32
Christian
I thought this was what love felt like. I’d watched enough rom-coms, read enough romance novels that I’d never admit aloud, and saw enough people beg me not to kill them because their spouse wouldn’t be able to live without them. I honestly believed that this was what love felt like. I wanted to do everything to protect Maeve, make her happy, and make her my family. I would take a bullet or walk into a burning building if that meant I would save Maeve and the girls.
“I walked out the other day because I was struggling,” I answered honestly. It was the first time I had been honest with someone who wasn’t my sponsor or therapist in a while. It was really fucking hard for me to admit I struggled. As a man who grew up without any male role models, and then jumping right into the military where mental health wasn’t a priority, it was hard for me to recognize that my emotions were valid too. That I needed to speak my own truth.
Then I explained the foothills, my sponsor, the group we started to keep each other accountable, and how I just left because I needed to get healthier.
“I realized when I was out there that I was replacing my cravings for booze with sex. I didn’t want to do that with you. You mean so much more to me than you could ever imagine, firecracker.” I offered her a small smile and reached my hand out, hoping she would grab mine. She hesitated, and that fucking nearly killed me.
“So it wasn’t for another girl?” I shook my head. “Christian, you cannot do that again without at least telling me or talking to me about it. I understand when you need to leave, but if you want to be a part of this family, I need to know when you're hurting, too.”
“I know. That’s what my therapist told me, too. I think I had just been so used to doing it this way for so long.” She grabbed my hand now, and we sat there taking sips of our coffee.
“Can I ask you something?” She approached me with a kind of delicateness that I wasn’t used to. People were scared of me. I was a bodyguard to a man who messed with the entirety of the underworld, so I wasn’t used to being treated like this.
“Sure.”
“What happened to you abroad?” Damn. I knew this was coming, but somehow, it didn’t hurt any less or make me any less nervous to talk about it. “You don’t have to tell me if it's too hard.”
"It's not an easy story to share, but I want you to understand who I am." Taking a deep breath, I began recounting the events that haunted me for years. The danger, the loss, the trauma—it all poured out, and with each word, I felt a weight lifting off my shoulders. Maeve listened intently, her eyes filled with empathy and compassion. When I finished, there was a profound silence between us, and I could sense the depth of her understanding.
"I want to be here for you, Christian. You have a family who loves you, children who look up to you. You are cherished by my parents, by our friends. You are so deeply loved and valued in this world. Just by being with me, you make me a better person."
Her heartfelt words moved me to tears, and in that moment, I truly saw Maeve. I realized the profound impact she had on my life, the way she saw past my scars and flaws to the person I could become.
She got up from her chair and quickly sat in my lap. I pulled her tight into my chest.
“You are my home,” she leaned down and whispered into my ear. I pulled away from her slowly, really ingesting her words.
We were stripped bare—our insecurities on the table. I had never felt more vulnerable and naked, and we were both fully clothed and sitting on top of each other.
"Christian?"
"Yeah, firecracker?" I nuzzled into the nape of her neck, smelling her intoxicating allure.
"I want to go swim.” I craned my neck, looking at her in question. She jumped off my lap with a twisted smile.
I watched her walk toward the pool in the dim lighting of the evening. She unbuttoned her pants slowly, then pulled them off.
“Firecracker…” I warned. “Are you putting on a show for me?”
She nodded her head slowly. “It's hot.”
I growled in her direction and then stalked over to where she stood.
“Is this already a swimsuit?” I looked at what she wore. She laughed one of those hearty sort of laughs.
“No. It’s a bodysuit, silly.” She shimmied out of it and was standing in a nude bra and matching thong.
“You are right. It is hot.” I offered her a furl of the corners of my lips and pulled down my jeans.
“Mm-hmm,” she murmured as she reached her hands behind her and unclasped her bra. I practically growled at her as her pretty pink nipples came into view.
She walked to the deep end and then looked over at me before doing the most elegant dive into the pool. Her hair dripped as she peeled her head from the pool.
The woman of my dreams was swimming naked in our house as if this happened every weekend. It was fucking unbelievable, and I didn’t even have words to explain how I felt about it.
I threw off my shirt and boxers and jumped in after her. She was struggling to stand in the deep end; I reached and hoisted her up easily, letting her wrap her legs around my waist.
“You are the sun to my cloudy day, firecracker. The light to my darkness. The rain to my clouds. I would do anything for you.”
I took her mouth with mine, letting her sweet tongue wrap around mine as we explored each other's mouths as the water lapped around us.
“Christian,” she said in a breathy whimper. “You cannot say those things if you don’t mean them.” I pulled back to look at her beautiful face as I carried her around the pool, our bodies molding into one.
“I mean every word. From the very moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were mine. You have always been mine. It just took you a little while to realize it.” I winked at her as she splashed water in my face.
I pressed my lips to her mouth once more, tasting her sweetness as her hands went up and untied my hair.
“I like it when you wear your hair down,” she whispered, tracing her tongue along the stubble on my jawline.
“I like it when you use your mouth on me.” She rolled her tongue along the shell of my ear.
“Like this?” she asked, feigning innocence.
I reached down to grasp her hand and let her rub it against my throbbing cock.
“Does this feel like I liked that, firecracker?” Her giggles echoed in the night, making me realize how hard I was for her.
“Christian?” she whined.
“Yes?” I ran my fingers against her perky nipples, pulling against her tautness.
“Will you take me out of this pool and fuck me?” I chuckled before dipping down and kissing her on the tip of her nose.
“Anything for you. But only if you promise me one thing?” I pulled on her tight nipples, and she let out one of the most erotic moans I had ever heard, which only made me want to get her out of this pool quicker.
“What's that?”
“I want you to promise me that you will let me fuck you on every surface of this house until you are exhausted, but still begging me to fill you deeper.” The blush that crept along Maeve’s cheeks made her even more fucking adorable than she was.
“Only if you can keep up.” Maeve winked and quickly swam to the stairs of the pool, where her ass dripped with water as she glided out and went straight to the deck.
Before she could think, I hopped out of the pool, my dick throbbing for her. I closed the space between us where Maeve was reaching, grabbing some of the towels we kept outside.
I grasped her wrists and pulled her around so our chests were facing each other. We were both heaving from swimming quickly to the pool stairs.
“Don’t,” I growled and ran my fingers through her soaking wet hair. “Let me dry you.” I grabbed one of the extra towels and moved down to her feet.
“I want you to stand there and watch me as I worship every inch of you.”