Page 119 of The Rest is History
‘El. Come here.’ I go to pull her to me. I have no idea what I’m doing. All I know is I can’t watch the woman I love cry on my sofa and not take her in my arms. But as I do, she lashes out and thumps me on the chest. Hard.
‘Ow. What was that for?’
‘For being a stupid fucking idiot.’ She’s crying hard now. ‘Charlie. You’re sostupid. I can’t believe you did that.’
I tug her up and over me so she’s straddling me and fold my arms around her narrow back. ‘Did what, sweetheart?’ I whisper.
She pulls back, tears streaming down her face. ‘You dumped me because you thought I couldn’t handle you being infertile.’
‘I knew you’d be able to handle it.’ My hands stroke down her arms. ‘You’re strong. Amazing. I know you can handle anything. But it was a lose-lose situation. Either you would have chosen to walk away, like my ex, which I didn’t think you’d do, but it was a chance I couldn’t take twice. I wouldn’t have survived it.
‘Or worse, you’d stay and choose me, and I couldn’t let you do that, El. Couldn’t let you give up your dreams.’
‘You’re my dream, you infuriating, obtuse dickhead.’ She whacks me again, but it’s ineffectual. ‘You don’t get it, do you?’
‘Get what?’
‘Jesus.’ She shakes her head like I’m the thickest person on the planet and takes my face in her hands. Her touch is warm, and her face is open. ‘You are enough, Charlie. You’re enough,all by yourself. I don’t need anything else. All I need to be happy is you. Kids, yeah. I’d love kids. But I want you more. I can’t live without you. I love you far too much.’
I nod, overwhelmed, and grip her hips tightly as something in my chest loosens.You’re enough, all by yourself.Her reaction is so different from Adeline’s. So generous. Accepting of me, and what I can and can’t offer her.
‘So the kid thing we can figure out down the line, all right?’ she continues. ‘No kids. Sperm donor. Adoption. Whatever. It’s all up for discussion. What isnotup for discussion is you walking off and leaving me to die of a broken heart and not letting me be part of your decision-making process again. Got it?’
‘Got it,’ I murmur dazedly, and she smiles at me.
‘I can see you don’t. But I’m going to tell you every day until you get it into that head of yours and you feel it in your heart.’ She puts her hand over my heart with such tenderness that the tears trembling against my eyelids break free and roll down my face. ‘It’s such a lovely heart,’ she whispers. ‘You’re the kindest man I’ve ever met. But I’m not going to let you sacrifice your happiness for some crazily inaccurate estimate of what I want in life. You’re not getting rid of me again.’
My hand drags over the curve of her ass and down her thigh. Her words are a balm to the wounds I’ve carried around with me for so long. They give me hope. That I can be happy, and far more importantly, that I can make her as happy as she deserves to be.
If all she wants is me, then I’m going to work every day to make her so damn happy.
Her hands are still on my face as she smiles her angelic smile through eyes sparkling with tears, and she’s never looked so beautiful. One hand brushes up her back and finds that little neck of hers as I tug her face to mine.
‘I don’t deserve you,’ I murmur against her lips.
‘Stop it. You deserve everything. You don’t get to say things like that anymore. Now kiss me, for fuck’s sake.’
I don’t need her to ask me twice. Our mouths crash together as I marvel at the taste of her. I have no idea how I thought I could live without this. Without her. I couldn’t, of course. I haven’t been living at all these past few weeks.
I suck on the plump perfection of her lower lip before releasing it and driving my tongue into her mouth. She moans as she catches it lightly between her teeth, and that’s all it takes to get me hard. My head’s spinning at the wonder of having her on top of me, all around me, her hands on my skin and her hair tumbling around us, creating the best kind of cocoon.
Our tongues dance and clash and tangle and pull as our kiss escalates from dreamy to desperate. I can’t get enough. Need to consume her completely. Be consumed by her. She’s bearing down on me, rolling her hips against my erection as her breasts smash against my chest and her fingers drag my shirt collar away from my skin.
‘Did you wear this dress to fuck with me?’ I pant as I push it up her silky thigh. This woman of mine may have the warmest of hearts, but fuck if the outer package isn’t the hottest thing I’ve ever seen, too.
‘I wore it to strengthen my case,’ she says laughingly. ‘Figured if I couldn’t get through to that stubborn brain of yours, I’d appeal to other body parts.’
‘A two-pronged attack.’ I grit out the words because I’ve found the elastic of her panties. ‘I didn’t stand a chance.’
‘No, you didn’t.’ She sets about unbuttoning my shirt, her fingers grazing the smattering of hair on my chest. ‘I wasn’t leaving until I’d got what I wanted. And I want you.’ She pauses. ‘And your extremely nice dick.’
I groan out an agonised laugh, because her praise has gone straight to my dick’s head. It’s straining painfully against my zip. I tighten my grip on the back of her neck as my other hand strokes her through the thin cotton of her panties.
‘You know I’ll give you everything you want,’ I say.
‘I’ve missed you so much, darling.’ She pushes my shirt open and bends to drop kisses on my pecs. ‘God, I’ve missed the smell of your skin. I want you so badly.’
‘Me too, sweetheart,’ I whisper. I take her arms and hold her away from me. ‘I need you naked for a very, very long time. Unbutton that pretty little dress for me, will you?’
