Elora's point of view:

It was precisely midnight when I said to Flynn that I loved him. When I spoke these words, my entire life rushed past me. It was like transporting to this alternate universe, just by a few words can we become so high off of them it's like ascending into Dante's Paradiso. I couldn't believe that I had said it, but there was no such thing as shock for me. It was just Flynn and I, standing in front of each other, watching as my feelings were stripped bare and to the whitest of bone. Now all I had to do was wait for him to reply.

"You love me?" He asked. I took a single, nervous breathe as I nodded my head as confidently as I could. What would he say? I wondered. Please, tell me he will return the feelings!

"Then let me love you back," he said to me as he pinned me against the wall, a hard and passionate kiss coming with it. Once I gained my senses, I kissed back just as vigorously as he did. I knew exactly what he wanted, and if he wanted to love me back, then I would give in one hundred percent.

"I love you, I love you so much," Flynn said to me through our repeated and romantic kissing session. I pulled him closer to me as I stood on my toes to reach his lips. I whispered how much I loved him as I took in a breathe.

"The bed," I said to him quietly. Flynn looked at me and slowly shook his head as he smirked at me. I could see the want and desire in his eyes, the specific look he gave when he wanted something more than anything. When I saw his eyes motion to the bathroom adjacent to my bedroom, I knew where he wanted to go.

Flynn took control then. He took my hands in his and slowly walked me to the bathroom, starting up the shower, the steam coming in almost instantly. His hand travelled gently to my cheek as he bent to bring his lips to mine. I felt as his fingers moved to the strap of my dress, pulling both of them down as he kept kissing me. I felt the fabric graze along my legs as it quickly fell to the floor, exposing me completely to Flynn, save my underwear.

When he pulled the remainder of my clothes off, I felt a small shiver roll down my spine as I took a shaky breathe. His index finger and thumb played with my hair as he ran his other hand along the side of my body, barely touching where I wanted him to. I had no words, though, it was like he had rendered me mute just from touching me.

"Get in," he forced me quietly but firmly. I nodded in compliance as he watched me step into the shower. He shut the curtain when I was fully inside, and I let the water stream down my skin. I felt the warmth of it and my comfort increased, but with that came the enlarging of my appetite for Flynn to come inside.

My wish was granted when the curtain moved a few seconds later and he emerged from the steam and mist. He stood in front of me, as naked as I was. I felt my breathing hitch as I saw him like this for the first time. It revealed not only his gorgeous body, but the amazing art that was permanently inked on his skin. There was so much of it, and every single image he had was all the more beautiful to me. He was like a dark angel, sent from heaven to save me from everything bad in my life. That's exactly what he was, the angel God hid away from everyone else except me.

"You're amazing," I said to him. Flynn came closer to me and I felt as his arms snaked around my waist. He was silent as his lips found mine again, taking them and drinking them in like an elixir for some disease only treated with the love I could offer him. I let him touch every inch of my body at any time he wanted, I was in his complete control. I didn't mind, in fact I liked it, I trusted him completely, I was his to be touched.

After that, it was a euphoric blur. All I could remember was the mind-numbing pleasure that flowed through me as Flynn and I joined together in our passionate love. Rushes of heated adrenaline pounded through me, clouding my mind to focus only on Flynn. It was the most amazing and magical moments I had ever experienced. Flynn was the cause of all the pleasure I felt that night, and it was all pure perfection. His breathe, my breathe, the warm water, the touch of our skin in heated lust, it became the most exemplary night in the world.

We finished and Flynn shut the water off. He stepped out first and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then, he took a towel and put it around my body. Then, he lifted me out of the shower and held me bridal style as he walked out of the bathroom. He dropped me gently down onto the bed, my back feeling the sheets comfortably along my skin. My eyes were half open, tired from all that had conspired between us just a few minutes before.

"Do you want to sleep?" He asked. I took a short breathe and shook my head. So, instead of covering us up in the sheets to sleep, he took off my towel and we indulged in each other for the rest of the night.

•••

Flynn's point of view:

My eyes opened the next morning and a wind of bliss came running over me. Elora was asleep beside me, her eyes closed in a peaceful rest as I watched her. She was beautiful in her slumber, seeming like a porcelain doll, as pale as the clouds in the bright blue sky. Elora had given her whole body and soul to me last night--twice. I had never had a night that intensely passionate with a woman before, even in all my years of dating. I had had nights with women, but none of them had amounted to the night I spent with Elora.

She opened her pale green eyes and smiled at me as I analyzed the whole of her contemporary beauty, as fantastical as it was. She reminded me of every little piece of something magnificent I ever saw. All the ocean water, the sail boats in the sunsets. All the cathedrals painted in their ecclesiastic wonderment. All the blue skies and the white winters, the warm summers and its green grass. She was everything and all of it in between, my heaven and my home.

"Good morning," she said to me through her tired lips, her voice scratchy from sleeping and exhaustion from the events of the night before. I took my hand and ran it along her side, feeling her sultry and pale skin on my fingers. She breathed temperately in pleasure as she shut her eyes again.

"I love you," she whispered to me in French.

"I love you," I whispered to her in German.

I truly did love her. She was mine to have and to hold, even if we weren't married. I had never fallen in love with someone before, this was an entirely new feeling for me. I liked it, but at the same time it created this fear within me of losing it forever. I didn't know what I would do if I lost her to someone else, or maybe I did: I would die. There wasn't a time in my life that I loved someone as much as I did her, and I didn't think there was ever going to be another woman like her. I would never find someone as ideal to me as Elora was, she was all I ever wanted. If I lost her, then I was doomed to live a life in loneliness.

•••

Jacob's point of view:

In the morning of December twenty-seventh, there was a knock on the door. I was holding Percy as I approached it. I opened it up and saw the familiar face of Rebekka Kästner in the doorway. It had been months since I had seen her. Why had she come here? It was like I had completely forgotten about her and the issues with Max. I was still under the impression that she didn't know Max was her father. Even then, there had to be a reason why she was here.

"Rebekka? Hi, how are you?" I asked. I analyzed her after not seeing her for months. He hair was longer, she wasn't as skinny as she used to be. That wasn't bad though, she had filled out and it made her look healthier. Before she was quite thin, this was a lot better now that she looked curvier and more like a woman. She was always pretty, but the way she looked now was better.

"I'm great, thanks. Is this Percy?" She asked. I nodded and showed him to her. He was a lot older now, almost one years old. His hair was getting longer, equally as black as it was when he was born. His eyes were the soft brown the same colour as mine. Apparently to my family he and I looked exactly alike when I was a baby.

"Percy, this is Rebekka," I introduced to him. He could wave at her, and he did. He was having trouble with talking. My mother told me not to worry yet since he was still a younger baby. She informed me that I didn't start talking until I was two and a half.

"He's really cute, he looks a lot like you. Anyway, you're probably wondering why I'm here," she replied. I nodded and listened as Percy pushed to be let down. I put him on the floor and he went running around. One thing he was really good at was walking. He had taken that up early. Sometimes it was so hard to catch him that I needed the help of my sisters to help out. This was a massive house, if it was smaller and less dangerous I wouldn't care as much if he was on his own for a while. But he was a trouble maker that took after his aunt Lorelei. God in heaven did he ever adore her.

"I'm actually just here to check in. You see, I left at a pretty bad time and I was in the neighbourhood. I'm taking some classes in DC for a couple of weeks. So I came up here to see how you were doing and if everything was alright," she explained. I had forgotten that she and her brother had left, and they may as well have dropped off the face of the earth. I hadn't heard from any of them for months. Now, here she was, hoping to talk with me.

"Well, I was just about to step out," I replied. Her face went down and she nodded, even though it was apparent that she was disappointed in thinking she couldn't talk with me. There was a small silence before I figured out what I wanted to do about it. "But you can come along if you have the time."

"I'd love to," she said happily. I smiled and took the car keys from the little bowl we kept them in. I let my mother know I would be out for a while, and she said she'd love to watch Percy for a while. I thanked her and Rebekka and I were off.

We drove into the city and went to the local neighbourhood café to grab a milkshake. I ordered a chocolate with cherry and she had a vanilla-walnut. We sat in the blue and white vinyl booth and laughed about a bunch of things. We talked about how we were doing and how we were feeling. It was innocent and casual conversation, and it was nice to engage in it for a while.

"So, what are you taking classes here for?" I asked. She fumbled with the straw in her half-full milkshake. She shrugged her shoulders modestly.

"Just some journalism classes. I've been pretty interested in it recently. I was thinking about going to school for it next fall," she replied. That was really interesting. I had never met anyone who wanted to be a journalist before. I grew up in a family where you either wanted to be a soldier or a mother. Me, well, I wanted to be a musician. Elora didn't know what the hell she wanted with her life, only concerned with Flynn right now. My mother decided to do both.

"Wow, looks like you're getting things done. How long are you in town for?" I asked. She sipped her shake before she answered.

"I leave back for home in the middle of January," she replied. I nodded. That wasn't even three weeks. She informed me she had been taking the class for about two weeks now, and she was loving it. I wished she could stay for a little while longer, but hey, that's life.

"Where's Rein? At home?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No, he's looking for dentist jobs up in Portland right now. He's always loved Oregon. We lived there for a while when we were kids," she replied. Rein was a great guy. I hadn't seen him in a while but he was a good man, I didn't have to be his best friend to know that. He was good to Rebekka too. You could tell a lot about a man when you saw how he treated the women in his family.

"So you're here on your own then? Where are you staying?" I asked.

"In a hotel on fourth. It's a nice place that I got a pretty good deal on," she replied. I shook my head and chuckled. We had plenty of room at our place, so she could come stay with us.

"Check out of there. You can stay with me," I replied, "my place is closer to the university than forth is anyway." Her eyes widened as she chuckled a little. I didn't mean to be pushy but it would've been nice to have a friend around for a short while.

"I really shouldn't. I wouldn't want to impose on your family," she replied. I shook my head and waved off Rebekka and her courtesies. My family made an effort to make people comfortable, I have no idea why. All of us felt this need to welcome people if they wanted to. We were never pushy though, if they said no then it was no.

"Don't worry. We have a massive house with rooms to fill. Plus you're only here for a while. I'm sure Lorelei would love to see you again. She's seven months pregnant right now, but you can still have fun. I have two other sisters at home as well. Only if you want," I replied. She hesitated as she thought for a moment, and I awaited the reply.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stay for a while, thanks," she replied. I nodded and told her not to worry about it. She finished off her milkshake and then we paid, leaving the café and getting back into the car.

We drove out of town and went to the drive in. It wasn't open in the winters, but it was always accessible. They didn't lock the gates, they just didn't play movies. We parked the car in there and left it. We decided to walk down the place, seeing what we could find. It was a simple walk around a big area. A little stride around to talk for a while. It was the most fun I've had in a long and hard time.

"So you want to be a journalist? What do you want to write about?" I asked. She shrugged her shoulders as she held her arms to her chest, snuggling her coat closer to her. It was chilly, since it was the end of December and snow was covering the ground.

"I don't know really, whatever interests me. I like whistleblowing. I've always wanted to be one of those people that exposes something for the bad that it is. I know it's dangerous but to hell with the risk, I want to make a difference somewhere," she replied. I found her so curiously interesting. She had this fascinating outlook on every single thing in the world. It was like she looked at things different from other people, like she had this unique perspective that only she possessed. I would like to call it the Rebekka Perspective.

"I think if you want to send a message, you can do it. You seem like the kind of person who can accomplish anything if she puts her mind to it," I replied. She smiled at me and thanked me kindly. I watched her as she stopped and looked up at a tree. In the tree sat a little bird, a sparrow or something like that. You didn't see a lot of those at this time of year.

"So, you want to make music?" She asked. I nodded as I leaned against a bare tree as she stood in the middle of a clearing between a bunch of pines. Loose pieces of snow hung around her hair and her hat.

"I do, I really do. I love music, I just wish it was easier to make it as an artist. I suppose I just have to find the right song," I replied. She nodded and crossed her arms along her chest again.

"You'll find the perfect tune and all you will want to do is send it. I'm sure of it. I've never heard you sing but I'm sure if you work that hard you must be pretty good," she replied. She was good at just giving in some blind faith. I didn't know how good I was. Sometimes I thought I was, sometimes not so much. I didn't have a perfect balance between the talent I had and the talent I didn't have.

"You want to hear some?" I asked. Her eyes lit up and she smiled.

"Absolutely."

Note: so I guess I found time to write up a chapter! Awesome! I had a couple hours to spare so I worked on this. I've been busy lately and I'm also working on a screenplay. Plus I'm researching film school scholarships and application and all that. Life is quickly complex haha. Anyway, be sure to vote if you liked the chapter and shoot me up a comment on what you think. I adore feedback from you all above all else. Also make sure to follow me for a daily update on stories you may read of mine. Happy reading!