Chapter Seventeen
Nathan
I clutched tightly onto the door frame as the words falling from Rich’s mouth touched me deeply: “I would like to thank the new man in my life, the one who inspired me to keep on going even when things got tough. So, thank you, Nathan.” I wanted to be sitting down to listen to him speak. I needed to be back at the table, but I hadn’t made it on time. He got called up there before I got a chance to, and now… well, now I couldn’t move.
At least I knew one thing with utter certainty now. He was the right one for me, staying despite how scary it felt was the right move. It only took a moment of indecision, a second of remembering what my life was like without him to realize that all the negative stuff was worth it if I got to be with him. Rich mentioning me on stage meant what I already knew: this was for the long haul, we were both in it forever. Whether it would last that long or not was another issue entirely, but that wasn’t relevant right now.
Liam took the forefront of the stage, but my eyes remained on Rich. He fell backwards a little, and ran his fingers through his hair, which was a gesture I now knew meant he felt incredibly stressed. I wanted to reach out to him, to hold him close, to take that stress from him, but I couldn’t. Mostly because my legs were made of lead and I was stuck in the same position. I couldn’t move, however much I wanted to.
Then they left. Morton snaked off the stage to let the next music act get their award, and I could finally let out the deep breath I’d been holding in while they spoke. As soon as Rich sat back in that chair I would rejoin him and enjoy this night to the best of my ability. He wouldn’t even need to know about my moment of indecision.
But he didn’t turn up. He remained backstage even as the rest of the band flopped back down at the table, so I stayed fixed exactly where I was to wait. For some reason in my fear addled brain it seemed better to do that than to just go and ask the others where he’d gotten to. To the outside world I probably looked a little crazed, clinging onto the door frame as if it was the only thing holding me upright, but even the awareness of that couldn’t make me move.
Not until I saw him.
He flashed past, quick stepping out of the room. I spotted him just in the corner of my peripheral vision. It was hard to pick him out because he was in a similar suit to everyone else, but my heart knew that figure racing from the room was Rich. I could just sense it.
I took off after him as fast as I could go without running so as not to draw any unwanted attention to myself. I had no idea what had made Rich bolt from the room like that but I absolutely had to find out. As I burst out into the hallway, I picked up the pace even more. My legs pumped underneath me, my arms flailed a little to the side because I wasn’t used to running in public, but my brain remained fixed on the one goal I needed to achieve.
“Rich!” I yelled as I ran. “Rich, where are you?” Silence greeted me, so I continued to run, sporadically calling out his name. Panic coursed through me, what if it was a medical emergency, or he’d been given some bad news, what if someone had upset him…?
“Nathan?”
I spun around in shock as I finally heard a very familiar voice calling back to me, just as I was about to exit the building completely. There I saw him, panting breathlessly, gripping onto his chest as if he was desperately trying to keep his heart from bursting free.
“Rich, you’re still here.”
“I’m still here?” he chuckled mirthlessly. “You’re the one who ran out.”
“No, no I didn’t.” I shook my head rapidly. “Well, maybe I left for a second, but I was never going to totally leave. Not really. I just freaked. It was all so much, I became overwhelmed.” I sounded pathetic, and I hated that, but at least I was being honest. That had to be worth something. “But I’m okay now, I can cope with all of this…”
“You don’t have to.” Rich’s tone was soft and gentle as he took my chin in his hand. “I mean, you won’t be able to escape the media completely, especially not after my idiot declaration of love – sorry about that, by the way, I should never have done that without warning you in advance – but if we make a concerted effort to keep you from the public eye, then…”
He trailed off as he noticed my stunned expression. “Love?” I gasped in shock. “Declaration of… love?”
“Well, I didn’t actually say love.” His face flamed an adorable red as he spoke, which betrayed his emotions even if he weren’t totally ready to express them aloud. All my fears simply zapped from my body as I saw the softening in his eyes. How could I ever have doubted this, even for a split second? “But yeah, I guess that’s where I am.”
I boldly took his hands in mine and clasped them to my heart. “Well that’s where I am too. I love you. I have for a very long time.”
Rich’s head cocked to one side, and his lips moved in to connect with mine. The world shrunk down as the fireworks exploded merrily in my stomach. My body was soaring above the Earth all over again.
“Come on,” he murmured into my mouth. “Let’s get out of here.”
“But don’t you have to…?”
“I don’t have to do anything, except spend some time with you.”
“Really? Don’t you want to go and enjoy the celebration?”
“We’ve won plenty.” He shrugged his shoulders. “The boys don’t need me now. It’s fine. We really should just get out of here.”
He grinned at me, melting my heart, making me understand just how special I was to him. This was absolutely everything. He led me away from the horror of the award ceremony and I happily allowed him to take me. This was all a part of his life, but it wasn’t him…
And it was him that I loved.
***
Polite conversation gave away to heady lust as we crashed through the door to my apartment. Rich’s mouth was everywhere, all over me, consuming me, and I was happy to give myself to him. He deserved every damn part of my body now. My heated flesh, my plump lips, my throbbing erection, every part of that was for Rich.
I loved him, and he loved me. There no longer needed to be any other complications. We’d made it complex in the past, but not anymore.
“You’re so freaking sexy,” Rich gasped as he yanked off my shirt, tearing one of the sleeves and ripping off one or two of the buttons in the process. “I love you so much.” It seemed that he wouldn’t ever tire of saying those words, just as I wouldn’t ever get tired of hearing them. Having our emotions finally run free felt incredible. It made every sensation cascading through my body feel that much more intense.
“I love you too. Now take your damn trousers off.”
He giggled, shimmied backwards then did as I asked, sliding his trousers down to reveal those thick, muscular thighs that I adored so much. Everything about him was masculine, powerful, sexy as all hell…
I growled at him, an animalistic sound that I didn’t even realize I was making until it had burst from my chest, and I wrapped my arms tightly around his waist. Then I pressed my lips hard up against his, letting the passion gush between us.
We practically fell into the bedroom and tumbled onto the sheets beneath us, our limbs locked and entwined with one another’s. I could barely tell where Rich ended and I began. We were kissing each other frantically, our hands all over one another, acting like horny teenagers who had only just managed to get a secret moment alone.
It was almost as if this was our very first time together.
“You feel so good,” Rich gasped and panted. “I love every damn inch of you.”
He slipped his hand into my underwear and grabbed hold of where I needed him most. I was rock hard for him, throbbing and pulsing excitedly. He’d held me like this before, on more than one occasion, but this felt different. It was more meaningful now that we had expressed true, everlasting feelings for one another.
“You drive me crazy,” I replied, my voice raspy with desire as he moved his hand rapidly up and down my length. “Oh God, Rich.” My nails dug into his back, and I gripped onto him greedily, my head lolling and floating with passion.
Eventually Rich settled into a comfortable rhythm, taking me right to the brink of desire before snatching his hand away leaving me cold, alone, and incredibly frustrated. I wanted to scream and yell and bite, but instead I ended up whimpering sadly.
“What are you…?”
“You know exactly what I’m doing,” he smirked as he interrupted me. “I’m about to rock your world.”
His forehead rested against mine, while his finger lightly traced my jawline. I grabbed his hand and held it next to me, basking in his warmth. Rich was warm. He filled me up, and my chest swelled. Everything about this moment was perfect.
Eventually he flipped me onto my side and caressed my back. He rubbed me, massaged me, loved me using his hands, and I fell completely and utterly against him.
As Rich slid into me, sending my heart dancing and fluttering all over my body, his hands clutched onto me as if he needed me just as much as I did him. I loved the intimacy that moment gave me, almost as much as the wonderful orgasmic feeling he had building up inside of me. We were connected now, bonded on a deeper level, so when the sheer bliss finally did consume me it lasted for longer than it ever had before…
***
“So, what now?” Rich asked lazily as he rolled around in the bed next to me.
“What do you mean?” The post orgasmic bliss still swirled around us, which made it take me longer than it usually would to latch on to what he was talking about. “As in, what do you want for dinner?”
“No, with us.” He propped his body into a sitting position and he gazed lovingly at me. “Like, I know we’ve decided to be together, but I think that tonight showed us how hard it’s going to be realistically.”
I pursed my lips and considered this statement. “If I’m honest, I’m not really sure why I was so worried. I don’t have any deep dark secrets hiding in the closet. I’ve just always been private so this is a bit weird is all. I can handle it, honestly. I don’t want the press to tear us apart.”
“But it’s not just that, is it?” He clapped his hand to his forehead in distress. “It’s the travelling, the promo, the music videos, the… well, all of it. None of it’s going to be easy. It never is. That’s why most celebrities stick to dating each other.”
“We’ll make it work.” I nodded confidently, possibly more confidently than I felt. “I can’t give you all the answers now, but we’ll figure it out as we go along. Plus, your friends are dating mere mortals like me, aren’t they? If they can do it, so can we.”
Rich leaned down and kissed me lightly, which made my lips tingle happily. “You are not normal, but I do see what you mean. Maybe this won’t be so challenging after all.”
I held his hands and smiled up at him. “I love you, and you love me. What else is there to worry about?”
“Well… I guess nothing, and that’s a great place to start.”
This felt like the real beginning, the start of me and Rich, and I could not wait to see where this ended up.
Hopefully with a happy ever after.