Chapter 32
Grace
My lips on his neck. My fingers around his shaft.
That's how I wake my husband the next morning. You'd think that I'd be exhausted after the night we had. But there's something powerful about knowing that you're loved. It makes a girl feel strong, invincible, like she could live a thousand years and never run out of steam.
I'm on top of him now, sitting in his lap with his cock buried deep inside of me. He presses his mouth to the center of my chest while bracing my hips. Moving lazily, I roll my hips against him, smiling down into his face.
Even with the new lines around his eyes when he smiles and the dusting of gray hairs that have sprung up in his stubble, I'm struck by just how handsome he is. I've missed having him look at me this way. The pure adoration in his eyes melts me from the inside. I feel safe and loved.
And for one moment of utter delusion, I feel like the sexiest woman alive.
But then, he reaches up and swipes the edge of his thumb over the corner of my eye. “Got a little goop goin’ on in there,” he explains with a chuckle.
“Oh my gosh!” I dip my head down to my chest in shame when I remember that I didn’t exactly step off of a movie set this morning. Last night was a night of sex and crying and more sex. Eep! “I must look like such a mess right now.” I continue to ride him with my face buried in my hands.
He pushes my hands away and tilts my chin back up, forcing me to stare into his dark irises. “You look absolutely perfect.”
“Yeah – with my goopy eyes and my morning breath,” I grumble sarcastically.
Working his pelvis against mine, he gives me an earnest look. “You’ve got the most beautiful eye goop I’ve ever seen. I’m in love with it. Obsessed. I want to pick goop out of your eye every morning for the rest of my life.”
“You’re so ridiculous!” I giggle like an idiot and his laughter chases after mine. The sound of our laughter mixing in the air causes my insides to tickle. God – it feels good to laugh with him. It's been so long. After doing nothing but fighting for over a year, this moment feels like throwing the window open, sticking my head out and filling my lungs with crisp air on a spring morning.
Laughing like this, joking around like this – it’s who we were before life came and took a big crap on our relationship. Now, that we’re finally coming up for air, I know that I don’t want to give this feeling up. I’ll do whatever I have to to make it last. The reverence in his eyes tells me that he feels the same.
He brushes my hair from my face. “What I’m trying to say is, you’re so beautiful to me. You’re perfect. I don’t ever want you to doubt your worth. You mean everything to me.”
Overcome by emotion, I lean forward and kiss his mouth, his cheeks, his forehead. I run my fingers over his skin.
He holds my cheeks in his hands and pulls my face close to his. "My girl," he whispers against my lips and my pussy spasms around his cock at the words.
"My guy," I whisper back as his hands crawl down my spine.
We move together until our bodies clench at the peak and we cry out in bliss. It’s a soft orgasm that draws on for a long time, washing my body in waves of warmth and pleasure.
After a few moments to recover, we reluctantly get out of bed. It would be amazing to just spend the day tangled in these sheets and continue to reacquaint myself with his body but we have a yoga retreat to finish up.
We make a quick call to Lily to check in on our son. Then, we shower together and Daniel takes his time, washing my hair, my toes and every little bit in between. After we dry off, he sits in the wicker chair in the corner of the room and watches me slide my lace panties up my legs. I feel a blush creeping up my neck when I glance over at him. “What?”
“You look like a fucking angel,” he says simply, “that’s all.”
Blushing hard, I change the subject if only to relieve my burning cheeks. “Aren’t you freaked out that you quit your job like that yesterday? Maybe you should email your boss and try to take it back.”
Daniel leans back with his hands behind his head, cool as a cucumber. He scoffs. “Not a chance! I told you – I’m focusing on my family. Getting us back on track is my number one priority. Everything else is secondary.”
“God – are you sure? You loved that job.” I pull a T-shirt over my head and watch him.
“Not as much as I love you and Sebastian.”
“Will we have enough money to survive?”
“Well, we’ve still got tons of money from the hospital settlement. Plus, savings and investments.” His eyes twinkle as he shrugs. “If everything goes to shit, we may eventually have to sell the house and set up a tent on Sammie's back lawn, though. Are you cool with that?”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Babe, I'd move into a wet cardboard box next to the dumpster behind McDonalds if it means that we can be together,” I tell him earnestly and then add, “Sebastian on the other hand, I'm not so sure.”
Daniel nods in agreement. “Yeah – he's pretty high-maintenance for someone who’s never earned a dollar in his life.”
“Yeah.” I sit on the lip of the dresser and watch him. The mood of the room grows serious again. “Baby, I’m really sorry about everything that’s happened. I separated you from your son, I kicked you out of your house, I made you quit your job. I really fucked things up.”
My man gets out of the chair and sidles on over to me. His hands fall to my shoulders and slide down my arms. “All that shit we went through was necessary. To bring us to this point. Because right now, I love you more than I ever have. I will never take you for granted ever again, Grace.”
“Daniel…This was my fault. Not yours.” Our fingers intertwine.
“The hell it wasn’t my fault,” he says, “I should have tried harder to figure out why the hell you’d been shutting me out all those months.”
“I didn’t make it easy to communicate with me.” I sigh. “Maybe I should see a psychologist to figure out if I have post-partum depression or something. And I’d like us to get back into counselling, as well.”
“Of course,” he says tenderly running his thumb across my knuckles. “We’ll do all that. Whatever it takes. I love you too much, Grace. 'Forever' is the only option for us. I won't accept anything else."
Speechless, I bury my head against his chest. For the first time in a long time, my chest feels light. I can breathe without the knots in my throat and the tightness in my belly. “You’re prince fucking charming, Daniel Trotten.”
“And you’re my queen.”