Bring Me Back (17 page)

I watched as he passed our turn, and looked at him confused.  “Are we going somewhere else?”

“I told you I had a surprise.”  He said mischievously.  

“Umm, okay.”  I said nervously.  I didn’t know how comfortable I was without knowing where we were going.  I had spent the last few years knowing my surroundings at all times, and this whole night had been a little nerve racking.

Sensing my apprehension, Ian reached over and took my hand in his, bringing it up to his mouth and kissing my knuckles.  “Trust me, okay?”

I nodded.  I did trust him, more than anything or anyone.  We drove a couple more miles and then turned into a lot, filled with trees.

“What are we doing?” I gasped, feeling the excitement bubbling up.  Ian walked around the car and pulled me up into his arms. Pressing himself tightly against me, he leaned down and kissed me.  “We are getting our Christmas tree.”  He said, laughing at my reaction.

It had been so long since I had celebrated any holidays.  The idea of having my own tree sent elation through me.  I could hardly keep myself from jumping up and down as we walked around, sizing up the trees and looking for the perfect one.  When we finally found it, Ian paid for it and helped the man secure it to the top of his car. 

As we got on the road, I had a thought. “Ian, I don’t have any decorations or lights.” 

He winked at me, “My mom brought us some when she came today.”

I smiled.  “Just how much did your mom know about me before today?”  I asked raising my eyebrows.

“As much as I could tell my parents before I couldn’t stay away from you any longer.”   He chuckled.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.  I would never have expected this day to turn out like this when I woke up this morning.  I was happier than I’d ever been.

***

 I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew we were in front of my house.  “Come on, let’s get these groceries put away and then we can go lay down.  It’s been a long day.”  He said softly.

We worked side by side in silence as we moved around the kitchen, putting everything in its place.  “I’m going to go put the car away and get some clothes, okay?” 

“Okay.”  I said as I rearranged a few things in the pantry so I could fit everything in.  As soon as Ian shut the door, I took my bag from the hardware store into my back room.  I had gotten the last couple of things I needed to finish Ian’s Christmas gift, and I didn’t want him to see what was in the bag and ask questions.

By the time he had gotten back, I had everything put away and was exhausted.  He led me to the bedroom and helped me pull my sweater over my head.  I unhooked my bra and watched as his eyes lit up.  Instead of touching me, he gently lowered my nightgown over my head as I slipped off my pants.  I went into the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth and he soon joined me, dressed in a pair of pajama pants and nothing else.

We watched each other in the mirror, taking it all in.  Finally we both climbed under the sheets where Ian pulled me back against him and wrapped his arms around me.  “Anymore nightmares?”  He asked.  I shook my head.  “Not since before Thanksgiving.”  “I’m glad babe.” He said as he kissed my head.  “Goodnight Ally, I love you,” was the last thing I heard before I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

***

“Mmmmm.”  I moaned softly, feeling Ian’s hands slowly moving across my breasts, teasing my nipples to attention.  I turned over, looking at Ian’s attempt at an innocent face.  “Good morning Mr. Rhodes.”  I said, smiling up at him.  Leaning forward I kiss his neck, slowly moving my tongue up toward his ear and nip at his ear lobe as I make my way back across his chin until I reach his soft mouth.  Pressing a kiss onto his lips, I adjust myself so I am sitting astride him.  I can feel his bulge below me, pressing against our thin layers of clothing.

“Oh God Ally, I want you so bad.” 

“You have me Ian, I’m yours.”  I whispered as I reached down touching him. He groaned and flipped me over onto my back, reaching to the nightstand where he had left some foil packets.  He handed the condom to me and I carefully unrolled in down his length, watching as his eyes closed.  He positioned himself between my thighs and gave me the best wakeup call of my life.

***

“Where do you want this? “  Ian asked as he tried to peek through the branches of the tree.

 “Umm, I’m not sure.”  I looked around the room holding the tree stand, trying to decide where it would look the best.

“Ally…Could you please make a decision soon or you are going to have to drag me out from under this tree.” He groaned from behind the tree.

“Oh! I’m sorry, over here is good.”  I set the stand down in front of the big window, but far enough away from the fireplace.

I watched as Ian secured the tree to the stand and stood back to make sure it was straight.  When he was happy with it he turned and grinned at me.  I couldn’t help but grin back.  We were like two kids in a candy store, the excitement was palpable.

I made hot chocolate as Ian strung the lights around the tree.  When he was finished, he pulled out several boxes that his mom had brought down to him yesterday.  We worked together, placing ornaments all over our tree, sipping hot chocolate and giggling as we brushed up against each other.  By the time we finished, the tree was fabulous!  “I love it!”  I breathed.  I had forgotten how much I loved Christmas.  Ian came to stand beside me, and put his arm around me.  “We’re good together, huh?”  He leaned down to kiss me. 

***

Ian went home for a few hours to finish up some work and that gave me a chance to work on his gift.  I was just putting the finishing touches on it when he came back.  I heard the doorknob rattle.
Thank God I locked it.
I thought as I finished wrapping it. “Ally?”  I heard his voice through the door.  “I’m in here Ian, I’m finishing up something, and I’ll be right out.”  I hollered.

This was my big gift for him.  I had bought him several little things over the internet a few weeks ago, but this was something that was from my heart. 
I hope he likes it as much as I do.  
I thought.

I opened the door and found him in the kitchen.  I had wrapped the little gifts and set them under the tree right after he’d left, and I was surprised to see at least five more wrapped gifts under it.  “Wow, looks like the elves have been busy!”  I said as I threw my harms around his neck.

“I thought I would throw together some chili and we could build a fire and snuggle tonight—sound okay?” 

“Perfect!” I started to brown the meat while Ian built a fire.  By the time both were done, he came back to the kitchen and dismissed me, forcing me to sit on the couch with a glass of wine. 
He was so demanding
!

After dinner, we cleaned up and did some of the prep work for our Christmas dinner tomorrow.  We decided to have prime rib, oven potatoes, a fresh salad and of course, pecan pie! 

Finally Ian guided me to the couch and pulled me down along side of him.  We snuggled and talked.

“Ally, do you want to go to college?”  He asked as he traced circles on my arm.

“I don’t know.  Until just recently, I never left my house, so it would’ve been hard.”  I smiled at him.

“You really have a talent with your art.  Maybe you could get them in a bigger gallery?”

“Maybe.”  I said, lost in thought.

Ian was quiet for a few minutes, and I could tell he was lost in thought. “Are you okay?”  I asked, tilting my head slightly so I could see him better.

“Ally, you know I love you right?”
Uh oh, where was he going with this.
I nodded.  “Well, I want you to have everything you’ve ever dreamed of.  I want you to know that if it is college or something else, I can afford to help you with it.”

I wasn’t expecting that.  I sat up and turned to face him. “Ian, I love you so much!  That truly means the world to me to hear you say that.  All I know right now is that I already have everything I’ve ever dreamed of right in front of me.”  I sighed and looked down for a moment before saying what I needed to.  “Ian, I have money.  My parents were covered with life insurance, but it just seems wrong that I am living off of something that required them to die in order for me to have, you know?”

“I’m sorry baby.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “I didn’t know your parents, but if they were anything like you Ally, they wouldn’t want you to feel that way.  I know you would give anything to have them back, but I’m sure they probably viewed their life insurance as a source of comfort, knowing that if anything happened to them, you would be taken care of.”

“I guess I never really thought of it like that.”  I said, leaning back against him.    

We sat there until close to midnight, cuddling and watching Christmas movies until we were having trouble keeping our eyes open.   “Come on babe, let’s go to bed, tomorrows a big day!”  I was so excited to celebrate Christmas again.  As I climbed into bed and curled up against Ian, I thought about how much I had missed over the past few years, and how much I loved him for finding a way to bring me back from that.

Chapter 39

~Ian

“Merry Christmas baby.”  I whispered as Ally stirred next to me.  “Merry Christmas to you too.”  She said as she opened her eyes.  “Should we go take a shower and grab some breakfast before opening presents?”  She asked, her eyes full of excitement.

“Come on, that sounds perfect.” I took her hand and led her into the bathroom.

***

I couldn’t stop laughing at her.  She was practically squirming in her seat waiting for me to finish my cinnamon roll. “Come on!  You are enjoying that roll
way
too much!”  She pouted, which made me laugh even harder.  I couldn’t do this to her anymore, so I put the roll down and smiled. “Come on.”  I said standing. She jumped up so quickly that I thought she was going to knock the table over.

“Jeez Ally!  You’re worse than a kid!” I said as I followed her to the living room and sat down on the floor next to the tree.

Ally handed me a box, “You first!” 

“Wow, night vision glasses?”  I asked confused.

“Now you can run at night with me.” She giggled.

“You’re silly!”  I said as I gave her a kiss.  “Thank you.  Your turn.”  I handed her a flat box.

“Oh Ian, its perfect!”  She squealed, holding up a pink and black running outfit.

“Here.” She said, handing me another box, biting her lip.