Page 107 of The Edge of Always

Chapter Twenty-Six

There was no one home. Luna had turned eighteen yesterday and now there was no one home.

‘It’s not good enough.’ Emmett looked around at his caravan. It was late, but the sun hadn’t set yet and the big window let in a sort of orange glow.

‘It’s perfect,’ Luna told him.

And maybe she was being selfish, wanting this when everything else around them was falling apart. Or maybe that was why she wanted this so bad. She wanted to be so entwined with Emmett, to let him into her body in the hope that nothing could tear them apart.

‘Should we?’ Emmett nodded his head towards his bedroom. ‘Or we don’t have to. If you’ve changed your mind.’

‘I haven’t,’ she told him, touching his arm lightly.

They didn’t spend a lot of time in Emmett’s bedroom, for obvious reasons, so it was interesting for Luna, getting this insight into him. There were two single beds, one filled with neat piles of his stuff. Mountains of textbooks, clothes, that sort of thing. He pulled the little curtains closed over the small window. It only made the room slightly less bright.

Luna swallowed, wondering if she should say what she was about to. She decided that it was an evening for being brave.

‘Emmett, I know you have, but I’ve never done this before.’

He stopped by the curtains, a knee on his bed. ‘You haven’t? We don’t have to do anything, Luna.’

‘I want to. I just wanted you to know.’

Now it was his turn to swallow. ‘We can go slow, and like, stop at any time. If you want to.’

‘I know.’

‘Even if you think we can’t stop. We can.’

‘Thanks Emmett.’ Luna took a step closer to his bed.

‘Thanks for trusting me.’

‘Always.’

Emmett was standing in front of her then, running the backs of his knuckles up her arms. They both watched, fascinated as a trail of goosebumps followed his move.

Then he was sliding his hand into Luna’s hair, kissing her, slow at first and then deeper, more persistent. Luna always thought that sex was fast, frantic. But Emmett was making it seem like they had all the time in the world. And even though they didn’t, Luna wanted to believe, just for tonight, that they did.

‘Can I take this off?’ His hands were running along the bottom of her top.

Luna breathed in, but nodded.

Top off, it was her turn. Admittedly she was much less patient than Emmett, she had his T-shirt off and on the floor in seconds.

Luna had seen Emmett without a shirt on a million times. But it was still novel that she could touch him like this. Flatten her palm and run it up his side and across his peck, where there were a couple of hairs.

He followed suit and when his hand brushed over Luna’s nipple under her bra, she started to shake.

Really, it was a miracle that her legs were holding out.

‘Turn around,’ Emmett told her, and oh, that was easier. It felt so nice, the way he kissed the back of Luna’s neck, along to her shoulder, where he nudged her bra strap down. And then the other side. Then her bra was gone and his hands were snaking over the top of her shoulders and down.

‘Is this okay?’

Luna made a squeak that she hoped conferred agreement. This was better than okay.

‘You’re so beautiful, Luna.’