Chapter 34 #2
"Believe it," he growled against me, pulling his tongue out just to push it back in, the obscene wet sounds filling his office. "Every part of you is mine to worship. Every. Single. Part."
His tongue worked inside me, his nose pressed against my clit, and I was drowning in sensation. In the impossibility of this moment, in the overwhelming proof that this man loved me in ways I didn't know existed.
"You're healing," he murmured between licks, his hands gripping my thighs. "You're so strong, so brave, and this—" another long lick "—this is proof of it. This is beautiful, Marie. You're beautiful."
My hands flew out from under my thighs without permission, grabbing his hair, holding him to me because I couldn't help it—couldn't stay still, couldn't obey when everything in me was coming apart.
He didn't scold me, just kept working, kept licking, kept making sounds of pleasure that said he was exactly where he wanted to be.
"Daddy," I whimpered, my hips starting to move, grinding against his face. "Daddy, I'm close.”
"Come for me," he commanded against my clit, sucking it hard. "Come on daddy's tongue and let me taste all of you."
My whole body arched, pleasure crashing through me so intensely I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't do anything but shake and feel. My hands tightened in his hair, holding him to me while I came apart, and he moaned like my release was his favorite meal.
He kept licking through every wave, every aftershock, until I was trembling and trying to push him away because it was too much, too intense, too everything.
Only then did he pull back.
His face was wet, with blood, the evidence of everything he'd just done, and when he looked up at me, his eyes were soft and full of so much love it hurt to see.
Then he leaned in, a playful smirk tugging at his lips, clearly intending to kiss me.
"No!" I squealed, jerking my head to the side and pushing at his chest with both hands. "No, no, no, absolutely not, Wade!"
"What?" he asked innocently, still advancing. "I just want to kiss my darling girl."
"Not with—" I grabbed another tissue from the box and threw it at his face. "Wipe your face first!"
He caught the tissue, laughing—a real, genuine laugh that made his eyes crinkle at the corners and his whole face light up. Then he made an exaggerated show of licking his lips, his tongue tracing the corner of his mouth where blood had smeared.
"Mmm," he hummed, his eyes dancing with mischief. "Delicious. My compliments to the chef."
"Oh my god," I groaned, covering my burning face with both hands. "You're absolutely insane."
"You've mentioned that." He wiped his mouth and fingers with the tissue, still grinning at me. "Multiple times, in fact."
I peeked at him through my fingers. "Because it's true."
"Perhaps." He tossed the tissue in the wastebasket beside his desk, then reached for me. "But you love me anyway."
I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest, trying to look annoyed even though my lips were twitching with the urge to smile. "Jury's still out on that one."
"Liar," he said fondly, and then he scooped me up off the desk, cradling me against his chest.
I yelped and wrapped my arms around his neck for balance. "What are you doing?"
"Taking care of you," he replied simply, already carrying me toward the door.
He navigated out of his office and down the hall with confident strides, not even slightly fazed by the fact that I was half-naked and he had just done something absolutely insane in his professional workspace.
"Your office," I remembered weakly. "There are papers everywhere.”
"Thomas can handle it," he said dismissively. "You're more important."
He carried me into our bedroom, the one that was apparently going to be painted pink soon, and straight through to the ensuite bathroom. The space was enormous, all white marble and gleaming fixtures, with a massive soaking tub.
Wade set me down, moved to the tub, and turned on the tap. Water gushed out, steaming slightly, and he adjusted the temperature.
Then he opened one of the cabinets I'd barely explored and pulled out a small glass jar filled with what looked like pink and white crystals.
"What's that?" I asked, watching him measure out a generous amount and dust it into the filling tub.
"Menstrual bath salts," he answered matter-of-factly, swirling his hand in the water to dissolve them. The scent of lavender and something else, maybe chamomile, filled the steamy air.
“It helps with cramps and relaxation. I had Sylvia order them a while ago.”
I blinked at him. "You... you got me period supplies before I even got my period back?"
He glanced at me over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised. "Of course. I knew it would come back eventually once you were healthy and safe. I wanted to be prepared."
Something in me squeezed so tight it hurt.
Of course he'd thought of that. Of course he'd planned ahead, made sure I'd have what I needed before I even knew I'd need it.
He stood, wiping his wet hands on a towel, and came over to press a kiss to the top of my head, right on my curls that he loved so much.
"Finish stripping and get in," he murmured against my hair. "I'll be right back."
"Where are you going”?
"Right back," he repeated, already heading for the door. "Two minutes, darling."
Then he was gone, leaving me alone in the steamy bathroom with the tub filling and the scent of lavender wrapping around me like a hug.
I stood slowly, my legs still shaky from the orgasm, and peeled off my damp pink sun shirt, dropping it on the floor. Then I stepped carefully into the tub, hissing slightly at the heat before my body adjusted.
Oh, that was good.
The warm water immediately eased the cramping in my lower belly, and whatever was in those bath salts made everything feel softer. I sank down until the water covered my shoulders and let out a long, relieved sigh.
True to his word, Wade returned less than two minutes later carrying a glass of water and a small bottle of pills.
"Ibuprofen," he explained, shaking two tablets into his palm and offering them to me along with the water. "For your cramps."
I took them gratefully, swallowing them down, and handed the glass back.
He set it on the edge of the tub and crouched down beside me, his elbows resting on the marble ledge, his face level with mine.
"How do you feel?" he asked softly, reaching out to tuck a wet curl behind my ear.
"Better," I admitted. "The water helps."
"Good." His thumb stroked my cheekbone. "You need lots of rest on this first period of yours. Your body is doing something it hasn't done in years. It's going to be tired."
"I don't want to rest," I mumbled, even though exhaustion was already creeping in at the edges. "Papa's here and Sylvia’s got fish.”
“They'll be here when you wake up," Wade interrupted. "Your father understands. I'll go talk to him in a minute, explain that you're resting. He won't be upset."
He was right. I was tired, soul-tired from the event he’d just put me through.
"Okay," I whispered.
"Good girl." He kissed my forehead. "Take your time in here, soak as long as you need. When you're ready, I have fresh clothes laid out on the bed for you."
I nodded, already feeling my eyes growing heavy from the warmth and emotional weight of everything that had happened today.
He started to pull away, but I caught his hand before he could fully stand. His fingers immediately threaded through mine, holding on.
"Thank you," I whispered, not entirely sure what I was thanking him for. For the bath salts, for the medicine. For going down on me during my period. For loving me.
He crouched back down, bringing himself to eye level with me again, his hand coming up to cup my cheek.
"You never have to thank me for taking care of what's mine.” His thumb stroked along my cheekbone. "My wife will always be my first priority. In all things."
My heart stopped. "Your... what?"
A soft smile curved his lips, tender and full of promise. "My wife, Marie, because that's what you're going to be."
It wasn't a question. It wasn't even really a proposal. Just a simple statement of fact, delivered with the same confidence he brought to everything else.
Tears welled in my eyes again, happy ones this time, spilling over before I could stop them.
"Wade," I breathed.
"Soon, darling," he murmured, leaning in to kiss me softly, his lips warm against mine despite everything they'd just done. "Very soon. We'll make it official, but you've been mine since the moment you grabbed my suit jacket and asked me to help you."
My chest squeezed so tight I couldn't breathe. "I love you."
"I love you too." He kissed my forehead, then my nose, then my lips again. "More than I knew I could love anything. You healed me just as much as I helped heal you, you know that?"
He’d told me something like this before.
"You gave me purpose again," he continued. "Reminded me what it felt like to have something worth coming home to. Worth building a future for instead of just existing."
The tears were streaming down my face now, mixing with the steam, and I couldn't find words big enough for what I was feeling.
"So yes.” He pulled back to look into my eyes. "You're going to be my wife, Marie Easton, and I'm going to spend every single day making sure you never doubt how loved you are. How precious, how perfect."
"Even when I'm bleeding all over your office?" I asked, laughing through my tears.
"Especially then." His smile widened, playful now. "Though next time, I’d love to fuck you.”
"There's not going to be a next time," I said firmly. "That was insane."
"We'll see." He kissed me once more, then finally stood, still holding my hand. "Rest now, darling. Soak, heal, and when you're ready, I'll be right here.”
"You're not going back to work?"
"Work can wait." He squeezed my fingers. "My future wife needs me more."
And with that, he released my hand and settled himself on the floor right outside the tub, back against the marble, long legs stretched out, completely unbothered by the fact that he was sitting on a bathroom floor in his expensive clothes.
I stared at him for a long moment—this impossible, wonderful, insane man who'd just licked period blood off me and then proposed marriage in the same ten minutes.
I sank deeper into the scented water, my hand resting on my healing belly, and closed my eyes.
The cramps were fading, and my body was remembering how to function the way it should. My period had come back—proof that I was healthy, safe, and healing.
Papa was downstairs with Sylvia, probably getting to know each other better. Honey was somewhere nearby, likely sleeping on the warm sand, and Wade was right here, just an arm's reach away, exactly where he promised he'd be.
My daddy, my love, my soon-to-be husband.
I'd grabbed his suit jacket a month ago in a desperate bid for help, and somehow ended up with everything I'd never known I needed.
A home, safety, and love all wrapped up in the same future. Freedom in my ocean and peace in his arms.
I drifted off to sleep in the warm water with the sound of Wade's breathing nearby, and I knew I wasn't surviving anymore.
I was living, and it was more beautiful than anything I ever could have dreamed.