My lips immediately lift up. “Really?”
“No, but with the passing of time, it sometimes feels that way. At least then I could pick you up when you stomped your foot. I’d probably throw my back out if I tried that now.”
I laugh, and Noah must catch the sound as he turns to look at me. He grins at my expression then turns back around.
“I love you,” I tell my father.
He clears his throat. Words like that from me are still hard for him to process. “Be safe on the way home.”
“I will.”
“Don’t speed.”
“I won’t.”
“Tell Noah I’m still having a conversation with him when he returns. That’s nonnegotiable.”
I sigh. “Still doesn’t change how I feel about him.”
“I’m aware. And Echo?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you, too. I should go. Alexander’s waking up. Call me when you get to your next stop.”
“I will.” And then my father is gone. I stare at the phone, thinking about how much things can change in a year.
I lean forward and knock on the windshield. It’s time for Noah and me to move forward.
Noah
I open the trunk of Echo’s car, and she appears beside me, reaching in for a blanket. “We don’t need the tent.”
It’s late, past midnight. Echo changed out of her blue dress and into a cotton skirt and tank top. The type of top that teases me with peeks of her black bra strap. The moment we got in her car, Echo told me to return to the campsite where we jumped off a cliff. Happy as I could fucking be that Echo’s going to be chasing her dream plus be beside me for the next year, I didn’t ask one question. I turned onto the freeway and drove.
“It’s late, baby. I have a feeling neither one of us is going to want to put it up later.”
Echo grabs another blanket and two pillows. “We’re sleeping in the open tonight.”
She has that damned sexy, under-the-eyelash hooded look as she says it, and any room I had in my pants disappears. I twine my fingers with hers and pull Echo close. “You don’t have to do this. Jumping from a cliff—that’s hardcore risk-taking.”
Confronting her mother. Standing up to Hunter. That’s even harder core.
In the moonlight, her eyes shine bright. “I want to look at stars tonight.”
Then stars it is. I release Echo long enough to take the blankets and a pillow from her, tuck them under my arm then reclaim her hand. We leave the parking lot and enter the campsite, heading straight for the path.
The campground is packed with campers. Fires crackle. Children laugh and shout. The scent of hot dogs fills the air. As we walk hand in hand, Echo squeezes my fingers. “This is my boyfriend.”
I turn my head, wondering who the hell she’s talking to then see her making eye contact with a middle-aged couple that has three kids around a campfire.
“He’s got two younger brothers,” she continues, “and he adores them.”
The couple laughs, but doesn’t say anything. As I open my mouth to ask what the hell that was about, she starts again with two guys fixing fishing rods. “My boyfriend just spent hours at an art gallery because he supports me.”
They also laugh because what the fuck else is there to say to that? “What are you doing?”
“Letting you know that you’re the man I want to walk down the street with.”
Her words stop me short, and a tug on my hand urges me to continue walking. “Of all the things I say, that’s what you grab on to?”
“I grabbed on to it all, but that’s the one I knew I could easily fix.”
The moon lights our path. Each time we’ve stayed in a park like this, we’ve played the game where she hides and I hunt, but there’s a silent agreement that the game is over. Neither of us will hide anymore.
When the trees give way to the field we played in days before, Echo changes our direction, heading toward its center. The grass hits our legs, and when we’re far enough in for no prying eyes to see, Echo draws the blanket from me and spreads it out onto the ground.
From the other side, I drink Echo in. She’s a slender goddess in the shadows created by the moonlight, and the way she gazes at me reminds me how much she owns me. It’s a sexy look. One that dances along my skin before the actual touch.
Maybe she is a wood nymph. Maybe she belongs to some long-lost bloodline and being here in this field, in these woods, brings that special spark to the surface.
Or maybe it’s because for the first time since I’ve met her, Echo’s taken control of her destiny. She’s learned how to put herself first while still being the girl I love.
“What you did tonight, for Meredith...” There’s no words. “I’m not sure I could love you more.”
Echo smiles and glances away, too proud of her deeds to accept the compliment. “She’s my friend.”
“If the world lived by your personal code, there’d be a lot less fighting.”
Echo kneels on the blanket and situates the pillows near the top and unfolds the other cover. “As I said, she’s my friend.”
I sit beside her and help arrange our bed. “Do you regret it? That you have to wait to study here for a year?”
“To be honest, I’m more excited than I was before. Hunter is giving me a great opportunity, but he reminds me a lot of my dad. It feels powerful to know that I negotiated my own future. Does that make sense?”
“Yes.” It’s how I feel about my brothers and my newfound uncle. I’ve got a future now—on my terms.
“Hey, Noah,” she says.
“Yeah?”
Her mouth moves up into this sensual smile. “I sold a painting today to a gallery in New York City.”
Damn, I like her happy. “You did.”
“So for about thirty seconds today, that made me a rock star.”
I chuckle and sweep her hair over her shoulder, letting the soft strands drift from my fingers. “You’re always a rock star.”
“Hey, Noah,” she says in this soft voice that licks fire into my veins.
I raise my eyebrows at her in response.
“I’m sort of done talking.”
And so am I.
Echo
We haven’t made love since the first time and part of me expects nerves, but what I’m shocked at is the lack of them. Maybe it’s because I’m too happy. Maybe it’s because it’s late, and I’m a bit drunk on the high of saving not only Meredith’s dreams, but my own. Or maybe it’s because I love Noah, and he loves me, and I’m not afraid to trust our future.
In the middle of this field, far off the trail that’s forever away from the campground, it’s like we’ve created our own world. No one else exists—only the two of us, and that’s completely fine with me.
Noah lays a hand on the curve of my waist, next to my hip, and I wiggle closer to him. The heat of his palm rushes past my clothes and straight into my bloodstream.
I raise my head, and Noah’s right there. His breath hot on my face, his lips mere centimeters from mine. There’s an electricity that develops between us. A hypnotic force field pulling us into each other. My heart picks up speed. I swallow then lick my lips.
Noah watches the movement. His brown eyes darken, and a thrill runs through me when I spot the spark of lust...the hunger ...the desire...for me.
“Will we ever stop being drawn to each other?” I ask.
Noah barely shifts his head in a no, and the movement causes his lips to slightly brush against mine. My heart stutters then starts again. Once he kisses me, we’ll never be able to stop, and I don’t ever want this to end.
“Never,” he whispers, his voice the right amount of husky.
I tilt my head up, Noah bends down, and the first taste of his lips ca
uses a small sound of pleasure to escape from my throat. His fingers burrow into my hair in response, and our mouths move in time.
There’s this build inside me as hands roam. A surge of warmth in my veins, and all of it leads to places that I consider begging Noah to caress. Hands wander over then underneath. My fingers explore with as much greed as Noah’s.
My hips sway. A reaction to Noah’s touch. A reaction to me touching him. I rub my hand down the plane of Noah’s stomach, and I have no problem lifting his shirt over his head so I can play without barriers. Noah doesn’t take long to follow the change in the dance as he fists the bottom of my tank and slips it off.
Noah pauses and stares at me...my face then my chest then back up again. “You’re so damn beautiful.”
I blush, and Noah smiles. He reaches over and skims the bare skin of my shoulder. Goose bumps form along my arms. One bra strap falls to my arm then the other, and the world tunnels in a pleasing haze. The material of my bra drops a little, but not enough to show all that I possess, and as Noah stretches around to my back, I’m reminded that he’s definitely about all.
With a flick, the pressure around my body gives, and the sweet release of no longer being confined eases across my midsection. His fingertips trace the area where my bra had been, and I shiver as he reaches the front.
Noah leans forward and kisses my neck. The hot sensation of his mouth makes me light-headed. I wrap my arms around him and pull at his hair to stay upright. I revel in the feeling of pure skin against skin.
Using his body, Noah guides me to lie on the blanket, and the moment my head connects with the pillow, his mouth begins this delicious dance down.
Cool air nips at my skin, but Noah’s caresses set me on fire. He does things that he’s done before, and then he does things that he hasn’t. Things with my breasts...places below. Touches and kisses and things that urge me to clutch the blanket as my back arches, things that cause the breath to rush out of my body, things that encourage me and Noah to find a rhythm.
What started off as slow becomes faster.
When he lifts his head back to mine, I swear to God the world explodes. We’re rolling and shedding more clothes until there is absolutely nothing left between us but the night.
And then Noah’s there. Near that special part of me that’s warm and ready, and I have to force my mouth away from Noah’s as I gasp, “Protection.”
I smile when he mumbles a curse word into my shoulder, then giggle when he gently nips my neck. Faster than even I thought Noah could move, he’s yanked his wallet out of his discarded jeans, found a condom and has it on.
He rolls back on top of me, smoothing the hair away from my face. “I love you, Echo Emerson.”
“I love you.” I do. So much that saying the words doesn’t seem like I’m doing the high inside me justice.
“You sure about this?” he asks.
I wiggle, becoming impatient with how my body is pulsating and how Noah’s not acting. He grins and I smoosh my lips to the right. “I want you, and you’re not playing right.”
Noah chuckles, but wastes no time reclaiming my lips. He begins this silent rhythm with his body that’s in time with my pulse. My arms tangle around his neck, my legs hook with his, and I move along with him, increasing the speed at exactly the same time.
There’s no warning. One moment Noah was out and then he’s in. I suck in a breath and Noah stills. The burning from the first time...it’s there, then it fades.
Noah skims his nose along my cheek, feathering kisses along my skin. My hands roam along his back, and after another second of readjustment, I inch my hips down, and it doesn’t take long for Noah to nudge his body up.
Unable to keep silent anymore, I breathe out his name. One time. Another. And each time I say it, Noah holds on to me tighter. His hands slip lower and right as the entire world grows dizzyingly out of control, Noah rocks forward hard.
My eyes shut tight, warmth explodes through me, colors appear behind my closed lids, and as my entire body tenses with pleasure, Noah takes his turn saying my name.
We hug each other as we catch our breath, then we lazily kiss as our muscles slowly lose the ability to function. He shifts off me, rolling away to take care of things, and when he turns back, Noah pulls me into his chest.
We lie there. My fingertips trace the muscles of his chest. His fingers play with my hair. The blanket keeps us from being fully exposed. The sound of his heart against my ear joins the sound of the frogs and crickets in the still night.
“Promise me we’ll come back here,” I say to him. “Promise me that someday we’ll make love here again.”
“I swear it.” Noah bunches my hair into his hand, and when I look up at him he kisses my lips. “I’ll bring you back here every damn year.”
My mouth tilts up. “I like the sound of that.”
Noah
This has been the craziest damn summer of my life, and it sucks it’s coming to an end. Isaiah pats my back and tosses Beth’s bag over his shoulder. “First call, man.”
I nod and watch as Echo waves an awkward goodbye to Beth and hugs my best friend.
Echo drove the three of us to the bus station this morning. As part of their agreement for Echo to study long-distance with Hunter for a year, Echo’s going to stay for an additional week as Hunter crams as much art shit as he can down her throat before she returns home. Then she’ll have to visit Colorado four more times throughout the year. One week each time.
I still don’t trust Hunter when it comes to his attraction to Echo, but I trust my girl. I believe him when he says he can open doors for her and teach her about the world she loves, and I want her happy. He can daydream about her all he wants, but at the end of the day, she loves me.
I hate being away from her, but I’ll take it. Five weeks away beats the hell out of being separated for a year. Which is what we’ll face next September, but the two of us will be ready.
Beth and Isaiah board the bus, and Echo turns to me. Her lower lip trembles, and she glances away. She promised me no tears, but how can she promise something like that?
“Come here,” I say, and Echo falls into my arms.
I enfold her into me and nuzzle her hair, enjoying the feeling of peace that floods my body whenever she’s this close. Echo squeezes her arms around me, and I wish she’d never let go.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“It’s only a week,” I tell her, but I loathe this separation as much as she does.
Echo looks at me with those pleading green eyes. I twine my fingers into her curls. The first taste of her lips is sweet. The second makes me forget there’s a bus terminal full of people. The third causes me to lift her feet off the ground and deepen our kiss.
“Noah,” she whispers in reprimand as she breaks away. “We’re causing a scene.”
“Not my problem.” But I lower her to the ground anyhow. “Besides, it wasn’t my fault. You’re the one looking at me with take-me-to-bed eyes, and I felt you kissing me back. Once again, you’re the one getting us into trouble.”
Echo grins. “You are so impossible.”
“Damn straight, baby.” I could stay with her in Colorado, but if I go home today, I can watch my brothers play their last baseball game of the year. I’ve never been so happy to hear the word rainout. Plus, if I head back now, Isaiah and I can settle into our new apartment. I’ll also be able to get together what Echo and I need to start school as she’ll miss orientation.
I’m not thrilled with the idea of her driving from Colorado to Louisville on her own, but she’s determined she can do this, and I need to trust her judgment. We weighed the pros and cons over and over again and this...this is what we need to do. I have no doubt it’s the best decision because Echo and me, we’re for keeps.
“Last call,” says the driver. br />
I cup Echo’s face in my hand. “You keep your cell charged.”
“I will, and you tell Jacob and Tyler I said hi.”
“I love you, Echo.”
A soft smile spreads across her lips, and my damn heart nearly explodes when we kiss one last time.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“One week,” I say.
“One week,” she says back.
As I sling my bag over my shoulder and board the bus, I walk on with a confidence I’ve never had before when it comes to me and Echo.
In my seat, I press my hand to the window, and Echo stretches out her arm to me. Someday me and her, we’ll come back here. Maybe she’ll be an artist. Maybe she won’t. Maybe I’ll be an architect. Maybe I won’t. What I know for sure is that Echo will be by my side, and that our love is forever.
* * * * *
Q & A
How did you decide on Aires’s name, out of all the myths to choose from?
Honestly, Aires was originally named Ares, after the Greek god of war, but I changed it for two reasons. First, I wasn’t convinced that Echo’s mother would have named her son after war, and then my early readers had a hard time pronouncing the name.
I read through the myths again and was captured by the one behind the constellation Aires. It told the story of two siblings who were to be saved by Aires the Ram, but only one of those siblings lived through the rescue attempt. I thought this was a fitting name for Echo’s brother since only one of them is alive at the beginning of Pushing the Limits.
If the takeaway from Pushing the Limits is that there’s always hope, what do you want readers to take away from Breaking the Rules? How are the themes of the two books similar, and how are they different?
The theme of Pushing the Limits is that there is definitely hope. While this theme continues in Breaking the Rules, this time I also tackled the idea of letting the past go.
A lot of us have had something happen in our lives that becomes baggage—chains that weigh us down. If we hold on to those emotions, they can hinder our future. These emotions can impact how we deal with new experiences and relationships, and potentially can color them in a negative light.