“Then make sure she understands you hold no threat.” I have no doubt she can hear the demand in my tone. It hurts so damn much to love Sara Jane as much as I do, but I will not lose again. “I believe my wife, and although I don’t know what has been going on, I will always believe her. In her. If you didn’t notice, I don’t do well without her.”
She comes closer, her hands reaching out. “You have so much potential, and you’re wasting it.” What the hell? She’s been high for how many years, and she thinks she has the right to say that to me?
“You don’t have a say in how I use or waste my potential.”
April’s smart enough to back away. I watch her as she goes to the stairs, the bright green fabric of her robe floating behind her. She stops at the top and says, “I was hoping our connection was more than our eye color, but you’re proving to be more like your father every day.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I smart back.
“Don’t.”
My eyes stay on her until she disappears from sight. I used to think the only good in me came from Madeline’s side, but now that I know more about that woman upstairs who gave birth to me, I’m fucked either way.
*
When I open the door to my quarters, I see Sara Jane and my body electrifies, my heart beats again, my breath speeds to catch up.
Firefly.
She’s here.
I ready for sleep in the bathroom, stripping my clothes off before tiptoeing into the bedroom. When I slip into bed, the warmth of hands so familiar press against my stomach, making my muscles twitch. The pressure is enough to rouse not just my brain but other parts of my body. It feels so good. She feels so good. I don’t want to wake her up because she needs her sleep, but I need her more. I whisper, “Are you awake?”
“Mmm. I’ve been waiting for you.” Her eyes open just for me. Her voice is dreamy despite her words. “Always waiting for you.”
Slinking down, I roll to my side to face her and touch her cheek. “I didn’t know you were here, or I would’ve come home sooner.”
“I was mad, but it will always pass.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Alexander?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you. Every side of you. I’ll take your good with your bad. I’ll take your sunshine and storms. I’ll take your misery and fill you with happiness. All I ask in return is that you love me deeply. Love me timelessly. Love me with your whole soul like I love you.”
I thought I carried the weight of the Kingwood empire on my shoulders, but it’s the weight of Sara Jane’s emotions that hold my heart. “I will.”
She smiles. “Then that’s enough.” Lifting up, she says, “Well, almost enough.” Straddling my thighs, her legs are bare, cotton underwear between them. She bends down and kisses my chest. “Six weeks is gonna be torture, but I made a call, and I hear four weeks is possible.”
My hips start to move as nails drag on the inside of my legs—higher and higher. Fuck. I grab my cock and begin to stroke, but I’m never gonna get there. “I want inside you, baby.”
“I want you too. So much.”
“That’s weeks from now.”
“It doesn’t matter. I want to make you feel good.”
When she begins to slide down, I capture her under her arms, and bring her up higher, closer to me. “I want you to lie down.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to. Making you feel good makes me feel good.”
Her eyes shine in the moonlight sneaking in from the windows. I see it—the truth she sees in my eyes shines in hers, and she lies down next to me.
I start slow, my finger running lightly over the top of her T-shirt. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” she rasps, her eyes on me.
Lifting the hem of her shirt, I kiss her belly and then gentler over the wound. Whispering, I ask, “How are you?” It’s a general question, but she understands me, like no other ever has before.
“Better with you. Healing. Go slow though, okay?”
I nod and then kiss lower and lower. Maneuvering between her legs, I kneel on the floor and pull her by the ankles to the end of the bed. I remove her underwear and hold them to my nose. Closing my eyes, I savor her return and inhale her sweet Sara Jane scent.
Her eyes shine with a need inside as her voice sweeps toward me. “What are you doing?” she asks.
“I missed you. God, I missed you.”
“I’m here now. Just reach out and touch me. I’m all yours. Always, Alexander.”
Tossing the panties to the floor, I spread her legs. Her words are heady, more so than any whiskey. With my hands on her hips, I speak to her through nips and licks before running the tip of my nose through her wet heat.
Intoxicating.
A fire burns inside. I want to take her, fuck her, own her body and her orgasm again, but I have to wait. I have to put her needs before mine. Pride is a fucker I intend to conquer. I won’t let it win. I’ll be here for her, just her, how she needs me to be.
My hips move to find relief against the mattress while I taste her. Licking through her desire—fuck if that doesn’t make me harder. My hair is tugged, and I look up. She says, “You need me. I can make you feel so good. Just let me.”
“But—”
“No buts.” She moves lower, causing me to sit up. “I want to do this.”
I stand and take her hands, bringing her to her feet in front of me. Weaving my fingers into the back of her hair, I hold her in place just so I can look into her eyes a few seconds longer. When her body eases against mine we move even closer. Her head drops to my chest and my hands rub her back. “You are beauty to me—hope and promises kept. You are everything.”
“You, Alexander, are every wish I ever made. You’re my dream come true. I love you so much that sometimes I wonder if I’ve loved you longer than this life.”
I’ll blame the whiskey for the pounding of my heart, the lump in my throat, and my words getting trapped in my chest. Fucking emotions. Two grown men can’t bring me down, but one petite angel levels my heart to the ground. “A love this extraordinary can’t be contained to one lifetime.”
I can’t live without her. I’ll do anything to hold on to this woman. And then she kneels before me, treating me like a king. With my cock in her hands, her eyes stay on mine when she takes me into her mouth to cleanse my soul with the purity that is Sara Jane.
Fuck. So fucking thankful.
27
Alexander
Sitting in the office with my feet kicked up on the windowsill, I watch the fog engulf the grounds as if the hounds of hell requested the coverage. My body is relaxed after reconnecting with Sara Jane and getting a few hours of sleep.
Since my mind is not at ease, I give my head a break after dealing with some emails, and open the blinds to watch the break of day. It’s too overcast for sunshine, but the sky lightens from deep blue to pale gray to gloom.
A soft rap on the door causes me to glance at the time. 6:47 a.m. “Come in.”
“I brought you some coffee and scrambled eggs.” The smile is heard in her voice before I even see Neely’s face.
“Bacon?” I ask, spinning around in my chair.
“Crispy, how you like it.”
I smile. “Thanks, Neely.”
“You’re welcome.”