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Anna wondered where the conversation was going as he asked, “Are you happy here…With me, Anna?”
She nodded after a few seconds, “I am, Cedric,” she replied.
He seemed pleased with her response because he smiled, almost as he was relieved, but he continued to hold her hand in his, “I’m glad you are,” he continued, “Because all I want is for things to remain the way they are. It would kill me if anything changed between us, Anna. All I want is you. I want our child. Our family. That’s what I want. That’s what I always wanted.”
Anna swallowed, her chest tight, her voice stuck in her throat. “Cedric…what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I love you, Anna, and I want to stay married to you. I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you. And in the beginning I was afraid of what feeling this way would do to, and so I made mistakes, but I can’t be afraid of that pain any more. I can’t. I’m not.” His expression became suddenly fierce. “I’ve been half-alive for so long. Existing but not living. Holding on to the ghosts of my family. My father. My brother. My mother, until I met you, and now what I want is to love you. You and Ben. I want to love you both until there’s no more love in me left to give.”
All her worries vanished. Just dried up and blew away, “You idiot,” she said, her voice having gone scratchy and tight. “I told you before. You can’t run out of love. It doesn’t work that way. The more love you give, the more you have, don’t you know that?”
He smiled, damn him. That beautiful, slow-dawning smile that she loved so much. “I guess I don’t,” he said. “But maybe you can stay with me… And teach me?”
She’d always been a woman of deep passions and those passions were strong and true. Her anger was a storm and storms passed, and so had hers, leaving nothing but the one passion in her life that would never change, never flicker or fade. Her love for him.
“I’m saying I want us to stay married, Anna” he continued, “You make me happy. You give me hope. You complete me, and you make me feel alive. I don’t want any of that to change,” He stood up and walked to her side, his eyes never leaving hers, and when he was in front of her, he slowly got down on one knee and took her hand in his.
“The last time I did this, I thought getting married was just a way to get what I felt was taken from me. A way to get my inheritance, but now I feel very differently,” he paused and lightly squeezed her fingers before he continued, “Our marriage is much more than that, Anna, and so if you would let me, I wanna do it right this time. I want us to renew our vows. Without anything or any contract in the way… Just two people who love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives loving each other. What do you say, Anna?”
Anna stared at him, her heart so full she thought it’d burst. He wanted her to say something, and so she gave him the only answer she had, an answer that mere words weren’t enough for.
She reached out to him, pulled him up with her as she stood up, then pulled his mouth down on hers. She melted against him at the first touch of his lips, her body aching against the hard contours of his, her fingers entangled in the dark thickness of his hair.
Lips met lips, exploringly, Cedric’s body hardening against her, his hands moving feverishly across her back. He couldn’t wait. He swung her up in his arms and carried her into the house and up the stairs to his bedroom, not caring if anyone saw them. His mouths found hers again immediately the door closed behind them, his lips continuing their exploration.
Cedric was the one to finally break the kiss, his eyes dark as looked down at her, his breathing ragged. “I’m guessing your answer is yes?” he asked with a smile ,
Anna laughed, “Of course, Yes. My answer is yes,”
Her hands clung about his throat, and his mouth once more claimed hers, moving hungrily against her. She offered no resistance as Cedric pushed up her gown. In fact she helped him, slipping her arms out of her bra straps as he unfastened the clasp and kicking off her shoes. She gasped as his mouth claimed one aroused nipple, his teeth biting erotically, shooting waves of pleasure through her body, from the tip of her toes to her tingling scalp.
She acted instinctively, unbuttoning his shirt, her hands going to his back, her nails digging into his skin. His breath caught in his throat. She moaned as she helped him take off his shirt, their bodies searing together in heated passion.
As soon as they were naked they were on the bed. His body blanketed hers, warming her to the bone. Never had she felt quite so happy, so safe, like nothing could ever hurt her. For a long moment he simply stared down at her body. Then he cupped both hands over her belly before kneeling on the floor in front of her. He parted his hands and then pressed a kiss to her stomach, so soft and tender that her heart felt near to bursting.
She smoothed her hands over his hair and then dug her fingers into his scalp, holding him against the very heart of her.
He kissed a path down to the juncture of her legs. With gentle fingers, he parted her flesh and pressed his tongue to the sensitive flesh at her core. She moaned softly and writhed beneath his mouth as he loved her with his lips and tongue. He was exceedingly patient, never tiring as he brought her wave after wave of pleasure. He pushed her to the brink only to let up and let the tide slowly recede. Then he’d work her back up again, each time more intense than the last.
He left her panting for breath and so tense that her muscles ached. She begged for him to stop and then for him never to stop. Her hoarse pleas rose, each one making less sense than the last. Then his mouth left her and he fitted his cock to her opening and slid deep in one forceful lunge. He was inside her, not just physically, but in her heart and soul. He was all she could think of, all she could see and hear. He was her future. He was all she wanted. All she needed.
There was no roughness tonight. He treated her as though she were infinitely fragile, a priceless treasure to be cherished above all else. He held her to him and stroked back and forth, gliding effortlessly through her damp heat. Through it all, his mouth never left her flesh. He kissed her lips, her cheeks, her eyelids, and then he nuzzled down to her ear and below to her neck.
When she cried out with her release, he held her against him, not taking his own until he’d seen to her pleasure. Then and only then did he thrust deep and empty himself into her depths. Afterward, she snuggled into his arms and laid her head on his shoulder. He was hard and sticky between her thighs, but she didn’t care.
She held him close until his breathing became deep and even. He was wholly relaxed against her, limp and sated and so very warm. She sighed and stroked a hand over his shoulder, knowing he was already asleep.
“I love you, Cedric,” she whispered against his skin, then she closed her eyes and settled against him, fatigue sliding over her skin like a blanket. Within moments she, too, slept.
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THE END