Twisting to walk beside him, I looped my arm through his and peered up at him. "Besides the fact that you haven't changed...that you're still a prick?"

He chuckled and nodded. "Yes, aside from that." As I stared at him with a small smile on my face, his eyes searched mine and he shook his head. "You really did miss me," he whispered, his eyes looking almost...surprised by the information.

I stopped us in our tracks and stared up at him. He held my gaze, then swallowed. Shaking my head, I cupped his cheek. "Of course I missed you. I missed you every day, every hour...practically every second."

He smiled really quick and then looked away, like he was embarrassed for bringing it up. "Yeah, I saw that." He shook his head, still not looking at me. "I just...no one's ever missed me before..."

I barely heard his voice, but I clearly heard the emotion behind it. Moving my hand to his chin, I forced his gaze back to mine. "I miss you when you're gone. I feel like I can't breathe when you're away. I think about you so often, it borders on obsession." I tilted my head and ran my frozen fingers over his jaw. "I love you...so much."

He swallowed and smiled, his jaw trembling. Not able to answer me, he only nodded.

After grabbing his bag from where he'd deposited it by the oak tree, we made our way to my dad's car. With the heater on high, we slowly drove back to my parents. Laying his head back on the seat, Kellan had a peaceful smile on his lips as he held my hand. I had a smile on mine that I'd given him one. He was finally feeling what it was like to be loved by somebody. To be cared for. To be missed. The simple things that we all take for granted...and he was relishing each moment, because he'd never had them.

It was later than I'd anticipated when we parked in the driveway. Examining the modest two-story house I'd grown up in, I looked up at the windows where my parents slept. The lights were all off-a good sign. Dad had probably wanted to stay up all night, waiting for my return with my bad influence of a boyfriend, but Mom must have put a stop to that. Or Anna. She wasn't intimidated by them and would tell Dad exactly what an ass he was being if the situation called for it. I wouldn't put it passed her if she'd marched him to his room and made him stay there, like he was the child and she was the adult.

Anna...gotta love her.

Turning the car off, I giggled as I twisted to Kellan. He lifted his head, looking over the house, then over at me. "Want to see my room?" I flushed, feeling sixteen again...although I'd never, ever snuck a boy into my bedroom before.

Kellan tilted his head and smiled. "I'd love to."

He grabbed his bag from the trunk, then we quietly stepped into the home that seemed empty. I knew it wasn't though and cautioned Kellan to be quiet. He smiled, containing a laugh and shook his head. He may think it funny that his first visit to my family home involved sneaking around like we were robbing the place, but he'd understand why if we accidentally woke my dad up. If we did that, Kellan would be interrogated until morning.

Luckily though, my parents were the early-to-bed, early-to-rise type people. As I paused, listening for sounds, I clearly heard Dad's lumberjack snores echoing from upstairs. I pictured him asleep in his reading chair, book in hand as he'd drifted off waiting for me to come back home. Poor guy. He'll probably kick himself for falling asleep on duty. I smiled, wondering if Anna had snuck in and turned off his light when he'd finally passed out, as a signal to me, to let me know that he was asleep and it was safe to...reunite with my boyfriend.

Pointing at the couch, I whispered to Kellan that he could leave his bag there since he'd be sleeping there. He raised an eyebrow at me as he frowned, clearly not happy with anything that involved him sleeping so far away from me. Smiling, I gave him a quick kiss before adjusting the pillow and afghan Mom had laid out for him. Kellan shook his head at the plastic-wrapped contraption and popped his shoes off. Slipping his jacket off, he looked about ready to crawl into the bed my parents expected him to sleep in.

Just as he started to sit, I pulled him to his feet. "You're not actually sleeping there, silly," I whispered in his ear.

He grinned at me devilishly as he glanced upstairs. "Are you sure? I don't want to get you in trouble?"

I nodded, backing away from his pretend bed. "Yes...you're with me." He grinned more, rushing towards me to cup my cheeks, pulling me in for an intense kiss.

I stumbled as my heel hit the stairs. I nearly fell, but Kellan grabbed me and kept me upright. He chuckled while I clung to him. "Quiet," he whispered.

I nodded, giggling a little, then I found his lips again. We somehow managed to get up the stairs without waking up anybody...or everybody. Our breaths were fast between our rarely parting lips. I felt every curve of his mouth, the warmth of his tongue. I'd imagined kissing him for weeks, but it was nothing-nothing-like the real thing. I supposed that was one plus side to Kellan being so provocative in his youth...he was good at what he did. No, he was amazing at it. There wasn't one inch of my body that wasn't on fire by the time I opened the door to my bedroom.

Already having removed my jacket on the way up the stairs, Kellan blindly tossed it into the room. I silently closed the door, taking a moment to press him into it. He sucked in a quick breath as my body compressed against his. "I missed you," he whispered.

I moaned some sort of answer, my alive-again fingers tangling into his thick hair. His hands traveled down my back, over my bottom. Squatting slightly, he grabbed my thighs and lifted me up as he took a step from the door.

Our mouths never parting, he walked me to my bed. Nervous, excited energy flooded into me. I'd never so directly gone against my dad. He would be fuming if he knew Kellan was in here with me, about to...well, make me a woman, since in my dad's eyes I was probably still a virgin.

When Kellan bumped his legs into my bed, he leaned over and deposited me onto it. Holding his head to me, I scooted up the mattress so he could join me. Crawling on his hands and knees, he followed me until we were in the center. Then, with a quietly content groan, he laid on top of me. We both stopped breathing and broke apart.

Brunching his brows, Kellan looked down at my bed. Propping himself up so that most of his weight was in his hands, he pushed down against the mattress. It squeaked...loudly. I bit my lip. I'd never noticed that my bed did that. Of course, I'd never had a boy in it while my dad was asleep in the next room. Kellan frowned as he did it again. The noise cut through the night...it was an unmistakable sound. It practically screamed-Hey, listen to us, we're hav**g s*x!

Looking down at me, Kellan raised an eyebrow. "Did your dad buy you the squeakiest bed in the world on purpose?"

Cringing, I sighed. "Yeah, probably." Damn overprotective father. Where he couldn't stop us with a watchful eye, he'd managed to stop us with outdated technology.

I squirmed under Kellan's hips, wishing I could do more, but even that slight movement made a sharp sound. Now that my mind was clearer, even our crawling into the bed had been noisy. I immediately stopped moving, afraid that we'd already woken my dad up.

Kellan shook his head, his lip curving into a delicious smile; it made me ache. "Well, your dad obviously doesn't know me very well, if he thinks that's going to be a big enough deterrent."

Slipping off of me, the bed squealing in protest, he stood at the back of it. With a finger, he motioned for me to get up. I did, curious. Once standing, he grabbed all of my blankets and laid them on the floor on the other side of the bed. Next, he laid down some pillows, so we'd be sort of comfortable. Standing back, he smiled and spread his arms out. "Your love nest awaits."

I cocked an eyebrow and crossed my arms over my chest, amused. Kellan bit his lip then walked over to me. Grabbing my hand, he led me to the other side of my squeaky bed. My heart accelerated with every step we took towards the spot he'd laid out for us.

Pulling me into his body once we were standing before the blankets, he murmured, "Kiera?" He leaned down to place a light kiss upon my neck, just under my ear. I couldn't answer him, I started trembling. He didn't wait for my response. Placing a feather-light kiss below the first, he asked, "Will you...?" He paused to kiss farther down my neck. I tilted my head and closed my eyes, feeling like I was dazed, like my head was spinning. He laid a final kiss in the electric spot right by my collar bone, then ran his nose up my neck to my ear. Once there, he finished his question. "...Make love to me?"

I think I may have actually melted.

I kissed him hard, my breath back to pant-mode. Quickly, but quietly, we stripped off the multiple layers of clothing between us. When we were both bare, his fingers on my skin searing me, we laid down on my quilt covered in daisies. Bringing the heavy, down comforter over the top of us, we melded together.

His skin, hot against mine, made my body feel like satin as we naturally entwined. His lips left warm, wet trails over that silky skin and I felt sensual, seductive, worshipped. He let out a soft groan in my ear as my fingers traveled down the most sensitive, private area of him. Desire shot through me, mixing with love and the residual loneliness of our forced separation.

Careful to keep as quiet as possible, I pulled on his hips, urging him to take me. He locked gazes with me, his breath fast through his parted lips. I reached up and sucked on one and his eyes fluttered closed. As we broke apart, I nodded, squirming my h*ps under his. I wanted this.

His eyes, dark in my dark room, skimmed over my features as his hand trailed down my body, to my knee. Slightly pulling my leg up and around his hip, he settled himself over me. My heart raced with the anticipation of it. Resting his forehead against mine, he lightly breathed on me for a moment, pressing against me but not moving inside yet. His smell overwhelmed me this close, made me even more ready for him, for us, for this.

His breath hot, but sweet, he let out an erotic exhale. "Nothing...compares to this..."

My fingers swept over his cheek. I wondered what he meant, but he closed his eyes and pressed into me and any attempt at speaking failed me. I clutched his shoulder, closing my own eyes as I swallowed repeatedly, anything to stop myself from crying out with the glorious intenseness of it. I heard him biting back his own groan as he dropped his head to my shoulder.

Writhing with restraint, sucking in quick breaths, we began moving together. It was so intense-the weeks of waiting, the moments of telephone teasing, the anticipation I'd felt all day-my body hit the wall faster than I'd ever believed possible. I fought against the rising pressure, wanting to feel it with him. He grabbed my cheek, his pace staying slow and steady. Making me look at him as I fought against myself, he shook his head. "Don't...let go..."

I shook mine and he leaned down to my ear. "Don't worry about me...let me give this to you..."

He pushed a little harder and I lost whatever hold on my control that I had. The euphoria burst through me and I arched my back, panting as I struggled to control the vocal part of releasing. My body was shaking from the contained explosion and I dug my fingers into Kellan's shoulder. As my eyes rolled back, I thought I'd never felt anything so perfectly wondrous.

I ran a hand down my face as I drifted back from my high. Watching me intently, still smoothly sliding against my body, Kellan's face was a picture of love and lust. He seemed spellbound, amazed at watching me experience the satisfaction he'd just given to me. His lips fell to mine, light. I felt like taffy.