The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed (34 page)

You have no idea.
“Yes.”

“
Good. I’ll fix a plate
for you. Have a seat.”

“
Yes ma’am,” he said,
watching her take plates from the cabinet.

Sherita quickly returned to
the table with two plates of food before grabbing two bottles of
water from the refrigerator. “Would you like a glass of
ice?”

He heard her question, but
was so enthralled by her beauty, he seemed to have lost the ability
to speak for a moment.

“
Desmond?”

“
Yes?”

“
Do you want a glass of
ice?”

I want you.
“Yes. I’ll take some ice,” he answered. He would
need some extra cold water to calm the flames in his
heart.

Sherita grabbed a glass,
filled it with ice then set it next to his plate.

“
Thank you,” he told
her.

“
You’re
welcome.”

Desmond went for the
macaroni and cheese first. He dug out a healthy spoonful of it,
watching strings of cheese stretch from his plate to his spoon. And
when he tasted it, moans left his throat. He followed with a bite
of ham, enjoying the tangy taste of the pineapple she’d baked with
it. Not only was she a beauty – she could cook.

“
How is it?” she
asked.

“
It’s delicious…best I’ve
ever had.”
Just like
you
.

“
Glad you like
it.”

They ate quietly for a
while more. Well, she ate quietly. Desmond had been moaning and
breathing hard like he’d never eaten a meal so good. And she’d look
up and catch his gaze every time, seeing a different kind of hunger
in his eyes. A longing…

“
So what did you think
about the pictures?” she asked.

Desmond dabbed his mouth
with a napkin. “Your photos are beautiful…shows you had an eye for
a good shot even back then.”

Sherita smiled.
“Thanks.”

“
And as for the ultrasound
pictures…I could hardly tell what I was looking at, but I know
they’re my children. Do you mind if I take one of those ultrasound
pictures to work?”

“
No. Not at
all.”

“
Good. It can go next to
the picture of us.”

Sherita frowned. “Picture
of us?”

“
Yes. You know the one we
took in the park that day with Ezra and Grace? The one where I
pressed my face against yours just before the flash went off…that
picture.”

“
Oh,” Sherita said. She
knew she didn’t give him the picture, so it must’ve been Emily or
Melanie. Dante or Dimitrius. Somebody gave it to him.

Desmond opened the bottle
of water, poured some of it over ice, then took a sip. “So I was
wondering if the babies should share a nursery or should they have
separate nurseries. What do you think?”

“
I haven’t thought much
about it, although, I don’t see it being a problem if they shared a
nursery.”

“
Downstairs or
upstairs?”

Sherita sighed. Why was he
talking about nurseries? Did he not realize she would be moving out
a little while after the babies were born? They’d discussed that.
She didn’t have to leave the city, but she would leave his house.
“You can put the nursery wherever you like.”

“
I know I can, Sherita,
but I’m asking for your input. Do you think the nursery should be
downstairs or upstairs?”

She shrugged. “Put it where
you think it should be. After all, this is your house.”

“
It won’t be for
long.”

She looked confused. “What
are you talking about?”

“
Sherita, we’ve discussed
the fact that I want to be a part of my children’s
lives.”

“
Yes, we have and nowhere
in that discussion did I say I would live with you after the babies
are born, Desmond. You can be a very active part of their lives,
but I can’t live with a man who—”

“
A man who…” he said,
prompting her to finish her statement.

A man who doesn’t love
me.
She saw where this was going. She knew
the importance of staying stress-free during pregnancy, so instead
of getting into an argument with him, she said sadly, “The nursery
should probably go upstairs.”

Desmond wiped his mouth
with a napkin, dropped it in his empty plate, then pushed away from
the table. He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms and stared
at her. “And what about names? Have you thought about names,
Sherita?”

“
I have. Not sure if Dante
mentioned it to you or not, but I called him this morning to find
out the name of your parents. I thought it might me a good idea to
name the babies after them.”

“
Why didn’t you ask me for
their names?”

“
Because I know how
sensitive the topic is for you and—”

“
Do you actually think I
don’t love you, Sherita?”

“
Desmond—”

“
Do you? After
everything?” he asked, softening his voice “Part of the reason I
never wanted to marry and have children is because I didn’t want to
suffer the same pain my mother suffered when my father died. As it
stood, me and my brothers were already grieving the loss of our
father, and then we—” Desmond’s lips trembled. “We watched our
mother suffer without him until she died. She’d rather die than
live without him.”

Desmond rubbed his eyes
and took a breath. “After her death, I made up my mind that I would
never love anyone that deeply, so I locked my heart away. Protected
it. I never wanted to feel the kind of pain my Mom felt when she
lost my Dad. But I feel it every time you look at me with those big
beautiful eyes like you
wish
I could love you…like you
wish
I could be yours, when the
reality is, I love you from the deepest parts of my soul, Sherita,
and my heart no longer belongs to me. It’s yours.”

Sherita opened her mouth to
say something, but words didn’t come out. A tear rolled down her
cheek.

“
I’ve begun taking steps
to secure our future together, Sherita. I put your name on this
house. Our home. I’m adding you to my accounts, I’m giving you
everything I have, and if I could take my heart from my chest and
lay it out on this table, baby, I would, but I need you to trust me
and I need you to believe me. I love you, Sherita. I love you, and
I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

With trembling lips,
Sherita asked, “Are you saying this because—”

“
No, I’m not saying it
because you’re pregnant. I told you I loved you before I knew you
were pregnant. You just chose not to believe me, but I’m asking you
to trust me.”

Sherita looked down
completely caught off guard by his confession.

“
Look at me,
Sherita.”

She looked up at him. “Two
weeks ago, you said you didn’t love me anymore, but I know that’s
not true. If you didn’t love me, you certainly wouldn’t want to
name our children after
my
parents, would you?”

Sherita dabbed her eyes.
“No.”

“
Then tell me you want
this. Tell me you want me.”

Sherita’s lips
trembled.

Desmond stood up, walked to
her side of the table and lowered himself to his knees in front of
her. Taking her hands into his, he said, “Sherita, I’ve hurt you.
I’ve played games with your heart. I’m guilty of those
things.”

Sherita lost eye contact
with him again, and this time, he placed his hands on her face,
firmly angling her head to meet his gaze. “I hurt you. I’m
acknowledging that, and I’m sorry. But now, right now, I’m as
serious as I’ve ever been in my life. Tell me you want me,
princess, and I’m yours. Forever. Just say it.”

Sherita gasped for
air.

“
Say it.”

She gasped again. “I want
you, Desmond.”

A smile grew on his face.
“Good, because while this food was delicious, baby, nothing tastes
better than your lips. Than all of you,” he said standing, scooping
her up into his arms.

Before she could fully
comprehend what was happening, he’d been hovering over her, in the
center of his bed, his lips parting with hers at different
intervals and angles, deeply connecting himself to her physically
as he was emotionally.

Desmond released her lips
as he remained propped on his elbows, not wanting to lower the full
weight of his body on her. “Are you okay?”

“
Yes. I’m
okay.”

“
Sure?” he asked, dipping
his head to graze her neck with his teeth.

“
Yes, Desmond,” she
whimpered. “I’m sure.”

He took another kiss from
her lips. “I miss you so much.”

“
I miss you too,
Des.”

“
And just so you know,
once and for all time, I’m in love with you, Sherita Champion, the
mother of my children, and I intend on spending the rest of my life
with you, sweetheart.”

“
Good, because I had no
idea how I was ever going to live without you.”

Desmond kissed her again.
“I love making love to you, Sherita,” he whispered in her ear.
“Can’t remember if I ever told you that.”

He hadn’t told her that,
but she had an idea.

“
Can’t recall if I told
you how beautiful you are,” he said staring down into her eyes now,
her hair fanned out on the pillow.

“
Des,” she whispered
softly, sailing off into ecstasy, sending his name into the sky.
She opened her eyes again, staring up at him.

“
So beautiful,” he
murmured, biting his bottom lip as he felt her claim him. Gosh he
missed that feeling. And as he made love to her, he thought about
how good it felt to be vulnerable with the woman he loved, to let
his guard down and not be the tough, cavalier guy for a change. He
was her man, her lover. And he’d planned to love her tonight, to
make up for all the time they’d missed.

“
Sherita,” he said,
pulling in a sharp breath, feeling himself lose control of his own
mind. She’d already had his heart.

“
Yes, Desmond,” she
whispered before he kissed her lips again.

“
I love you,” he said
before an overwhelming sensation rushed inside of him until the
pressure had become too great to contain, until the very essence of
him had claimed her. Through it all, he never lost eye contact. He
wanted her to see what she was doing to him. Wanted her to see his
face. To feel his body. To know she was his, and he was hers.
That’s the way it was and the way it would always be.

“
I love you, too,
Desmond,” she panted, feeling something related to an electric
current tear through her flesh while she struggled for
air.

While they both struggled
for air…

Desmond smiled,
lying
face-to-face with her, watching as
her breaths slowly returned to normal.

He reached out, stroked her
hair away from her face.

She found his left hand
with her right and interlocked their fingers. For a long time they
just stared at each other, lost in their own silent
thoughts.

“
Say something,” Desmond
said.

She watched him smile, that
dimple she loved so much making an appearance. “Like
what?”

“
Whatever it is you’re
thinking about. Talk to me.”

“
Question…did you visit my
parents this morning?”

“
I did.”

“
Why?”

“
To apologize to your
father.”

“
For what?”

“
For doing things wrong. I
should’ve asked him for permission to marry you.”

“
But Des, we know why we
married. It had nothing to do with love in the
beginning.”

“
But it does now. I love
you, and I wanted to ask his permission, so I did.”

Sherita brought his hand to
her mouth, leaving a kiss. “What did he say?”

“
Said he wanted to get to
know me. Said if I was serious about you, he wanted me to prove
it.”

Sherita nodded. “Yep.
Sounds like Dad.”

“
Now I have a question for
you.”

“
Okay,” she said, gripping
his hand tighter.

“
Did you really want to
name our babies after my parents?”

“
Yes, but only if you want
to. I didn’t know how you would take the suggestion.”

“
I love the
idea.”

Sherita’s eyes brightened.
“You do?”

“
Yes. I do. My brothers
like it, too.”

“
Perfect. Then it’s
settled.”

“
Yes. It’s settled,” he
said, shifting positions in bed, moving down underneath the covers,
kissing her stomach, feeling it flutter. “Hi Celeste. Hi Nolan.
This is your father.”

“
I think you’re going to
be a wonderful father, Desmond.”