Authors: LK Collins

3 Breaths (21 page)

“Home.”

The elevator soars to the top floor and I can only imagine what is going through Ivy’s mind. As we walk down the hall, I reach into my pocket pulling out the keys. With them clutched tightly in the palm of my hand, we stop in front of the white door with a plaque on the side that reads twenty-one hundred.

Opening my hand, I show Ivy the keys. Her expression is priceless. I love the immediate excitement that comes across her face. “Welcome home, baby.”

Slowly she takes the keys that I pass to her and slides one of them into the lock. Effortlessly it turns and then I open the door to our new condo. The big open floor plan is spectacular, but the wall of glass windows that overlook the beach is the icing on the cake.

Ivy spins to me, astonished, and throws her arms around my neck.

“How does it feel to be standing in the middle of our new home?”

“Krane, I’m…” She knots her fingers together behind my neck. “I’m speechless.”

“Good, that’s what I was hoping for.”

“This place is amazing and the view.” She walks to the window of the balcony. “Did you really mean what you said earlier about falling in love with me down there?” She points to the spot we stopped on one of our morning runs and I can remember the instant like it was yesterday.

“Of course I did. At the time, I might not have admitted it to myself, but I know that’s when it happened.”

As we stand together and look out at the sight that we will share for the rest of our lives, I hold her close, her back firmly against the front of my chest, and I breathe her in, so turned on by the simple scent that she exudes. She reaches back, gripping my neck and grinds her ass against me. I push my cock into her, needing her.

Turning her face towards mine, my mouth finds hers and I claim her lips. The lips of my wife. “Mmm,” she moans and I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a kiss more. Taking the straps of her dress, I push both of them over her shoulders and watch as the smooth fabric glides down her body, pooling in a pile at her feet. Stepping back, I flick the light off and admire her white lace bra and panties with the moonlight shining in the room.

“So beautiful,” I whisper, running my hands over her curves. She cups my dick, turning me on, and I respond by tearing the side of her underwear. “Sorry.” She laughs, and then I rip them all of the way off of her.

Taking her time, she undresses me, our mouths attacking one another, which makes it harder to get naked.

God, I love her.

Taking her bottom lip in between my teeth, I tug up and look her in the eye. The connection we share is a straight line to the tip of my dick. Her kisses connect right to it.

“Bra off!” She unclasps it as I completely remove my pants. “Turn around,” I order her. She complies with my request, giving me the greatest view in the world. Her body a silhouette against the backdrop of the midnight sky bound by the moonlight. Stroking my hard shaft, I reach around her body and spread her pussy nudging my way inside of her, inch by inch. She leans back grasping me and I whisper into her skin “I love you.”

In between a moan from the pleasure of my dick, she responds, “I love you.”

As our bodies rock together, I push myself so hard into her, not showing any mercy with my long thrusts. I know that no matter what happens in my lifetime, Ivy is who I am meant to be with. Everything that I’ve endured up to this point, all of the pain and heartache that I have lived through was to get me here – to this moment – with her.

I don’t care if I lose my next fight or fail completely at a MMA career, because I know that Ivy will always be waiting for me. Pressing my fingers into her skin, I hold her tight, leaving an indentation, marking her in my own way.

Being with her has healed me.

Ivy is the mirror to my soul.

Pumping my cock strongly inside of her sweet heavenly cunt, my eyes are pulled out to the ocean and the spot where I fell in love with her. I am confident that what we have will last forever. Until the ocean runs dry and the moon gives its last flicker of light. She’s mine.

As I sit here and write these acknowledgements, they never get easier. This is truly the hardest part of a book as an author. There might only be a few hundred words, but to get it right and acknowledge everyone is…difficult. There is so much that goes into making a book perfect and so many amazing people who help.

As always, my Prezident, I love you more than any words can ever say. You are the king of my world. I am completely and utterly blessed to have you by my side as we complete another book. I have to give you props for
3 Breaths
, so much of the storyline you helped me with and like usual, you read the book more than I did. Thanks, baby, for everything, from the bottom of my heart. I am the luckiest damn girl in the whole entire world.

Lisa, Lisa, Lisa, the amazing and remarkable Lisa! I’m not really sure how to sum up my gratitude, but I’ll try. You are simply a genius with words, you are fast and accurate as hell. You catch so many errors and always make the editing process fun. Thank you for always working with me. I love you, woman.

Letica and Janice, you two are the greatest proofreaders! Between the two of you, you make my life so easy. Thank you for going through
3 Breaths
in minute detail and catching all those final errors. I know I always give you like a day to read the entire book and not on purpose, but you come through and always amaze me. I couldn’t do what I do without the two of you, that’s for damn sure. Thank you for always having my back!

To the bloggers, I once thought that maybe I would start a blog. Then I realized everything that goes into it and knew I wasn’t cut out for it. You have an extremely hard job that helps so many authors. Thank you for helping me, from signing up for the cover reveal to the release day blitz and blog tour. And for those of you that read the ARC and gave me feedback, your kind words have truly touched me. You know who you are—I am indebted to you always.

For my readers, like I said in the dedication page, this one is for you. So many of you have stuck by me since
Fatalism
and
Every Soul
. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to read Krane and Ivy’s story. I know this was a hard one! There were a lot of tears shed by the advanced readers, as there were by me as I wrote this story. But if you learned anything from Krane and Ivy, tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Take each breath as though it could be your last.

The Prezident and I read every single review, so we’d love to hear your thoughts. To stay up to date on the latest information regarding all of my books, please make sure that you sign up to stalk me on my website –
www.authorlkcollins.com
.