“You taste so good, baby.”
Although it felt wonderful, I soon began feeling guilty. “Your birthday is today. Isn’t this what I should be doing to you?”
He laughed. “This is a preview of the magnificent present. But we have the entire day.”
That was accurate. I had no plans to argue.
He abruptly stopped, and I raised my head in shock. He gave the phone a frown before turning to face me.
“With music playing in my head, I can’t lick your pussy as well as I want to. I should only hear you screaming my name, don’t you think?”
You can bet that I turned off the music immediately.
As Nicholas had requested, we stayed in bed all day, getting out just to eat. It was only evening when I brought up the tiny cake.
“Come on, make a wish,” I told him as we sat facing each other on the bed.
He blew out the candle while keeping his eyes closed. The words I wanted to say to him were on the tip of my tongue when he opened his eyes.
He dragged me back down to the bed after we had done sharing bits of chocolate cake and licking the icing off of each other’s lips. We lay there facing each other for a moment, and I felt like I was about to pass out from suppressing my emotions.
“I have one more gift for you.”
He grinned and linked our fingers together, waiting.
I inhaled deeply, met his eyes, and prayed that I wouldn’t experience heartbreak any time soon.
‘Please let him love me back. Please let him love me back.’ I chanted in my head.
“I love you.”
My heart nearly leapt out of my chest as soon as the words left my mouth out of worry that I had made a huge mistake. He admitted to me how frequently he had brushed off women because they demanded more of him than he was prepared to give.
Had he been advising me not to grow feelings for him?
Have I just made a serious mistake?
He exhaled and closed his eyes. “Willow.” His voice was practically a whisper.
That was confusing. Was he attempting to find an easy way to let me down?
Every second that went by made it harder for me to breathe. My insides felt as though they were being crushed.
I needed to cry.
His silence tortured me as the seconds seemed to last for hours. I squeezed my eyes closed, wishing I could take back my words. I wished I didn’t have to deal with the pain of breaking my own heart.
He let go of my hand, bringing my body to him with his arms as I let out a whimper.
Knowing my feelings were one-sided, would I be able to carry on as we had been? At this point, would he even want to keep me? Was I ready to be all alone again?
In the brief time we had known each other, I had grown reliant on his frequent company and care. I wasn’t sure if I could let go of it.
He murmured in my ear, “You were standing in the library with total wonder in your eyes.”
What?
I remained still. I stopped breathing.
He pulled his head out of the crook of my neck and kissed my nose. His breath washed over my face but I didn’t dare open my eyes.
“You had no idea that you were being watched. The look of pure happiness on your face… your strength… despite everything you had been through in your life.”
Confusion gripped me. I had no idea what I was talking about.
“Why are you sharing this with me?” My voice trembled under my uncertainty.
“Willow, open your eyes.”
I complied with his request even though my eyes were blurry from tears. He removed the rolling tears from my cheeks.
“That’s when I realised I loved you,” he murmured.
I took a deep breath, and as his words began to sink in, my entire world began to spin. I nearly didn’t want to trust them. But he had bright, joyful eyes. Sincere.
“All I’ve been doing is waiting for you to love me too.”
I sobbed until I choked, crying out of relief rather than sadness. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him my most passionate kiss. Nicholas and chocolate, two of my favorite flavours, paired with the knowledge that he returned my love. It fulfiled every one of my wants.
‘He loves me. He loves me!’
I felt light and free of weight. I might have drifted away if his arms hadn’t been holding my body in place.
When was the last time someone other than Lory loved me?
I murmured against his lips, “Tell me again.”
His chuckle sounded melodic. “I love you.”
His three simple words were like a balm that eased every minor hurt, pain, and discomfort my heart had ever experienced.
I have no idea how long we kissed, snuggled, moaned, and touched each other. Time had no importance in our happy bubble.
A small voice in my head kept rising louder and louder, despite my desire to remain frozen in this ideal moment indefinitely. The nagging questions needed to be answered despite my happiness.
“Nicholas?”
He hummed as he continued to kiss my neck. I ran my fingers through his hair, my nails scraping his scalp. He made a sound I was unfamiliar with.
Could men purr?
I retrained from laughing because I really wanted to ask him a question.
I got right to it by saying, “Nicholas,” to get his attention. “Why me? How could you know you loved me right away without really knowing me?
His piercing eyes bore into mine as he raised his head. “Look at what happened. I knew Rosemary all my life. I now understand that the depth of your feelings for someone do not depend on how long you have known them. You quickly knocked me out. In that instant, I felt more affection for you than I ever did for anybody else.”