Healed (31 page)

“I can’t live without you either.”

I snuggled into his embrace and for a few moments we sat in silence, enjoying the comfort of each other’s arms. Something that had been missing for entirely too long. Then a thought occurred to me.

“What about your dad?”

By then we’d snuggled closer on the bed, his fingers rubbing across where my engagement ring used to sit. “I don’t know. He’s the only parent I have left, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I think it’s going to need to be one day at a time. We’ll see how it goes.”

“At least he tried to make it right.”

We were sat in silence for the first time in at least an hour, when Andrew lifted my left hand to his mouth to kiss my ring finger. “I think seeing this finger empty hurts almost as bad as seeing you cry.”

“I couldn’t,” I whispered. “After I got your note, I just didn’t have it in me to look at it anymore.”

“I hope one day you’ll let me put it back on your finger.”

It hurt to know that wasn’t a possibility right then, but I knew we needed to take it slow. “I know, but I need time. Before I put myself all the way out there, I need to have faith that you’re going to stay—even when things get rough.”

“I’m going to spend every day proving that to you. We can go slow, whatever pace you want. I’m just thanking God you are giving me the chance.”

“I love you, Andrew. I can’t
not
give you a chance.”

We talked a little more before we both fell asleep. It felt good to be in his arms again.

That night I slept better than I had in months.

Andrew kept his promise about taking it slow. For the first week or so, he stayed in his apartment. It was like we were dating again. He would bring me flowers after work and take me different places. By then, I wanted him sleeping next to me every night. His slow was a little too slow for my taste. Once he moved back in things seemed to move a bit faster, but we still hadn’t slept together. This time it wasn’t me. After a seven-month dry spell I was more than ready, but something was holding him back. When we got to the end of the month it was almost like the last seven months were just a bad dream. Even though the sex wasn’t there, we had plenty of fun playing around.

One night I got a call from Andrew at work, telling me he had to work late to finish a project. I told him not to worry, and that Nick and I would grab something for dinner. It wasn’t a problem—it was reality. We both had jobs and even though I wanted to spend time with him, there were going to be days where one or both of us worked late.

Driving home I was a little disappointed, especially when I pulled up and Nick’s car wasn’t in the lot either. I walked up to the apartment door, trying to figure out what to do for dinner. Mindlessly, I slipped the key into the lock and opened door.

The room was illuminated by hundreds of little tea light candles, and a path of rose petals on the floor led me down the entryway to the living room. There stood Andrew, wearing a tux, surrounded by even more candles. The moment I stepped into the room he dropped to one knee, and I knew exactly what he was doing.

Before taking one step toward him, I searched within myself. Was I ready to trust him whole-heartedly again? The answer was as clear as the sky outside. On shaking legs I walked over to stand in front of him.

“I know I’ve made mistakes and caused you unbelievable pain in the past, but know that I’ve healed myself. And now it’s time for me to heal you. I’m not sure how good of a job I’m doing, but what I
do
know is that I love you with all my heart. You are my other half, the woman who completes me. All of those memories I was so afraid of I would love the chance to start making them with you. The memories aren’t scary—they’re what we draw upon when we need comfort. Emily Halliday, will you start making those memories with me again and be my wife?”

“I will.”

And just like the first time he asked me, I launched myself into his arms.

This time it was me who kissed him. His lips were soft and wet. My favorite flavor would always be Andrew. He sucked on my bottom lip, begging for entrance, something that I wasn’t going to deny. The dance of our tongues quickly turned erotic, the tingling feeling racing through my body making me want so much more. Andrew slowly pulled back from the kiss, beaming, and placed my ring back on my finger. Unable to deny my need for him any longer, I reached up and started unbuttoning his shirt.

“Although you look extremely sexy in this tux, right now I’d rather see it on our bedroom floor.”

And with that, he wasted no time scooping me up into his arms and carrying me to our room.

Andrew

THE FEEL OF HER
against my body as I let her feet slide to the floor set me on fire. Not wanting to rush her, I’d kept my dick to myself, but it didn’t matter anymore. We’d finally gotten to where we left off, and my body couldn’t be denied any longer.

Her breath was warm against my chest, even through the fabric of my shirt. In the blink of an eye, Emily’s hands were reaching for the buttons of my jacket. There was a slight tremble as she undid each button. While my cock was hard as a rock, her nerves were making me start to freak-out. When she finished the last button, she slid her hands up my chest and down my arms removing the jacket and reaching for the buttons of my shirt, undoing them with a fervor that let me know she wanted this as much as I did. For as nervous as she was, she did quite well with them, my body waiting in anticipation of the soft feel of her fingers against my skin. Once again I lowered my lips to hers, needing to taste her. She was like vanilla and jasmine. It was a good thing I’d chosen a clip-on tie because once she steadied her nerves, she had the shirt and tie off in record time, her small hands brushing along my sensitive nipples.

I stepped back out of her reach.

“Take off your clothes, Emily.”

Her eyes flashed for a moment, before she reached down and slowly unzipped her skirt, letting it drop to the floor. Her hips twisted from side to side, swaying her sexy body in the most teasing of moves. If she was going to give me a show then I was going to enjoy it. Undoing my belt, I dropped my pants around my legs and kicked off my shoes to get them off the rest of the way. The whole time Emily was removing her clothing slowly piece by piece.

Without taking my eyes off her, I lay down on the bed and wrapped my hand around my dick, giving it a few quick strokes. Emily moaned, her chest starting to rise and fall even quicker. Forgetting the strip show, she ripped off her shirt and bra. She crawled up onto the bed, her body sliding along my chest, her fingers immediately finding the phoenix tattoo on my arm. The one I’d gotten for her. It reminded me every day that pain could be healed and we could live again.

Wanting to taste her, I rolled her to her back and began licking my way down her chest with the tip of my tongue. I stopped to swirl one nipple and then the other, never staying long enough to do anything but start her journey to the edge. Her skin was smooth and tasted like honey and it was getting hard to ignore my throbbing dick so I wasted no time reaching her core. With a quick lick through her lips, she whimpered.

“More.”

One word. One word was all it took to break me. I let the flat part of my tongue glide up her, making sure the tip of my tongue ring hit her clit as her back arched off the bed.

“Oh God, do that again.”

When I did it a second time she tried to raise her hips to meet my face, but using my hands, I held her hips to the bed and continued the torture.

“I knew when you got that piercing it was going to be sexy someday.”

“I’m glad you approve.”

With my dick so hard it hurt, I realized that not only was I torturing Emily but I was torturing myself too. Knowing every spot she liked to be touched, I used my tongue and barbell to bring her crashing over in minutes, all the while still holding her hips to the bed.

She was still panting for breath when I rolled so that she was sitting on top of me.

“Ride me, baby.”

She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down into it with her teeth. Slinking forward, she moved up until her face hovered over mine, sliding her hand down my body until she firmly wrapped it around my aching cock with the lightest of touches. I felt her heat as she positioned me at her entrance to her body and slowly dropped down onto me, taking all of me into her at once.

The feeling was exquisite, her channel tight and warm, holding me tightly in her body with the aftershocks of her orgasm. And that was all before she began to move. Once she did, all coherent thought left my mind. The combination of feeling her around me, and her lovely body riding me harder than I could ever remember, sent my sex-starved body to the brink much faster then I wanted it to.

“Shit,” I groaned. “I don’t want it to end yet.”

Emily leaned down and kissed me. “Don’t worry. We can do it again later. Let go.”

It was all too much. Thrusting hard into her, I came so hard I saw stars. With no energy left, Emily collapsed on top of me, panting from the exertion.

When she caught her breath she slowly lifted her body from mine and lay down next to me, resting her head on my shoulder.

“I’m sorry everything happened so fast.”

She scoffed. “I’m not. If you hadn’t made a move soon, I was going to jump you—and things probably would have been over
much
quicker. You aren’t planning on getting rid of the tongue piercing now, are you?”

I laughed. “You like it that much?”

It was fun watching her face turn a light shade of pink. “Yes.”

“Good, because I have no intention of getting rid of it. I told you it was something I always wanted to do and I haven’t regretted it since.”

We lay there, too spent too move, and Emily’s fingers tracing lazy shapes onto my chest.

“Andrew?”

“Yes, love?”

“I don’t want to wait long to get married. It feels like we’ve already waited forever.”

“Then we won’t wait. I’ll marry you tomorrow if you want.”

“Not tomorrow. That’s too soon.”

“Pick a day, any day. I’ll be there.”

In the end, Emily decided that three months was enough time to put together a wedding and with everyone’s help, she was able to pull it off. The fact that neither of us wanted a huge wedding made everything a little bit easier.

We offered to move out and leave Nick with the apartment, but he decided to move out on his own. He knew there were a ton of memories there for us and he wanted us to stay. It was weird not having him around all the time, but he spent a lot of time at our place anyway.

Waiting in the room of the chapel, I was starting to freak-out. The clang of metal against teeth was loud in the quiet room.

“Would you stop playing with that thing,” Nick complained. “The sound is making me crazy.

“I can’t help it. I’m nervous as hell.”

“Why? Caleb managed to survive, and Josh’s is less than a year away.”

“Because Emily is her own person, and I fucked up so bad I’m surprised she even agreed to do this.”

He came over to stand in front of me. “I told you, she loves you.”

“I know she does.”

“And because of that she was willing to forgive you. Recognize it as the gift it is and stop questioning it.”

“When did you get so philosophical?”

“When all of my friends are out of their fucking minds, one of us has to be rational.”

There was a knock on the door.

“It’s time,” Dad said when he peeked around the door.

We’d repaired our relationship, but it had taken some time. Emily forgave him long before I did. It hurt to think of all I could have lost. But then I remembered all that my dad had been through, and the fact that he would never get the chance to hold Mom again. It made talking easier, which brought us back to our normal relationship.

Everyone filed out. When Caleb walked past he stopped. “You’ll feel better when you see her walk down that aisle. Trust me.”

I nodded, not sure I could speak past the knot in my throat. It was the day I would tie Emily to me forever. Taking a deep breath I walked out in front of the church. The music started almost immediately, and I let my eyes roam to the front pew where my dad sat with my sister. Emily had asked her to be in the wedding party but she’d declined, saying that someone needed to sit with my dad. It had been a good decision because while the day was full of happiness, there was also a piece missing and it pained me to know that Mom would miss me marrying the love of my life. The only comfort I had was how much she’d loved Emily, right from the start.