Full darkness had descended with only the shining moon to give them enough light to see one another, an indication of how long they’d been squirreled away in the bedroom.
She thought about the others and guilt began to manifest. “I need to apologize to Gramps and the girls.”
“No, Charli, you don’t. They love you and understand that you were frightened for them because you care so much. You can make amends in the morning, tonight is for us.”
“What us?” She smiled as she taunted him. After sharing such heavy secrets, her heart had lightened. Now, she wanted to laugh, to dance… to make love.
Her mind remembered how tightly their bodies had meshed together earlier. How they’d fit so perfectly. She slid closer and began kissing his face. “Suddenly, I feel lighter and happier than I can ever remember. It’s wonderful.”
“I’m so glad, Charli.” He smiled, looking relieved, his charming grin contagious.
She laughed. “I need to do something fun. Hey, I have an idea. Wanna screw?” The words were supposed to sound playful, a reflection of her sudden lightness of heart.
“Uh uh, Charli. No screwing between us.” He yanked her back into his arms after her instant withdrawal. “Either we make love, or I leave right now.”
Stiffening, she replayed his words…make love. Was he trying to tell her something? Her poor muddled head couldn’t properly assimilate the hidden meaning; he needed to spell it out.
“You want to make love to me?”
“No, baby, I want to make lovewithyou.”
“Oh well, since you put it like that, then sure, we’ll make love to each other.”
“The thing is honey; you can’tmake loveunless you actually love the other person. See, if you don’t, that’s when you have sex, kinda like what I’ve been having all my life. But with you, it’s different, because you – I love.”
Sensations she’d never experienced before exploded, starting in her brain, speeding into her heart and plummeting with the biggest explosions in her lower stomach. Aroused beyond anything she’d ever known, cascades of ecstasy unfurled.
He loves me.She had to tighten the muscles in her groin because the need there detonated.He knows my secret and yet he really loves… me. A feeling of utter warmth, such as she’d only experienced with her Poppa John, circulated from her head to her chest, slinking through the opening to her heart and blossoming… taking root. She’d never thought it could be so intensely beautiful, so utterly filling and so mind-blowingly blissful.
She took his face in her hands. “Then make love to me.”
Almost rough, he pulled her closer. He stared into her eyes, his totally open and revealing. She returned his gaze, telling him without words that she needed him, wanted him and… completely and utterly adored him.
***
Blake had never known fear as he’d suffered while waiting for her reaction. Watching Charli assimilate his words, their meaning, he held his breath and didn’t move a muscle. Putting everything on the line, knowing he’d walk away if she hadn’t been able to give him the answer he needed had been the most terrifying thing he’d ever lived through.
But now, joy had overtaken those fears, and he scooped her close, kissing her with every ounce of love he’d saved all his life to give to the woman he’d choose to be his wife.
While his hands worked at her clothes, pulling and tugging at the material, needing her naked body next to his, his lips travelled over every inch as it came into view. He couldn’t stop from idolizing her beauty or exclaiming over and over again how much he cared.
Starting at the point where he’d removed her shorts, he exclaimed, “Oh baby, am I ever going to love you here.” He nuzzled her entry and heard her breathing quicken.
Not wanting anything to end too soon, he moved upward to where she’d already taken off her blouse. He gathered her breasts, kissing each nipple and caressing their fullness. Again, her gasps urged him to hurry. He reached for her lips where he made love until she arched upwards to accept his fullness, her signal that she wanted more.
Only, he wouldn’t be hurried. He’d waited too long for this moment and he needed it to last. To be special.
“You’re perfect, baby. Perfect. I love everything about you.” He softly kissed her lips. “I especially love your mouth.”
His hands gathered her hair on each side of her head to keep her where he wanted her. “And your hair drives me crazy, did you know that?” He leaned back so he could ruffle the softness. “I love blondes with curls and big brown eyes.”
“It’s not blonde.”
“Excuse me?”
“My hair, it’s not blonde.”
“You know what, I don’t care. I’d be crazy about you if you were bald.”
This time, she grabbed his hair in both fists with serious intentions. “How about you love me with less words and more action?” Her eyes were alight with twinkling jest. “Then I’ll take my turn to show you the parts of your body I most like.”
“That does it! Hold on, baby. Hold on tight.”