one I'll always listen to on repeat.

"I can never have enough of you." He yanks me closer, his breath at my ear, making me shudder.

"Not very successful in keeping your hands to yourself, are you Mr. Adrian Hayes?" I kiss his neck and whisper in his ear.

He moves his hands up my side and holds my cheeks in his palms, making me look into his ocean eyes. "I've been waiting to take you on this date for so long, and now that we're finally here, all I want is this evening to end so I can take you to my bed and do everything else that's on my mind."

"What's in your mind, Adri?" My lungs pant with excitement.

"You, just you," he bends closer and strokes his thumb across my throat, his touch possessive and comforting. At my shuddering sigh, he brushes a lock of my hair behind my ear. "To have you in every way possible, tonight and forever."

And he does have me, forever.

***

Here's a bonus chapter!!

Surprise! For those who were missing all the kisses in the book. I've finally decided to write them down and publish it as a bonus chapter. Leave your thoughts if you liked it!

Thank you for reading <3 <3