The lake house was exactly as they left it.
Same sheets. Same dock. Same air that smelled like freedom.
But this time, when Emery walked through the door, she wasn't carrying guilt.
She was carrying hope.
Beckett closed the door behind her and kissed her like she was oxygen.
They didn't speak for a long time.
Clothes were peeled off slowly. Carefully.
This wasn't a frantic reunion. This was a claiming.
When he entered her, it was with reverence. Hands on her hips, foreheads pressed, moans swallowed in mouths. She rode every wave of him, nails digging into his back, body trembling beneath his devotion.
He whispered things against her throat. Called her his. Told her she saved him.
She whispered back.
"I'll never let go again."
And meant it.
That night, they didn't sleep. They memorized each other.
And built their own vows.