Eternally North (25 page)

He beamed a Hollywood
smile and kissed my collar bone. “I am yours too, you know.
Completely and absolutely exclusively,” he said, causing me to
plant a huge wet smacker of a kiss on his inviting mouth.

With that, we picked up
where we left off, cementing our new-found relationship, exploring
each other’s bodies until we were so exhausted we fell back to the
pillows and dozed off into a comfortable sleep, happily intertwined.

I'm in a freaking
relationship with Tudor North!!!

I woke up to the
heavenly feel of kisses down my spine.

It was a new and
unexpected feeling of being treasured, and not being covered with a
quilt during sex because my partner found looking at me offensive.
For three years, I classed it as a special treat if Nathan actually
fully removed his trousers before flip-flopping on top of me like a
seal for his personal best of two minutes –
Ar-Ar!

With Tudor, it was all
different… it was nice, loving, attentive, everything I could want.

"Mmm... I could
get used to this." I closed my eyes and enjoyed the loving
caresses ghosting along my skin.

"How are you
feeling, gorgeous?"

I smiled at the
endearment. I rolled over, pulling him to lie down beside me. I took
his hand.

"How am I feeling?
Wow. Where do I start? Well, I can't actually believe that you're
here with me, like this... finally! I can't believe that you, Tudor
North, want
me
, Natasha Munro from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. And
what I absolutely cannot believe... is how big you are in the
downstairs department!" I nudged him with my arm, chuckling.

He moved in for a kiss,
and my heart fluttered faster than a hummingbird's wings.

"How are
you
feeling?" I asked in return.

He lifted a strand of
my hair to tease between his fingers. "How am I feeling? Well,
where do
I
start? I can't believe
you're
here with me…
finally!
I can't believe that you want me, Tudor North from
Victoria, British Columbia,
especially
after how I’ve acted
towards you over the last couple of months. I really don’t deserve
a second, no, third chance. But mostly I can't believe that I'm gonna
have to deal with one of Tink's freakin’ lectures when we tell him
we’re together!" He tickled my ribs making me giggle.

Together. One word
that evokes so much joy and happiness.

He raised himself above
me, laying his hand over my heart, (which was dangerously close to my
left breast) all playfulness on pause. "I'm gonna make you
happy, Tash, I promise. No more fuck-ups."

I nodded, placing my
hand above his heart too (dangerously close to his pec). "I'm
going to make you happy too, Tude.
I
promise."

He grinned and meshed
our mouths together, sealing the vow with a kiss.

I patted his arms. "So,
now that we've stopped playing with each other’s tits, I need a
shower. I'm a little bit of a mess."

He pulled his lop-sided
smirk. "Can I join you?"

Now that sounds
tempting!

"I have a better
idea," I announced as he peppered me with kisses all over my
face.

"I'm all ears."
He’s all muscles!

"Tink invested in
a hot tub when we moved in, it’s on the deck. We could take
advantage of that if you’d like?"

He nodded
enthusiastically. "Only if the taking advantage would be me of
you."

I guffawed. "You
only have to look at me to get me to do your bidding, Mr. North,
and
you know it. That, or flash a piece of that panty-wetting tattoo."

He shook his head at my
vulgarity, but then acknowledged my confession with a smirk. "Duly
noted."

"Okay, let me up.
I'll shower quickly and meet you out there. I think there's some
prosecco in the fridge."

I moved swiftly out of
the bed, purposely sashaying my apple-round arse to the bathroom. I
knew I'd been successful in my seductive parade when I heard Tudor
let out a low moan.

Take that Jessica
Fucking Rabbit!

I loved that I had that
effect on him, he made me love myself in a way I could never have
done before.

Just as I was heading
through the en-suite door, Tudor called out, "Tash!"

I popped my head around
the door. "Yeah, hun?"

He lifted up his upper
body, braced upon his elbows, his abs protruding from his stomach.
"Don't bother putting on a swim suit. I want you ready and
naked, no barriers between us. Yes?"

I nodded in submission
and shut the door, bracing myself on the sink and looking at my
wanton reflection pulling a smug smile.

Well Tash, better get chugging on
gallons of cranberry juice and accept that you’ll be walking like
John Wayne for next few days!

Once I had showered, I
headed out to the deck. Slow music was serenading through the
speakers, and Tudor was in the Jacuzzi, head back and lapping up the
heat.

I slid in next to him,
causing him to stir and hiss through teeth. "I approve of the
attire."
Or lack thereof!

He handed me a glass of
bubbly, and we clinked our glasses with an obligatory 'cheers'.

He didn’t meet my
eyes. “
Tudor!
”

He jerked at my shriek
and spilt his drink in the water. He looked completely on edge.
“What?”

I shook my head in
anger. “You didn’t meet my eyes! Bloody hell, it must be the only
time since I’ve met you that you haven’t bored holes into these
peepers!”

He started laughing. “I
love looking into your big chocolate eyes, but why are you getting
all worked up about it now?”

I let out a frustrated
‘
Argh!
’ “Because, if you don’t make eye contact when
you toast then you get seven years bad sex,” I nodded with wide
eyes and pursed lips, conveying the seriousness of the situation.

Tudor lunged for the
bottle of prosecco, filling our glasses to the rim. “Quick, quick,
Sunshine, look deep into my eyes… not around them but right at
them. You ready...?
Cheers
.”

I giggled, clinking my
glass against his. “Cheers.”

I moved to sit opposite
him and placed down my glass, still euphoric at our newly-expressed
relationship status and how relaxed he seemed to be in my presence.

Tudor set down his
drink, standing slightly so I could catch a glimpse of the left,
tattoo-laden cheek of his arse. He sat back down, and his arms
dropped under the bubbling water, where I felt fingers grip my feet
and move upwards as he grasped my ankles, making me yelp, pulling me
forward through the water until I was situated on his lap. "There,
that's better." He seemed very pleased with himself.

My eyes pulled tightly
into a squint, trying to expel the water. "You could have just
asked me to come over to you. You didn't have to dunk me." I
scolded.

He intertwined his
fingers around my back and answered, "Now where's the fun in
that? Now come here, I've missed your lips. And I want to cash in on
our seven years of good sex."

I leaned in close,
nipping his mouth before allowing him to engulf me. After several
heated minutes, I pulled back and stroked his shaved head. "Tudor?”

He smiled in suspicion.
“Yes?”

“Since we met, I’ve
had these feelings for you, and now, well, I feel a lot more. Having
you here, with me, is just..." I stared off towards the sky
unable to finish that sentence.

He smiled and kissed
the back of my hand. "Me too, gorgeous."

I didn’t look his
way, causing him to pull a frown. He put his finger on my chin,
forcing me to meet his gaze. "What is it?"

"Well, we have
slept together a couple of times now–”

“And will do so
again,
soon
,” he interrupted.

I play-punched his arm.
“…
and
agreed to be exclusive. But I feel I don't know
anything about you really. How bad is that? I'm acting like a right
slut!" I pressed my head down on his shoulder, and banged it
repeatedly, groaning, “My father would kill me!” like a mantra.

I heard chuckling
beneath me. "I for one am glad you are slutty with me, only me,
and you're mighty good at it too. But I disagree on you not knowing
me. I am more myself with you than I am with my own family. You make
me happy, something I haven’t been in such a long time. You make
everything better. You make me a better man. Does that sound a bit
cheesy?”

I shook my head and
hugged him hard as I batted my lashes, acting coy.

He grinned at my
playful antics. “And as for not knowing the details, here's your
chance."

I raised my head so
quickly that I almost got whiplash. "Really?"

"Really," he
affirmed.

"Okay. Mmm...
let’s start easy. Favourite colour?"

"Blue. Yours?"

"Pink. Favourite
movie?"

"
Spartacus
.
Yours?"

"
The Breakfast
Club
. Favourite food?"

"Pizza. Yours?"

"Same, or fish and
chips, or a Sunday roast, or pancakes – bugger it, I have a long
list!"

He laughed at me and
announced that it was his turn. "Biggest turn-on in a man?"

"Monogamy,
muscles, shaved heads and tattoos." He smiled and punched a
celebratory fist in the air.

I ignored it, "You?"

"Mmm, let me
think. I suppose a five o'clock shadow and a defined chest?"

I tweaked one of his
nipples.

“Hey!” he mock
cried.

"In a woman, you
twat!"

"
Oh
, okay,
I get it! A good sense of humour, curves, brown hair, brown eyes
and... 100% trust,"

Yeah for me!

He regarded me
intensely. "How many sexual partners have you had?"

"Four, including
you. You, Mr. North?" I asked, my heart picking up speed as I
awaited his response.

He winced. "More."

"Not good enough.
I want numbers!"
No you don’t, Tash, why have you asked
this question?

He lowered his head.
"I'm ashamed to say I don't know. I’m thirty-one. I’ve had
two semi-serious relationships, if you can call them that and...
considerably more one-night stands. We're not talking hundreds here,
but there have been more than is deemed acceptable from someone of my
age, put it that way."

I huffed at the fact he
wouldn't confess more than this little titbit of information. I
folded my arms. "That's all you’re saying?"

Considerably more
one night stands? Great!

He nodded sternly, and
then shook his head. “Actually, there is one thing.”

I glared back moodily,
arms still crossed across my chest. That worked against me, I
shouldn’t have pushed the girls in his face. He groaned and had to
struggle to tear his lusty gaze away from the view.

He took my face in his
large hands. “You’re number one, you’re it.
Easily
the
best sex of my life, and I want you for more than just one night.
I’ll take you forever if you’ll have me. With you everything is
just… different… it’s just… beyond anything I could have ever
imagined,” he whispered swallowing the heart-felt words that
hitched in his throat.

I tried to stay in a
mood but his words melted my anger, and I moved to kiss his nose.
“What’s with all of the tattoos?” I asked while I licked the
end of the tribal swirl on his lower neck.

He moved his head
further to the side to let me explore. “My good buddy back in
Vancouver is an artist and I asked for something one day, I let him
decide. After my arm, I kinda got addicted and we kept going. He used
me as a showcase for his work. Most people don’t like it, think
it’s too much, but I’m happy with it. Tattoo’s are art to me.”

I smiled. “I bloody
love it! It’s like you’re all my favourite things put on Earth to
tempt me, especially the tats, they’re my weakness. But why the
left-hand side?”

“It’s the side of
the heart, the soul. It sounds stupid, but for me it was a spiritual
experience, helped me rid myself of some demons I’d been carrying;
they remind me that I’m strong. The left-hand side is purely for
me. The right, I’ve been saving for someone special, a blank canvas
just for them.”

I wasn’t expecting
that level of admission. I loved how he was always able to surprise
me.

"
Okay
, next
question,” he moved the conversation on swiftly before I got a
chance to find out about those pesky demons and that someone-special
tattoo plan.

“Are you close to
your family?" he asked.

"Extremely. You?"

"Very."

"Can I ask a
personal question?"

He nodded.

"Obviously I’ve
met your mother and siblings, but where's your dad?"

Tudor tensed as rigid
as a board underneath me, digging his fingers into my hips.

I shifted at the
feeling. “Ow!”

He dropped his hands
into the safety of the water. "Shit, sorry, Tash. Look, he's not
in my life."

I stroked his chest and
peered up, he was now staring at the stars. "Why?" I
pushed.

He dropped his gaze to
me looking slightly pissed off. "Tash, he's just not. Leave it
there. I can’t talk about it."

I stopped stroking his
arm and withdrew from his lap like a scolded dog. He caught me before
I could scurry too far away and brought me back to his chest,
controlling his breathing, mouth sucking droplets of water off my
skin. "Sunshine, I'm sorry, forgive me. I... I just can't talk
about
him
. Please just understand that that topic is a no go
area for me."

I sighed and accepting
his apology. Hopefully in time he would tell me more about it, open
up.

"Okay, my turn,"
I announced. He visibly relaxed knowing I was respecting his wishes.
"What's your favourite song?"