Page 24 of Seven Days

A sob rips from my chest as grief comes tearing from me. The love that my parents had for each other was so palpable that I could feel it, even as a child. There was never any doubt that they were it for each other.

I can’t stop the tears now that they’ve started. I cry because I miss my mom so much. Sometimes I walk into her closet and bury my face in her dresses, hoping that her scent will still be there all these years later. It always is because Dad periodically sprays her perfume on them. I miss the look I’d catch in my dad’s eyes as he would watch Mom cook dinner, dancing around the kitchen to cheesy eighties love songs.

Tears fall for my dad who had the love of his life, but knew he was going to lose her. I sob for Thomas who lost his wife and baby with no warning, no time to prepare. The absolute terror that Janet had to have died with, even if only for a split second. It’s not fair. So much death and tragedy for two families to have to bear. I can feel Thomas’s shuddering breaths against me as he struggles to hold himself together while I fall apart in his lap.

Grief is like a river, though. You can stone wall it for days, months, years, but one rock comes loose and all of it bursts free. I’m the queen of building walls around my grief, and now, safe in his arms, it’s all coming free. I cry onto his shoulder for so long and so hard I eventually fall asleep.

I wake briefly as he jostles me into his arms and carries me back inside the house. Through the haze of emotional exhaustion, I feel my dress come off and his hot body slide into bed behind me. His arms wrap around me and hold me close the rest of the night.

11

THOMAS

* * *

Idid not think opening up about Janet last night was going to have the effect it did on Brianna. Watching her heart break open like that was the most painful thing I have ever experienced. That isn’t hyperbole, it was harder to hold her through her pain than it ever was to feel my own.

I’m shaken today. Shaken because I feel something for Bri I’ve never felt before. I loved Janet with all my heart. She was my best friend, my partner and I have no doubt that I would still be happily married to her today.

But Bri makes me want to go to war for her. I want to destroy anything that makes her sad. I want to protect her from pain. I want to own her body and heart. These feelings are damn near barbaric in their intensity.

It’s nearly noon and she’s still sleeping. I keep wandering in to check on her every hour or so. At least that’s the lie I tell myself. I’m actually just obsessed with watching her while her guard is down. Her expression in sleep is so soft and she looks so insanely young, even though she’s well into adulthood.

A couple of strands of her silky, raven hair have fallen over her forehead. Her plump lips are slightly parted, daring me to kiss her until she comes alive underneath me. Deciding that’s exactly what I need to do, I gently pull the sheet down her body, exposing one inch of flawless, golden skin at a time.

She rolls from her side onto her back, one thigh falling open allowing for a perfect opportunity for me. I strip my clothes off because it feels like a crime to not be naked with this woman. Laying down beside her I run my fingers over her soft belly. Her curves are the sweetest temptation. I love looking at her like this, relaxed and natural, not trying to hold her body in a way to make herself look different.

Her back arches as I wrap my lips around one of her pert nipples. I run my finger in teasing strokes over her slit. She’s going to be writhing beneath me with need before she’s even fully awake.

It doesn’t take much to get her wet, her body is so incredibly responsive to touch. I move my mouth from one nipple to the other and her hips begin grinding into my hand. She moans as I slide a finger between her folds, circling her clit with the same pressure as my tongue on her nipple.

She slides her fingers through my hair in a way that’s become entirely too familiar over the past few days. My name tumbles from her lips as I pump two fingers inside her, curling them up against her g-spot. Her hand wraps around my cock and tugs.

I let her work me until I’m hard and she’s ready. Our lips meet for a lazy kiss as I shift my weight and settle between her thighs, then her legs wrap around my waist as I slide deep inside her. Her heels dig into my ass as we find a perfect rhythm with each other she clings to me, working her clit while I rock in and out of her pussy. Her walls flutter around my cock as she comes, and she says my name over and over with each wave of her orgasm, the sound of her heady voice sending me over the edge.

But I don’t cum inside her this time. In a moment of pure possessiveness I pull out and cum over her belly. Thick ropes of my hot release land across her stomach. I know I scared her when I told her she was mine last night so this is the next best thing.

She looks down at her belly, her lips parted in surprise, then her honey brown eyes look up at mine and I see the unspoken understanding in them. She’s not ready to admit this is something more than a week long tryst, but I am. With every passing moment, I know deeper and deeper down that she is mine. I use my hand to rub myself into skin as she watches me with bated breath.

It started off physically, but then there’s hours of conversation, her wit and intelligence leaving me captivated. Last night sealed the deal for me. She opened up in a way I know, without words, that she doesn’t do with many people. I’m not even sure she’s let Jack see that raw, hurting, loving side shine through. Now that I have, it will not be easy to let go of.

I lay down beside her and she immediately curls onto her side. She fits against me perfectly. Her fingers run through the light dusting of hair on my chest.

“What are we doing today?” she asks as she stretches against me.

“I thought we could go into town. Maybe do some shopping and then grab dinner.”

“That sounds amazing.” Her small hand cups my cheek and turns my face away from the view out the window and back to her. “That was the best wake up call I’ve ever had.”

“Good.” I almost slip up and tell her to get used to it. Luckily I realize just in time to stop myself. I kiss her instead.

“I’ll go take a shower.” She looks over her shoulder as she saunters toward the bathroom at me. “Do you want to join me?”

I’m out of the bed and behind her in seconds.

* * *

“Gracias,”Bri tells the owner of a boutique jewelry store as we exit. I’m coming back at some point to purchase the necklace she kept eyeing, but I want to surprise her with it on our last night together.

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