She shakes her head once, her teeth pulling at her bottom lip again, in an attempt to stop herself from crying. I gently pull her lip loose and press a gentle kiss on her rosy lips.
“Because he has no claim on you. Never has, so he never will.”
I give her another kiss, this time on her jaw as I slant her face ever so slightly to give me better access to her neck.
“I, on the other hand, claim you.”
I kiss the hollow of her neck right below her ear, and I feel her shiver at my touch.
“I am your husband. You are my wife. You are mine just as much as I am yours.”
I bite her earlobe and then blow on it before giving it another gentle tug with my teeth.
“I protect what’s mine.”
Her eyes flutter close and she gasps softly.
Ria is practically melting in my arms and the emptiness that’s been chasing me ceases to exist. The heat radiating off her body finds its way to mine, making me forget everything and everyone else but her.
The earth stands still, like it always does with her. My feet plant themselves firmly on the ground. I no longer feel off center, and as it’s always been with her, I forget where I begin and she ends.
The fact that she’s letting me hold her like this, kiss her like this? It strengthens my resolve.
This woman is mine.
And at this moment, she believes it. That’s all the encouragement I need.
The only thing that matters to me is being with my wife tonight. I want to care for her like I’ve failed to do so before.
My other hand drops to the back of her knees and I lift her. Gently setting her on the counter, I graze my lips on the curve of her jaw.
“Sit.”
I start to turn towards the stove when she reaches out to me and I still, not wanting to break the spell. My eyes find hers and words fail me.
She’s looking at me like she used to do. Her eyes holding the promise of forever yet with a twinge of fear that it may not be enough time. My heart leaps to my throat and I struggle to catch my breath.
For over a year I’ve thought about her like this. For the last month, I’ve been worried and terrified that she will never look at me like this again.
She looks like the Ria who threw herself in my arms knowing I’d catch her then drove halfway across the country fueled only by trust and faith.In me.
Like the Ria who knocked on my door a month later with a packed suitcase and a grin, telling me she loved me for the first time and she was ready to start a life together.
She looked at me with the same softness when she stood at my graduation telling me she was proud of me.
Like the Ria who held my hand and my gaze through the entirety of our small wedding in our backyard, whispering yes to forever.
Just Ria.
My Ria.
I’m a mess.
I just found out a man wanted by the FBI, who has been stalking me for years, is my father.
But at this moment, I can’t make myself care about anything else besides Noah.
I’m sitting here, right now, staring at my beautiful husband who owns my heart.