Bridget
Having Elias sitting opposite me on my couch is like a swift punch to the gut.
I’ve missed you, is what I want to say, but I don’t.
Instead, I keep my mouth shut and watch as he leans back into the couch as he digs through his front pocket.
I know what it is before I see it, and my mouth turns dry as soon as the engagement ring lies flat in his palm.
He hooks it over his pinky and gently places it on the coffee table in front of us.
The silence is loud, overwhelming, and I start to feel anxious, hating how that one small ring carries so much weight—so much more than what it is.
Elias’s eyes are trained on the silver ring for a beat longer before he tears his gaze away and looks at me. “Thanks for letting me come in. I probably should’ve called first, but I didn’t want to lose my nerve.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t reply,” I whisper. “I just wasn’t sure what to say or how I wanted to respond.”
He shakes his head and sighs. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I don’t think I would’ve wanted to speak to me either.”
I shift toward him without thinking and place my hand on his knee and his and covers mine almost immediately, his thumb brushing over my bare ring finger.
“I fucked up,” he whispers. “I made you feel like you weren’t important to me and that you weren’t good enough for me, but it’s me who’s not good enough for you.
I was wrong for saying what I did and I regret every word of it, but I know that this is what I want, Bridget—I want us and I’m so fucking sorry that I ever doubted you were it for me.
” His voice trembles on the last sentence, but he swallows and carries on.
“You were treated poorly by the man before me, and I’ll be damned if I ever fall into the same category as him.
You could ask for the world, and I’ll give it to you, I hope you know that—I hope you know I’d do anything for you, because I love you.
I love you so much that being without you for the past week and a half has been torturous, and I don’t want to do that ever again.
When we fight—because we will—we’ll never go to bed angry because I don’t think I can spend more than a five minutes away from you. ”
“What about when we’re at work?” I tease, and he frowns.
“The only exception.”
I thread my fingers through his and pull his hand into my lap. “I’m sorry as well, for not handling it as well as I could have, but I got scared and panicked. You’re the only person I see myself being with…and the thought of not having you? Well, I don’t even want to think about it.”
Elias’s brown eyes between my own as I speak, and it takes every ounce of restraint I have not to lean in and kiss him like my life depends on it.
“I don’t think there’s a version of me that exists without you by my side,” I whisper. “And if there is? Well, I don’t want it. I don’t want to experience a life where you don’t exist—where you’re not meant for me.”
“I don’t want a life like that either,” he whispers. “Definitely not in this lifetime, or any lifetime for that matter.”
He gives my hand a squeeze. “I’ve missed you, so much,” I say.
“Me too, baby,” he replies, reaching forward to tuck my hair behind my ear.
I lean forward, ready to feel his mouth against mine, but he pulls back before I can touch him, and I frown. “Too soon?”
“Not soon enough,” he assures me. “But there’s something else we need to talk about before we kiss and makeup.”
Anxiety rears its head, and as I start to pull my hand from his he grips it tighter.
“I don’t want to go through with the wedding,” he says, his dark eyes bouncing around my face and he must see my confusion because he smiles softly. “Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t think we really know each other well enough yet.”
“What about your mom? How will we—”
“They already know, baby.” My mouth parts in shock and a small flicker of amusement dances in his eyes. “Trust me, I was just as shocked as you are.”
“How?”
“Apparently, they had their suspicions since the beginning, but the first time you came to family dinner was when they knew.”
I groan, embarrassment nipping at every nerve in my body. “Oh god,” I whisper. “How am I ever going to face them again? They must hate me.”
“They love you, Bridget. Not as much as I do, but they do.”
“So where do we go from here?”
He leans back into the couch and pulls me into his lap, waiting until I’m straddling him before he answers.
“Let’s just take a step back and start from the beginning.
Let’s date, like we should’ve done from the start and just enjoy each other’s company.
” He reaches up and runs both hands through my hair, his fingers tugging softly.
“Let me learn everything about you, baby. Teach me how to love you right.”
Not wanting to waste another second, I lean forward and press my lips to his, savouring the feel of his warm mouth against mine. The moan that vibrates through his body when I nip at his bottom lip has me falling my hips against him. I’ve missed being this close to him, missed being intimate.
His hands move down my back slowly until they’re clutching at the hem of my shirt. “Let me see you,” Elias whimpers as he pulls back, his pupils as wide as saucers. “Please, Bids. I need to see you.”
His hips buck and I how much he needs me, needs us. “Take it off.” My whisper turns into a soft gasp when he pulls my shirt over my head, his mouth immediately seeking my right breast.
His perusal of me is slow, but far from gentle. Rough hands grip me, teasing my other breast while he gently bites down on my nipple, his tongue soothing the sting. Elias has always been on the softer side, but to see him so pent up, so undone over me, has my body heating up.
I thread my fingers through his hair and pull his head back. I pant over the feral look in his eyes and it becomes painfully clear that I need him inside me.
“I want you inside of me,” I whimper. “We can take our time later, but if I don’t have you in me now, I might combust.”
The grin he sends me is wicked as he reaches down and pushes the waistband of my sweats down, exposing the lace of my panties. “You desperate for my cock, baby?”
“Yes,” I moan out, my eyes rolling back into my head as he dips his hand down the front of my pants.
He hums in approval as he swipes his fingers through my slit. “So wet already.” I watch as he pulls his hand out and pushes his fingers into his mouth, his tongue lapping at my wetness. “Take your pants off, let me see that needy little pussy.”
“Elias,” I gasp as I crawl off him and to my feet.
He looks bashful as he runs a hand through his hair. “Sorry, too much?”
I push my sweats and panties down until I’m stood bare in front of him. “No, not at all. I’m just wondering why I haven’t seen this side of you before.”
He smirks. “Saving it for a rainy day, I guess.”
I reach down and unbutton his jeans, wiggling them down his thighs with his boxers in tow. He makes work of pulling his shirt off until there isn’t a piece of clothing between us.
Elias places his hands on my hips and moves me closer. I nestle in his lap, feeling his hard length against me as I roll myself over him, coating his thick length with my arousal.
Reaching down between us, I take his cock in my hands and line him up with me, tucking the tip inside as I whisper, “Fuck me like I’m yours.”
His jaw clenches as I slowly lower myself, making sure to take my time, making sure I feel every inch of him. “You’re already mine,” he grunts, his hands finding refuge on my hips. “You’ve been mine since that first day we met—we just didn’t know it.”
I watch as his stomach hollows as I take his full length. I roll my hips in quick circles and let my head fall back. Fuck, he feels good. Elias sits there, watching as I take and take what I need.
“God, you look so fucking beautiful riding my cock,” he grits out, his fingers digging into my sides. “But I need to move, Bids. I need to move so badly.”
I nod, and that’s all he needs from me before he lifts me up and starts pounding into me. I move a hand between us and begin to rub my clit in tight circles, matching the rhythm of his lips.
“More,” I whisper, enjoying the way he fits in me so perfectly.
“Fuck, baby,” Elias pants, his eyes focused on where I end and he begins. “Look at you, taking all of me in your greedy cunt.”
“Mine,” I chant as I tighten around him.
I feel it coming, like it always does, and this time I chase it—ready to embrace it. It happens faster than I imagined, the build, the ecstasy of it, and when my toes begin to curl and my eyelids begin to flutter, I welcome it with open arms.
“Atta fucking girl,” Elias grinds out as he pumps home faster. “Give it to me, baby, come on my cock.”
My orgasm hits at lightning speed, every muscle in my body spasming as it works its way through me, and the pleasure that ignites me has me feeling like a burning star. I’m on cloud nine as Elias chases his own release and fills me, the two of us completely spent.
Body limp and sweaty, I fall into his arms and sigh, my eyes fluttering shut. “That was…”
“I know,” he whispers, pressing a kiss against my shoulder. “You came.”
I smile and nod. “I trust you,” I reply. “I feel safe with you.”
I move my head and look up at him. “I love you so fucking much.”
“I love you too, Eli.” I press a gentle kiss on his jaw. “Always.”
“Let’s start from the beginning.” He rests his head on top of mine. “Let’s do it right this time.”
I smile against his skin in a bubble of bliss and I know deep in my bones there’s nowhere else I’d rather be. “Yeah, baby. That sounds perfect.”