Chapter 299: Soul to Soul
** Harper **
When he obliged with a laugh, climbing onto the mattress and scooping her to the center of the bed alongside him, Harper could feel her heart rate picking up speed once more, the flutter against her chest thrumming like a thrilled little bird beating its wings, ready to take flight.
Not that it was new to be this close to him. Not that the fold-up bed was anything luxurious, or that the room was filled with a romantic sea of flowers like their first night together. But her head reeled all the same, and despite everything feeling so simple and familiar and right, it was also so very special at the same time, because of the life-changing promise they had just made to each other under the stars.
Even his kiss felt so special when he leaned over her, caressing her lips with feathery brushes of his own. So sweet and lingering, full of loving tenderness like everything else on this magical night.
Draping her arms around his shoulders, Harper pulled him closer, sighing softly into his mouth as they deepened the slow dance. The scent and taste of him couldn’t be any more familiar at this point, and as she savored them, chasing the mesmerizing hint of ocean breeze that blended in with the subtle hint of summer flowers and pines and evening dew, she etched that sensation once and once again into her memory, along with every passing second of the beautiful reminders that it came with.
She knew he was doing the same when the tip of his tongue brushed ever so softly over hers. When the palm of his hand grazed over her waist, carefully lifting the hem of her shirt, drawing small and light circles on her lower back. The touch was so gentle, almost innocent in the way he moved, as if he was lost in this moment of pure heartfelt affection as well, tracing the feel of it and simply letting it last the way it was.
Harper smiled against his lips. Well, on any normal day, she usually wasn’t the patient one willing to go slow like this. But tonight, under the spell of the stars and the magic of the ring on her finger, she was absolutely content with just kissing him for the rest of eternity. And so she did. Her own hand glided down to slip beneath the bottom of his tshirt, and she caressed him the same way he did her, mapping soft and tender touches across the hard plane of his abs.
The comfortable moment stretched on, seconds turning into minutes, minutes turning into ... however long it was that she lost track of, until Eli slowly started to retreat. Pulling back from the kiss, he inched toward the corner of her lips, feathering warm pecks along her jaw.
Oh. Guess they couldn’t simply take it slow forever.