Page 77 of Lady Sings the Blues

Elise climbs over the center console to straddle me, a knee to each side of my hips. She presses her hands to my cheeks, looking directly in my eyes.

“Sorry I got a little freaked this morning. If anyone else had asked me to leave, I’d have outright refused. But you, Beau, you, I trust with my life. If you say I need to go, I go.”

“Good to hear your faith in me.”

Hands continuing to hold my face, Elise strokes her thumbs along the apples of my cheeks. “Just promise you’ll come home safe to me. I lost my dad.” Then she stops to breathe, her eyes closed. When she opens them they’re bright with unshed tears as she searches mine. “Baby, you’re all the family I have left.”

“You finally think of us as family?” I twists her hair around my hand at the nape of her neck to tilt her head up, and press my forehead to hers. For some reason my breathing gets heavy, saturated with the emotion she’s just thrust at me. I’m the luckiest man in the world.

The corner of Elise’s lip tips up right before she leans in to kiss me.

“Fuck yeah you do.” I gloat, and kiss her back.

Our hands roam as we go at one another hot and heavy. She shifts on my lap which knocks her knee into the seat-back lever. When she lifts her knee to readjust, it catches on the lever and the seat flattens backward, thrusting her forward so her forehead smashes against the bridge of my nose.

“Shit.” I bite out.

Elise giggles as she pushes up from me with one hand while tryin’ to rub the bright red spot on my nose.

Though, I gently slap at her hand. “You gigglin’ at my pain?”

Her giggle turns to a full-blown laugh, and she throws her head back. But when she begins to crumple forward again, I put my hand to the center of her chest stoppin’ her forward momentum.

“Whoa, whoa,whoa—keep that noggin away from my face.”

“Does it hurt?” She’s serious, although serious with laughter in her eyes.

“It’s tender,” I whine. Then I rub the spot she’d tried to a few minutes ago.

The laughter fades from her eyes, leavin’ only the serious. “Let me kiss it and make it better,” she says. Then Elise brings her hands up to hold my face, and leans in to press her lips in three spots down my nose, lettin’ her lips linger for a long moment against the skin between each.

After the last one, I let out an exhaustive breath and tilt my head up so our lips connect. Like my nose needs any more abuse. This time it’s me who’s responsible, smashin’ our noses flat. Our eyes close. One of Elise’s hands moves from my cheek to finger the hair at the back of my neck, keeping my lips pressed to her. It’s slow and sweet. Elise’s kisses feel like life and happiness and future. I can’t get enough of ‘em, and know I’ll never grow tired of ‘em. Fuck, I’m gonna miss this woman.

Finally she pulls back, her eyes open again and again, she looks right into my eyes. I’m about to get broody again when she blows my mind once again.

“Thank you,” she says. “For loving me. Thank you for never giving up.”

---