It takes me a few seconds before I can will my dick to calm down, and then I walk over towards her. I bend down and kiss her deeply before pulling my chair closer to her. We eat in a comfortable silence, both of us just happy enough to be together right now. I know why I have been so anxious; I needed to see for myself that she was really okay. Even if she doesn’t speak the words, I know that she’s here because after that talk with Greg she needed me, and damn if that doesn’t feel fucking great.
It really brings it all home, just how far we’ve come. Before she would keep shutting me out and would never allow me to think that she needed me. Now… now she doesn’t even have to think about it. She needed me, so she came and got me.
“Where’s Greg?” It’s driving me nuts not knowing how things went, but I don’t want to push her to talk about it unless she wants to. Mainly, I just want to make sure that she really is okay.
“He’s eating in the conference room with Axel. I brought Maddox, Chelcie, and Sway their food before I took the little happy trail of joy to get in here. I swear, I don’t know why you guys let Sway leave that on the sidewalks.”
She laughs and I shake my head, remembering when Sway spent two whole days painting the sidewalk in front of the business strip gold… with glitter speckled all over the place. We all gave him a hard time about it, but he’s got a point. There isn’t anyone around that can walk on that ridiculous paint without a smile.
“Anyway, dropped Emmy’s off with her, but she was on the phone when I came in, so I’ll go catch up when we finish our little lunch date.” She turns back to her food, takes a few bites before closing up what’s left, and walking over to the fridge in my office to save the rest.
I toss the empty containers from my meal in the trashcan and pull her into my lap when she walks back over to take her chair. She giggles and wraps her arms around my neck.
“Hey,” she whispers against my lips.
“Hey.” I almost don’t get the word out before her lips crush against mine. She takes my mouth in a rough kiss that shows me just how desperate she had been to get here. I answer every move she makes. Our tongues dance together, and it doesn’t take long before her kiss starts to turn more heated.
I pull back and give her a minute. Her eyes are still closed and her breath comes in quick bursts against my face. She takes a few beats before her lips curl into a beautiful smile. It feels like I’ve been handed the whole world in my hands when she gives me that smile. It’s the one I’ve been craving for so long. There’s nothing fake or forced about it. When she opens her eyes, the blinding joy that is like a blazing fire inside her, spills out. I give her a smile in return, and let the rest of the stress and worry from the day just pour off of me.
She lays her head against my shoulder and shifts so she’s more comfortable in my lap. I keep one arm around her back to support her body but take her small hands and wrap mine around them, rubbing her silky skin with my fingers.
“Things went well today.”
I nod my head and give her the space she needs to keep talking.
“He took it about as hard as I thought he would but in the end you’re right. He needed to know, and I feel so much… more free.” She laughs and the sound wraps around me. I close my eyes and savor this moment between us.
“He’s going to be okay. I know this isn’t something that he’ll just snap and be over, but he has Melissa and Cohen to help him get through it.” She leans up, pulls her hands free, and frames my face. Her thumbs rub the stubble of my day’s worth of beard a few times before she brings her mouth to mine, giving me a small kiss before pulling away. “And I have you.”
She smiles, and right there I can see it. She’s moved on and is finally letting every, single, last one of those things that has been hurting her go. Like a sea of balloons being released into the sky, you can almost physically see her letting it all go.
“Always.”
If possible, her smile gets even bigger before she lays her head back down and pushes her arms around my chest. With our hearts beating together, and a peace like I haven’t known in a long time settling around us, I just enjoy this moment.
Greg walks by my office door, and I turn my head to see what he needs. He nods his head and gives me a look that confirms what Dee just said. He’s okay, but he’s going to need a little while before he can move on from what he now knows isn’t what he thought. He stands there for a few minutes and keeps his eyes on Dee’s back. I can’t tell what’s running through his mind, but then he silently looks back up and offers me one hell of a look. He’s got his approval, acceptance, and happiness that Dee is in good hands. That right there is the look of the man who has accepted responsibility for Dee as if she were his own blood relation, letting go and allowing me to take over that honor.