Never Giving Up (Never #3)
Page 26
I couldn’t answer him. I couldn’t form words. All I could do was let him use me, let him bring me higher all over again.
I knew he was close. His hips moved faster and his hands were grasping me wherever they could find purchase: my hips, my waist, my shoulders. He desperately tried to begin and end inside me and I wanted him there more than anything. I hung on the precipice, just waiting for him to take me with him.
One of his hands grasped the curve between my shoulder and neck and held on as he pumped in and out quickly, and his other hand reached down and caressed me where our bodies met.
“Together,” he breathed.
And together we fell.
An hour later I was sprawled across Porter’s body, his arm behind me, my leg draped over his, my head laying on his chest. The hand he had behind me ran through my hair, his fingers trailing through my tresses as we lay quietly with each other. On his stomach lay a plate with a piece of cheesecake and I watched as he lifted a bite to his mouth.
“Oh, God. That’s good.” His voice was rough, sleepy, and sated. I smiled as he scooped up another forkful and brought it to my mouth. I wrapped my lips around the cake and sighed in contentment as it melted against my tongue.
“Nothing in the world beats the taste of your mother’s cheesecake,” I said between swallowing and licking my lips.
“Hmmm.” He responded around another bite.
My mind, still high and elated from being with my husband, made its rounds through the random and happy thoughts flitting around my brain. I thought about Mattie’s party, how happy she looked surrounded by family and friends. I thought about my husband, playing with our daughter, making her laugh and making her smile. I was instantly filled to the brim with love and feel the familiar pang as tears start to well in my eyes.
I moved to wipe one away and took a deep breath to halt any others from falling.
“Hey,” Porter whispered, his finger wiping away the wetness from my cheek. “What’s this about?”
I tilted my head up to his face and smiled at him.
“I was just thinking about our day, and our life, and our family, and I realized that I am so incredibly happy. You’ve made me so happy, Porter.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead and continued to glide his fingers through my hair.
“I promise you,” he whispered against my hair. “Whatever you’re feeling, it doesn’t come close to how I feel. There’s no way to measure the joy you’ve given me.”
I sighed and met my husband’s eyes. He always looked at me with love, but in that instant I also saw wonder and contentment and fulfillment and peace. My hand found its way to his cheek and I loved the feeling of his stubble against my skin. My thumb grazed gently against his cheek.
“Did you ever, in your whole life, think you’d be this ridiculously happy?”
His mouth quirked in a small smile and he leaned down, brushing the tip of his nose against mine, softly and gently.
“Never.”
I hope you’ll all look forward to Kalli’s story.
Never Standing Still
Coming 2015
To all my beta readers who helped me mold my story, I appreciate you so much! Becca, Kara, Andrea, Lynn, Kelly, Kim, and Lesley, thank you so much for all the time you spent on my book, I appreciate the help so much!
To all the blogs that have supported me, Thank You. There are so many who do so much for me, and I could name them all but we’d be here a while. I would, however, like to shout out to Once Upon a Crush Book Blog, Prisoners of Print, Two Book Pushers, A Literary Perusal, and Reading Amore for their overwhelming support and unending kindness. Big loves to you guys.
To all my ladies in the Indie Round Table—I am forever grateful for all your support and help. I know I can always go to you with questions and when I need advice. It is more valuable to me than you realize. Thank you.
Jen Andrews, I am so glad to have found a friend in you over the last couple of months. You’ve been an ear for me, someone I can ask my dumb questions, and someone I feel like I can trust implicitly. Thank you for your help with this book.
Brook and Krysta, as always, thank you both for your hard work and for being so supportive the last year and a half. I couldn’t have done it without you. Krysta, thank you for being with me at my first signing. I probably didn’t tell you how much it meant to me to have you with me, but it was huge. Thank you.
To my family, thank you for the unwavering support, traveling with me, Mom, and helping me spread my wings in this new and exciting job. Demian, you’re the best husband I’ve ever had. Honest. Thanks for watching me leave the house every Saturday morning and not giving me a hard time about it.
Most importantly, to the READERS! Oh my gosh, thank you so so so so so so much for being the most awesome group of readers I could ever ask for. EVER. EVER. You guys are the reason I do what I do and I love all of you. Even if I’ve never spoken to you, even if I talk to you all the time, and even if you fall somewhere in between those two poles: I wouldn’t get to do this fantastic job if you didn’t read my books and tell other book lovers about them. I can’t wait for you all to see what I come up with next!
How to find me, because I love talking to readers:
Email: anie.michaels@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnieMichaels
Blog: http://aniemichaels.blogspot.com
Table of Contents
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
How to find Anie Michaels