“After I walked in on them, Jake chased me and when I told him I was pregnant he freaked. He accused me of cheating and ended up pushing me down the stairs. He then started kicking me and soon after that I blacked out. I lost the baby that night and spent three days in hospital recovering from other injuries caused by the fall.”
I rock her back and forth, hoping to calm the storm inside her heart and soul the way she calms mine. I find myself wanting to be everything I can possibly be for this girl. Despite the initial shock, all of this information explains more to me than I thought possible. The connection I feel pulsing between us has been fortified. We are two broken souls seeking solace in each other, the desire to make the other whole again.
She opens her mouth but hesitates.
“What else?” I ask. “I can see there is something else you need to say.”
I hear her swallow. Surely there can’t be something worse than what she just told me?
“The day I got out of the hospital, I found my mom’s body. I walked into the house and found her body in the kitchen. The back of her head was smashed in and according to the medical examiner there were thirty seven lacerations on her chest and stomach. When –“
“Stop. You don’t have to tell me any more.”
She moves, trying to untangle herself from me. “What are you doing?”
“This is what I prepared myself for. You know all about my past and I knew you would leave me after you realized what I mess I really am.”
I blink twice, momentarily struck speechless by her assumption. Its’ difficult not be angered by it, especially when leaving her is the last thing on my mind.
“Did you honestly think I would leave you after you told me all that?”
“Yes,” she whispers, “How can you love someone who isn’t whole?”
I close the distance between us in two long strides. She doesn’t back away from me when I get in her face. I wish it was possible to show her what she looks like through my eyes. I want her to see the incredible, beautiful and strong Huntley that I am in awe of every day. I need her to know that…
“I’m in love with you,” I blurt out.
Her eyes widen and brim with tears. “What?”
I cup her face and look into her eyes. “I’m in love with you Huntley.”
“You can’t be Gray. How can you love something that is broken?”
“You are so determined to hide your broken soul that you don’t see how beautiful those pieces make you. You have completely disarmed me Huntley, you have left my heart and soul naked and all I want is for you to see that I am in love with every goddamn broken piece of you. I don’t want anyone else.”
She shakes her head and I wipe away her tears with my thumbs.
“I’m in love with you too,” she cries, “And it terrifies me.”
“This terrifies me too baby, but I need you to let me in. Let me see beneath your beautiful.”
I press my lips to hers. Her arms slide around my neck and I pull her into me until there is nothing but our clothes separating us. I lift her up and her legs tighten around my waist. I move until my knees hit the bed and I lay her down gently.
I hover above her for a brief moment before trailing butterfly kisses down her neck. Her mouth is close to my ear and her warm breath causes a shiver to course its way through my body.
“Grayson,” her voice is soft and vulnerable. “Make love to me.”
I swallow hard. I’ve never really made love before, not the way I want to with Huntley. After this, everything between us will change. I need to share my secrets with her, to trust her the way she has chosen to trust me. But now’s not the time. This is about showing her how I feel.
Huntley sits up and I pull her top over her head. I do the same with mine before joining her on the bed. I kiss her, tracing my tongue on her top lip, begging for entrance. Our tongues meet in a sacred ritual of song and dance and the fire between us ignites.
We undress each other slowly, savoring the intimacy and openness we share. When we’re both naked and shivering in anticipation, our eyes meet and it’s the perfect moment to bare it all. “I love you,” I say, feeling the irrevocable conviction of my confession. The emotions running through me are unbearable and I feel tears sliding down my face.
“I love you too.”
Our lips meet again and our tears mix as our bodies become one. I slide into her heat and we both groan. I lay still, wrapped in her warmth in every way possible, feeling our joined hearts beat in perfect unison. I start moving, sliding out and teasing Huntleys’ entrance with the tip of my cock. I’m torturing both of us but I want to savor her and worship every inch of her body until neither of us can handle it any longer.
“Gray,” she breathes, “Please.”