AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My eyes welled with tears. “That’s right. I’m Mamma.” I kissed her pudgy cheek. “And you’re my little peanut.”
In that moment I realized, it didn’t matter where we lived. It was the people who created a sense of home.
“We need to work on your daddy and grandpop.”
I wished there was a way to heal their relationship, because while I would go wherever Hale needed to be, I worried about leaving Remington behind. Yes, he had a full staff to wait on him hand and foot, but they weren’t the same as family.
“Dada?” Elara chattered to herself, staring peacefully into Meep Meep’s wooly face as her eyes grew heavy.
“Exactly,” I agreed, stroking her hair and rocking her slowly to sleep.
Sometime later, I awoke to Hale lifting Elara out of my arms and carrying her back to the crib. He quietly returned to the glider, crouching low to kiss me.
He drew back and frowned. “Stressful day?”
“Sorry.” I covered my mouth. “My dinner was vodka, olives, and old cheese.”
He smiled and hugged me, resting his head on my lap as he knelt between my legs. “God, I missed you. It’s good to be home.”
My fingers combed through his hair. It had been a few weeks since his last haircut and his waves were more defined. “I’m glad you’re back. How was the flight?”
We always ran through the same script to break the ice that formed in the distance we suffered. Was this how it would always be, Hale coming and going while I waited for him to return? When he was gone, life had a way of feeling like it was on hold, like I was only fully living when he was with me. I didn’t want that hiatus to become our normal.
“Flight was fine. I slept most of the way.”
Yet he seemed exhausted. “You still seem tired.”
“Tired of being away from you.”
I stroked his hair much like I had done to soothe Elara. “Well, you’re home now.”
He shut his eyes and hugged my waist. “No place like home.”
Sometimes, when Hale’s guard came down, he was so vulnerable our roles reversed. I laced my fingers in his and urged him to stand. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”
I washed up and met him in his dressing room, smiling as he meticulously rolled up his tie. My gaze dropped to his sock drawer, but I didn’t want to think about that right now. I just wanted a moment between us—no wedding talk, no work, no contracts or trust issues, just him and me.
Crossing the room, I stepped between him and the closet. Without words, I reached for him and pulled him down for a kiss. Hale’s mouth met mine in a language that said everything I needed to know at that moment. No matter how far apart we drifted, we always came back to each other.
We fumbled our way out of the closet and tumbled onto the bed. His body glided over mine, our hands stroking and gripping, until he found his way home. There was no rush as we savored the familiarity we found whenever we came together as one. I arched into every intrepid thrust as his body filled mine. Sometimes he held me so tight I wondered if he feared losing me, like a dream that disappeared in a blink or a sudden sound.
“Rayne,” he rasped, pressing his lips to my throat and driving into me with deep strokes. His fingers laced with mine, holding me down as we slowly made love with intense purpose.
“I’m here, Hale. Yours.” It was what he needed to hear. What he desired me to say.
“Yes, baby. Mine. Only mine.”
“Forever.”
Our whispered words were a consummation of our love. We understood each other’s needs and we worked hard to fulfill them. Equally.
Before Hale, I had no idea relationships could survive on mutual respect. I always thought one person was inevitably a giver and the other was a taker, but that wasn’t true. Hale and I both gave and we both benefited. It was the only explanation I had for how two extremely opposite people could share such an all-encompassing love.
Pulling my hands free, I wrapped my body around his, holding him tightly. My nails dug into his back and his shoulders flexed and bunched as the hard muscles of his stomach clenched tight. He trembled through his release, sinking his weight into me without crushing me.
“I love you so much, Rayne.”
Our mouths dueled in a passionate kiss as our bodies remained connected. “I love you too.” Looking into those gunmetal grey eyes, I realized I’d always love him a little more than he’d ever know.
