This has been a long time coming, but I wanted to wait and get all of you excited before putting this out. I really like this chapter, not because of what happens, but because of how it happens, if that makes sense. Thank you, all of you, for reading, and you really make me happy to write this. ENJOY!

Recap: Clare knew he meant what he said. She knew he wouldn't be angry with her if she said she wasn't ready. But she felt inside of her that she was ready. She knew that was what she wanted. "I'm sure, Eli…take me, all of me, don't hold back."

He searched her eyes and saw the resolve in them. But not only that, no. If it was only resolve he'd seen he would have run the opposite direction, stopped what he was doing and never tried it with her again. Because he didn't want to be her first if she was going to regret it, if she was going to think of him as a mistake, or if she was going to break down emotionally after. But he saw love in her eyes, true love, and knew she wanted this not because of anything he'd told her or wanted to do with her, but because she loved him and wanted to be with him completely.

That's why he told her no, why he got up, off of her waist, and pulled his underwear and pants on. Grabbed his shirt and helped her into it. She looked hurt at his rejection, but Eli refused to answer her unasked questions. When she tried to run away, tears in her eyes, he grabbed her, held her, carried her to his room and sat down with her. She cried out all of her anger at him, hitting his chest and screaming at him, and Eli let her.

When she'd quieted down Eli made her look into his eyes. "Clare, I want you. I want you. And I love you." She looked up in shock at his words. "Clare, I honestly love you. And I don't want to hurt you, and I most certainly don't want to take you on a sofa in my parent's living room after watching some Hollywood movie. I want to take you when you're unconventionally happy, happy with me, happy with your life."

Clare looked down and whispered, "I love you, too." Eli smiled and pulled her into a kiss.

"I know. Lesson Ten. Patience."

Clare scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I know not the meaning of the word."

Eli chuckled and rolled her under him, kissing her and loving the feel of her body, pressed under his, his to control.

It was Friday morning, and Clare didn't feel like staying at school any longer. "Let's go to the park, Eli," she said when she saw him in the hallway before English.

His eyebrow rose. "Clare? Skipping class of her own accord?"

She scowled at him and stuck out her tongue. "Yes or no, Goldsworthy? It's a simple question."

He laughed and grabbed her hand, slinging his backpack around his shoulder. "Let's go."

The swings. Simple, childish, yet breathtaking. At least, for Clare, they were. Eli scoffed at the metal and rubber, but sat down nevertheless, right next to a happily swinging Clare. Her cheeks were rosy from the cool wind hitting them, but the smile that spread wide across her face shone as bright as the sun hiding behind the grey clouds. Eli found himself enraptured by the beautiful girl beside him.

Higher and higher she swung, until she felt like she was flying. The wind propelled her as she pumped her legs. She stared at the sky, tilting her head this way and that, watching the pictures in the clouds morph and change, an elephant one moment turning into a flower the next.

A drop of rain hit her square in the face as she swung almost parallel to the ground, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut for a moment in anticipation of more raindrops. But soon, as the water hit her sparingly, she opened her eyes again and laughed at the rain falling from the sky, welcoming the cool sprinkles on her skin.

Eli didn't want to ruin her fun, but it was raining, and it was the middle of November, albeit not as cold as it could be but still. "Clare, it's raining."

She shot him a look that screamed "No shit Sherlock," and laughed, turning her head back to the sky. "Let it rain, Eli. Let me be."

He nodded and let the rain fall all around him, not horribly soaking him to the bone, but making him wet enough to be somewhat uncomfortable. He sighed as the rain pelted his clothes, his hair, his skin. But Clare looked so happy to be swinging in the light drizzle that he forwent his discomfort in lieu of her happiness.

Clare smiled jubilantly and jumped off of the swing at the top of the arc. She turned around, smirking at Eli, inviting him closer with her eyes. He stood up, off of the swing, and walked slowly towards his girlfriend, an inquiring eye holding her smoldering one. When he reached her she pulled her arms around his waist and tugged him closer, looking up at him with a bright smile. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, their skin mixing with rain from above.

Clare pulled back and licked her lips, smirking inwardly. "Mmm." He kissed her again, pulling her wet locks through his fingers as his hands raked through her hair, tugging at the roots and earning a moan from her lips. "Eli," she whined when his lips parted from hers. He waited for her to open her eyes before taking her hand and tugging her away. "Where are we going?"

He turned and smiled at her. "Home."

She blushed profusely and followed him willingly, knowing, hoping, he was taking her back to make love to her. She stumbled at the thought and blushed deeper.

He led her up the stairs of his house to his room. She shook the water off of her hair and smiled at him, laughing at the way the water clung to his skin. "What?" he asked.

She reached up to brush the water from his cheek but thought twice and rocked onto her toes, licking his skin from chin to cheek instead. She pulled back and licked her lips, smiling. "Salty," she commented.

Eli shook his head at the small girl's antics and pulled her towards him, brushing a strand of wet hair away from her cheek. "Clare, we should get you out of these wet clothes or you might catch cold." Clare lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Well if you let me go I can change in the bathroom."

Eli shook his head slowly. "That's not what I had in mind."

Clare, knowing full well what he meant, feigned innocence for the sake of messing with Eli and tilted her head to the side. "Then what did you mean?"

Eli felt his jeans get incredibly uncomfortable as he watched her tilt her head, her actions turning him on even more than her mildly see-through white shirt. "I can't explain it to you in words."

Clare pulled closer to him and pressed her body into his. The topmost button of her shirt was dangerously close to popping undone and Eli felt his pants get tighter. "Then show me." She bit the corner of her lip and looked up at him, not unaware of the slight hardness barely protruding from the front of Eli's pants.

Eli nearly lost it. As it was, he could barely keep his actions in control enough to not throw her on the bed and take her until she couldn't walk. She was certainly not helping any. He leaned down and kissed her lips, the contact brief and chaste. He pulled back and stared into her eyes as his hands moved up her body, unbuttoning her shirt from the bottom up. He pulled the two sides apart to reveal a lacy white bra and licked his lip at the sight.

He watched as a deep red blush cascaded down her neck and chest, originating in her cheeks. He rid her of her shirt easily, his deft fingers taking care of her bra in seconds. Soon, she lay naked below him on the bed, shaking slightly from his intense gaze. He tilted his head and trailed his hand down her side, his touch light and warm. "Eli," she began, but his lips stopped her.

He pulled back and lifted her hand to his shirt. "Take it off," he said. When she began to move he stopped her. "If this is what you really want, take it off." He steeled himself for her rejection, her profession of faith and desire to keep her purity. But her hand continued in its path down his chest, wrapping around the bottom of his shirt and pulling it up and over his head.

She looked into his eyes and held his gaze. "This is what I want. Eli—," she stopped and blushed at what she was about to say. "Eli, I want you to make love to me tonight."

Hearing her say it, say exactly what he wanted, made Eli physically shudder. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Clare's. Their tongues collided in heat and passion, warming Clare to her core. Every nerve in her body was on end, all of her senses filled with Eli.

Slowly, Clare lifted her hands up and undid the button and zipper on Eli's jeans. She pulled back from his kiss to help him take his pants and boxers off, and then he was exposed to her, in all of his non-virgin glory. Clare took in the sight of Eli and felt her eyes widening bit by bit. If anything, the thought that was most loudly running through her mind was, he's huge! How is all of that going to fit inside of me?

But then he kissed her fears away and just like that, all thoughts melted away into mush. The only thing that was left was Eli and what his body felt like, pressed against hers, what his hands felt like, running along her most intimate areas, what his lips felt like, caressing her skin. "Eli," she whispered again and again, his name spilling from her lips in what seemed like a never-ending plea.

She felt him pressing against her body and stiffened, preparing for the pain she'd always heard about. Eli sensed her tension and bit her neck, earning a gasp from her lips, but, more importantly, her attention. "Relax Clare, or this will hurt."

Yeah, right, she thought, like it won't hurt regardless. But she tried to calm down and focus on Eli's lips working a trail up to her lips. He nibbled her bottom lip and she parted her lips for him, letting him fill up her mouth and take control, forcing her tongue into submission.

He pressed into her fully, feeling her body react to the sudden invasion. Clare pulled back and let out a gasp, tears pooling in her eyes. Her body felt like it was on fire and it hurt. But the constant pressure of Eli's lips on her skin made it better. He held perfectly still, though it killed him to, and let her adjust to him. "Eli, Eli," she gasped, some of the tears escaping from her eyes.

He continued to kiss her until her tears began to fade and the pain subsided. "Eli," she whispered, grabbing his face and pulling it to hers. "Move." She kissed him deeply and felt him pull back, then press back inside her. She gasped at the new contact and felt her breath become shallow and labored. She lifted her hips to meet his and moaned as her head swam with pleasure.

Tension began to pool in her lower abdomen. Their kisses became hotter as Eli moved faster, the tension building and building inside Clare until she thought she would burst. She wasn't sure what did it, but suddenly she was flying, soaring, bright stars bursting behind her eyes. She felt Eli's hips give a final thrust, and then they were still and he was gone as well. Her name flew from his lips again and again, murmured like a prayer. "Eli," she whispered back, not yet down from her high.

She settled back down on earth eventually, her world rocked and her mind blown. He pulled out of her slowly and she reached out for him, not yet willing to lose the contact with him. He tucked her into his side and pulled the covers up around them, kissing Clare's forehead. "Sleep for a bit, Clare."

She smiled and snuggled into his side. "I love you, Eli," she whispered.

Eli looked down at the girl in his arms and smiled. "I love you too, Clare." He kissed her again and held her closer, waiting for her breath to even out before falling asleep himself.

This may be the last chapter...it feels right to end it here, so if I don't decide to post anything else in this story, I will be updating Duct Tape soon...which is written like a blog in Clare's voice as she recounts what she does with Eli...check out the first chapter and know that there will be more soon!

What did you all think of this? Know that, although I didn't say it expressedly, YES they DID use protection...duh...Eli is SO not ready to be a baby-daddy. and I REFUSE to be the cause of that uneccesary drama.

I've got a final question for all of you:

What is Eli thankful for?

I'm thankful for all of you, who have made this story so incredible! almost 200 reviews! I honestly can't believe it! Thank you all so much!

Em =]