Chapter 10 #2
“I’ll take care of it, and I’ll try to do better in the future. Can we go back to bed now? Our kids will be up in about two and a half hours.”
“I guess.”
She lets me lead her up the stairs, where I tuck her in and then get in next to her, rolling onto my side to cuddle up to her.
“You want to talk about it?”
“Not really.”
“It’s upsetting when we hear of things happening to other people that force us to revisit our own traumas.”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I know. I’m just saying… it’s normal to be upset.”
“Thank you for letting me know that.”
By now, I know that Wynter gets mean when she’s scared or anxious. I try not to let it bother me because I understand why she gets that way. I don’t mind her taking it out on me. That’s what I’m here for.
We’re quiet for a long time, so long that I wonder if she’s fallen asleep.
“If you die on me, I’ll never forgive you. I just want you to know that.”
I bite my lip to keep from laughing because nothing about this is funny.
“Thank you for letting me know.”
“I mean it.”
“I know you do.” I tug her in closer to me. “Come here.”
“I’m here.”
“Not close enough.”
She sighs dramatically and curls her sexy self against me, provoking the usual immediate reaction. “Put that thing away.”
I snort with laughter. “He can’t help himself. If you’re around, so is he.”
“How will she do it?”
“What? Who?”
“Taylor. How will she rebuild her life a second time?”
“She’ll find a way. She has to for the sake of her kids.”
“I couldn’t do it.”
“Yes, you could.”
“No, I really couldn’t. Somehow, I managed to survive losing Jaden, but you… If it happened to you… I’d never get over that.”
“You’d find a way for the kids.”
“I’m not sure I would. It’s not like I’m a helpless woman who can’t function without a man. That’s not what I’m saying. It’s that I can’t function without you.”
“Aw, babe, that’s very sweet of you to say.”
“I’m not being sweet. I’m being serious. We’ve risen from absolute ashes to put together a life for ourselves that we both love. I’m just saying I can’t see myself doing that again.”
“Neither can I, so don’t you go anywhere either.”
“I’ll try not to.”
I run my hand over her back, hoping she’ll relax and get some sleep before the kids are up to run us ragged for another day.
“Adrian?”
“Yeah, hon?”
“I want you to know… I really, really loved Jaden. I loved him so much.”
“I know you did.”
“But this… After what we went through to get here… I just don’t know how I’d survive losing you. And honestly? It never occurred to me that it could even happen until I heard about Taylor’s husband.”
“We’ve all got an expiration date. Some just get more time than others. Gage always says life is a fatal illness.”
“I don’t like that saying.”
“I don’t either, but it’s true. That’s why we have to make the most of the time we do have. We never know when we’ll run out.”
“That’s a fucked-up way to live.”
“These things were decided way before we arrived on the planet. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with the system we were born into.”
“I want to know where I can file an appeal.”
“I’ll look into that for you.”
Her hand moves from my chest, over my abdomen, to cup my still-throbbing erection.
“I thought you said you weren’t in the mood.”
“I wasn’t until you reminded me that every minute counts.”
“I’ll have to do that more often.”
Her low chuckle feels like a victory of sorts—and a relief. Her dark moods, which aren’t as frequent as they used to be, can last for days. They usually occur around Jaden’s birthday or the anniversary of his death.
When she climbs on top of me, I wrap my arms around her, holding her tightly to my chest. “I’m right here, love, and I’m not going anywhere as long as I have you and our kids.”
“Make love to me, Adrian.”
“Nothing I’d rather do.” I draw her tank top up and over her head and toss it aside, sliding my hands from her narrow hips, over her ribs, to cup her full breasts.
As I run my thumbs over her nipples, I love the way she reacts, pressing her heat against my hard cock and generally driving me crazy as only she can do.
She’s wildly sexy, responsive and up for anything in bed, which are just three of the many reasons I love her with my whole heart.
Before she can take over, I turn us so I’m on top and set out to kiss every bit of soft skin I can get to. I suck her nipples until they’re standing straight up, and then I bury my face between them, breathing in the fragrant scent of the woman I love.
After I lost Sadie, I couldn’t imagine having this kind of connection with another woman, but Wynter has shown me what’s still possible, even after disaster.
But she’s right when she says losing what we have would be a whole other level because of what it took to get to a place where we were not only ready to love again, but open to taking all the risks that go along with it.
She’s lying when she says it never occurred to her that she could lose me, too.
Of course it did. You don’t survive what we did without a healthy dose of reality showing up to remind you that nothing and no one is safe.
Taylor’s tragedy is the latest reminder of what can happen with no warning and no way to prepare yourself.
I remove the scrap of fabric she calls panties and make myself at home between her legs.
It drives her wild when I do this, and I never get tired of the way she responds to me.
She makes me feel ten feet tall when she claws my back, pulls my hair and begs me for more.
She always wants more, and I’m happy to give it to her.
By the time I push into her, she’s already come twice, and I’m on the edge.
She’s so tight and wet that I have to force myself to take it slow, so I won’t hurt her.
For all her bravado, she’s fragile in ways that would surprise people who don’t know her as well as I do, and the thought of hurting her is abhorrent to me.
“I want it fast and hard,” she says, panting from the effort to take me inside her.
“You’ll get everything you want when you’re ready.”
“I’m ready now.”
“No, you’re not.”
My Wynter can start a fight over absolutely anything, even this. “Wouldn’t I know better than you?”
“Not about this.”
“Because you’re such an expert.”
“I’m an expert on you, and if I plow into you, it’ll hurt, so shut up and let me do my thing.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
“Wake me up when it gets good.”
I give her a light smack on the ass, which causes her to clamp down on me, impinging my progress. “You’re such a brat.”
“You knew that before you went all in with me.”
“I’m trying to go all in with you, but if you keep doing that clamping thing, we’re never gonna get there.”
She throws her arms out and spreads her legs. “Have it your way.”
“I’m trying to, but as usual, you’re being a pain.”
She’s having one orgasm after another as I press farther into her, until I’m fully seated and doing everything in my power not to lose it before I take her on the wild ride she requested. I hold perfectly still for at least two minutes while she squirms under me, trying to move things along.
There’s nothing in this world quite like making love to my Wynter.
Her fingernails score my back and ass, and knowing there’ll be marks afterward only turns me on more.
She groans. “Don’t get any bigger.”
“That’s your fault, banshee girl.”
“Sticks and stones…”
“Hold on tight. Here we go.”
I love the way she wraps her arms and legs around me. I love the sounds she makes and the way she comes so hard, she makes me see stars while I try to hold out for as long as I can because it feels so fucking good.
She gasps with shock when I abruptly pull out and flip her over, giving it to her from behind.
By now, I’m fairly certain she’s no longer thinking about what happened to Taylor or her fears of losing me or anything other than the incredible pleasure that pounds through me and into her.
I reach around to caress her clit, making her come one last time as I give it to her as hard as I dare before letting myself go with her.
“Mmmm,” she says. “That’s what I’m talking about.”
Since I’m still buried deep inside her, I give a little push to ride the aftershocks that’re almost as good as the main event.
I take a little bite of her shoulder. “I love you.”
She shivers. “I love you, too.”
“Everything’s going to be all right. I promise.”
“If you say so.”
“I say so, and you have to believe me because I love you.”
“Love you, too.”