Page 88 of When You're Home
Rhett toed the basement step before responding. “I didn’t want to assume that just because we were here together, it meant that we were actually together, officially…”
“Everhett.” His name sounded sharp on her tongue. “I literally just told you I love you in the car, which you didn’t reply to, by the way. I admitted I didn't sleep with Fielding. You said you dumped Chandler for me. We’re alone at the cabin, which means we are both sleeping in the master bedroom. We are officially together now, so get used to it.”
Relief washed over him as he backed up onto the main level and dropped his bag. He was over to her in four strides, both hands tangled into her hair.
“I love you, Victoria Thompson. I’m sorry I didn’t say it earlier in the car. I was just caught off guard. I love you so damn much. I’m going to tell you that at least a hundred more times this weekend.” His lips crashed into hers, desperate to reignite their connection after all the time apart. Kissing her now felt like a spiritual awakening deep inside his core. It wasn’t just his body responding to hers: it was his heart, it was his soul, it was everything he was and everything he hoped they would be.
Chapter 47
Tori
Toriwokeupslowly,allowingthesunlightpouringinfromthefloor-to-ceilingwindowstowarmherfacebeforesheactuallyopenedhereyes.Shereveledinthedeepsatisfactionofagoodnight’ssleepaspeacesettledoverher.
Rhett had come home for her. He had brought her to the cabin. And although the reason for their reunion was her literal worst nightmare, she couldn’t help but feel grateful for how it all came together.
When he had finally kissed her last night, it was with a white-hot passion fueled by all the heartache of the last month. It was the kind of kiss meant to make her feel his yearning, the kind of kiss that made her feel loved and seen and cherished. He had guided her into the master bedroom, not stopping until she was backed up against the bed. He made love to her mouth, savoring her with his tongue as his hands worked through her hair.
She could feel every ounce of his love in the connection between them. She wasn’t upset that he hadn’t said “I love you” back to her right away in the car. She knew she had surprised him with her words, and she understood that her golden boy was too analytical to respond to something like that without thinking it through. She didn’t need to hear it, because he made sure she felt it in his kiss. She was breathless when she finally pulled away.
They didn’t end up having sex last night. Between Tori’s underlying anxiety about her appointment on Monday and the fact that Rhett came home unexpectedly without stopping by the health center, they agreed they were making the responsible choice. They had used sex as a crutch so many times before. There would be plenty of opportunities to make up for lost time soon enough.
After making out on the bed like horny teenagers, Rhett had insisted on cooking a huge dinner. Taking care of her had always been his way of loving her. Her appetite had returned, surprisingly, so she had no problem eating two servings of pasta plus the full bowl of ice cream he scooped out for dessert.
They had spent the rest of the night lying in the big canopy bed, cuddling and talking. It wasn’t like the talk in the car or earlier in the week: The hardest conversations were behind them. They talked about everything and nothing. It was an opportunity to fill each other in on everything that had happened over the last month, a chance to get reacquainted.
She told him about all the planning meetings for Camp New Hope and about how his dad had offered to help her find an internship next year. She filled him in on the progress Mike had made on the renovations for the Oak Barrel Room and how Jake was going to be the general manager once it opened later that summer. She told him about spending time with Jake and Fielding, too. He went quiet whenever she mentioned Fielding, but he didn’t object to hearing about it, so she didn’t leave anything out. After years of sneaking around and tiptoeing the line, she wanted to tell him everything. There would be no more secrets between them now.
When it was his turn, Rhett told her about his trip to Virginia. He had signed a lease on a two-bedroom apartment that started June 1. He showed her pictures of the outdoor pool and the complex’s gym, and he talked about the projects he was already working on in preparation of going full-time at NorfolkStar Transport. He was in the process of hiring an assistant, and he needed to go back to Virginia in a few weeks for the final round of interviews. He gave her the briefest of rundowns about his breakup with Chandler. She didn’t love the idea that he had been with Chandler exclusively for more than a month, but she also recognized the role she had played in driving them closer together. He finished his recap by telling her that he planned to telecommute throughout the summer between Norfolk and Hampton, and that he was committed to being home with her as often as possible in the coming months.
Acceptance washed over Tori as she lay in bed next to the man she loved. Rhett was hers and only hers—finally. She had fought him long enough. Now, it was time to be with him and to allow herself to be happy, for however long that may be. She knew he didn’t completely understand the extreme measures she planned to take when it came to the preventative (or now potentially necessary) surgeries. But those were a certainty in her mind, just like he was a certainty to her now.
She felt a strange sense of relief that cancer had finally reared its ugly head. She had spent the last ten years in a tortuous cycle of anticipatory grief, thinking about cancer, worrying about her next set of scans, trying to do everything she could to stave off the inevitable. Now all the anticipation was over, and that was oddly freeing.
For the first time in a very long time, she felt hopeful. The cancer was here, or at least close enough to the surface that she had proof it wasn’t all in her head. The acceptance she felt now was what had been missing for the last ten years. Knowing with certainty what would come next, and knowing who would be with her through it all, galvanized her for the future.
She felt Rhett stir behind her before he spoke.
“Hey, beautiful. Are you awake?”
Tori rolled over to face him, moving to close the space between them. “I’m awake.” She smiled, resting her hands on the tops of his collarbone.
“How’d you sleep?” he asked, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. She felt his fingers move down her body and find the small of her back. He worked his hand up under the shirt she was wearing, brushing his fingertips along the curve of her ass before landing on her hip.
“I slept great, actually.” She smiled wider then, shimmying her body up against him and swinging one of her legs over his. The feeling of his hand on the bare skin of her thigh awakened something in her core. She always felt insatiable around this man, but after a month apart, her desire to connect with him was stronger than ever.
She could feel his warmth and hardness through his boxers. She worked a hand between their bodies and closed her fist around his erection. He was so solid, so steady. She savored the length of him in her palm. She watched Rhett’s eyes go dark as he continued to caress her hip with feather-light touches. She matched his pace as she stroked him through the fabric of his underwear.
She arched her back and offered her mouth while simultaneously pressing her breasts and hips into his body. He caught her lips with his, matching the rhythm of his kiss to the stroking of his hand. Tori felt desire percolate through her core.
She broke the kiss and moved her mouth along the column of his neck, feeling the stubble on his jawline scratch against her lips. Rhett moaned when she landed on her favorite spot: the hollow of his throat, right below his Adam’s apple. She could feel the vibrations of his wanting as another sound escaped him. She kissed his pulse point, then used her tongue to outline the little V at the base of his throat.
“Tori,” he pleaded. She heard the restraint in his voice. He was holding back, begging her not to tempt him. His fingers skirted along the top of her inner thigh, right along the hem of her underwear.
“I want you so badly,” she groaned in response, moving up to nip at his ear. She rolled her hips toward him with enough force that his hand dislodged and brushed against her center. Oh yes. She wanted him, and she wanted him right there. The ache between her legs had her practically panting, but nothing had changed since last night. Rhett hadn’t been tested, and he also disclosed that he hadn’t thought to grab condoms when he raced home to Hampton. They had to reel it in, at least a little, at least for now.
“I know,” he acknowledged, lowering his forehead to rest it against hers, “and I know we can’t. But would this be okay?” he asked as he rested the palm of his hand between her thighs. He applied the slightest pressure against her clit as he waited for permission.
“Yes.” She shimmied out of her underwear, scrambling to unhook them from around her ankle and throw them on the floor. “Yes, please.”
