Chapter 110

"How hard it is to say what that wood was, a wilderness, savage, brute, harsh and wild. Only to think of it renews my fear!"

-Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

I arched my head backwards, letting the water wash over my face. Zachary stood behind me. My body was pleasantly numb after he made long and peaceful love to me in the shower.

We were taking the time to enjoy each other, reflecting on what kept us apart. I didn't want to think about the future, or about the fact that I still had to go after Alexis. That task didn't seem real anymore.

The whole bathroom was filled with steam. Zach was tracing his finger over the line of my back. Heat radiated from his skin and spread over my body.

"I thought you were dead. For weeks Ricky had been telling me to give it a rest, that you weren't coming back," he said, then kissed my collarbone, moving further towards my neck.

We hadn't even talked about anything; the sex had replaced the words for now.