"This place is beautiful," I said, taking in thesurroundings.
I followed Parker as he took the cooler over to the kitchen and set it on the floor by thefridge.
"I'm just going to grab wood from outside. Did you want to unpack thecooler?"
I nodded, taking in the look in his eyes, desire radiating between us. He gave me a soft kiss before heading outside. I busied myself emptying the cooler and the few bags of food we had brought from the store. Parker brought in four armfuls of wood, and then locked thedoor.
"What room are we staying in? I will take our bagsup."
"First one at the top of thestairs."
"Okay." Picking up the bags, I carried them up to the top of the stairs, opened the bedroom door and turned the lights on. The room was spacious yet cozy and warm, decorated in dark greens with a great big king-size bed. I set the bags down at the end of the bed and walked over to look out the window. It was beautifulhere.
Unzipping my bag, I pulled out a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt and got changed. Exhausted from being up for the past few days, I was craving relaxation. Once I changed, I headed back downstairs. The lights had been dimmed, and soft music floated through the air. Parker was in the living room sitting on the floor with two glasses of white wine sitting on the table. He had pulled out a blanket and laid it out on the thick rug in front of the fireplace. Piles of pillows and cushions from the couch were spread out on thefloor.
He patted the spot beside him. "Come make yourselfcomfortable."
He looked so handsome with the firelight bouncing off his tannedskin.
I sat down beside him, leaning back into the cloud of pillows. He reached over and handed me a glass ofwine.
"Thank you." I took the glass from him and took a sip. Setting the glass down, I relaxed back into the pillows, closed my eyes, and soaked in the warmth of the fire. I wasexhausted.
After a few minutes, I could feel his gaze upon me. I opened my eyes and felt a flush of warmth spread through me from the way he was looking atme.
"What is it?" Iasked.
"You're just so beautiful," hereplied.
I grew quiet. In the year we had dated, Dean had never uttered those words to me, and it made me uneasy to hear them. I sat staring into the fire, holding my wine glass in my hands and taking the occasionalsip.
Parker’s hand went to my shoulder. “Tatum?”
"Please don't say that." I sniffled, unable to look at him. Even though the bruises from the first attack had healed, the invisible ones were still there; along with all the horrible words that Dean had shoved at me every chance hegot.
Parker brought his hand to my face and brushed the strands of hair away that had fallen into my eyes. "Tell mewhy?"
"Look at me." Tears spilled from my eyes and streamed down my face. I didn't feel beautiful, but I guess that’s what happened. I had started to believe everything he said—how useless I was and how no one would want me. He never once complimented me onanything.
"Yes, look at you. My beautiful girl." He brought his hand to my cheek and turned my face up. "Don't cry." Looking into my eyes, his thumbs wiped the tears away, and he brought his lips to mine. He lay beside me, pulled me into his arms, and heldme.
When I woke up, thefire had died down to a pile of glowing embers. We had fallen asleep on the floor. Unwrapping Tatum from my body, I got up and quietly put more wood on the fire then turned and watched her sleep. She was finally restingpeacefully.
I went into the washroom to wash my hands after handling the wood before returning to her. Shutting the door, I flipped the light on and looked at myself in themirror.
Tell her the truth. Man up and tell her you love her. I took a deep breath. I had been fighting with myself since the first night I stayed at her place. I guess no matter how much time passed, when your heart knows itknows.
When I returned, Tatum was still on her stomach under the blankets, her eyes closed. I crawled in beside her and adjusted the pillows behind me. I placed my hands under my head and closed my eyes. Tatum placed her hand across my abs and curled up against me. "Did I wake you?" I asked, wrapping my arm aroundher.
She placed a light kiss on my shoulder and ran her hand down my abs. She reached down and gripped my cock through my boxers. Fire lit through me at her gentle touch. I sat up and rolled her onto her back, kissing her hard. Lifting her back up off the floor, I pulled her T-shirt off and laid her back onto the pillows. Kissing down her neck and over her breasts, I ran my hands down her body and removed her pants, going back up to run my tongue over her nipplesagain.
Her head tilted back into the pillows. She was biting on her bottom lip, trying hard to stifle the moan that I heard slip between her lips. Kissing down her stomach, I placed myself between her legs and pushed them open, letting them fall to the side, and sat back to look at her spread beforeme.
The firelight glistened off her sex. I could feel saliva pool in my mouth. I couldn't wait to taste her again. Holding her legs open, I leaned down and ran my tongue through her folds and heard a guttural moan from her lips. My hunger for her growing, I sucked her clit into my mouth. I inserted a finger into her tight pussy and hooked my finger, rubbing her in the rightplace.
"Come for me." I sucked her clit back into my mouth and alternated between sucking and running my tongue over it. I felt her clench around my finger, and her juices flooded my mouth. Breathing hard, she relaxed back into thepillows.
I watched her as I crawled up between her legs and placed my cock at her entrance, running it through her juices. She looked up at me with those beautiful hazel eyes as I kissed her. Lining myself up with her entrance, I slid into her. She moaned into my mouth and wrapped her legs around my back as I pumped into her. I could feel her tighten around my cock almost instantly, nearly sending me over the edge, but I heldback.