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“You never told me that.”
“And ruin your opinion of me being above all that? Never.”
She shook her head and wiped roughly at her face. “For years, you stood between me and disaster until the chance to be there was taken out of your hands. You blamed yourself for not protecting me. If I’d stood up to her one of the hundred times you begged me to, I wouldn’t have been vulnerable that day. Making you hate me by leaving was nothing compared to how much I already hated myself for being weak.”
“It wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault. Our world got turned upside down at eighteen, Amelia.” He stood and pulled back his blankets. Taking her hand, he guided her to lay down and stretched out beside her. “That was then. You made decisions based on pain.”
“I’m not right for you now any more than I was eight years ago, Leo. I-I wanted to give you some closure, to touch you again and feel you touch me. Then I’ll go back to Washington and let you move on with your life.”
Reaching out, he smoothed a lock of damp hair away from her face. “You think it will be that simple?”
“We’ll love each other for a couple of days and then you need to let me go. Really let me go this time. Find a woman who can give you everything you deserve. Maybe there was a time I was that woman but...not anymore.”
Rolling her fully to her back, he settled between her thighs. “Why do you punish both of us, Amelia?” Pushing into her body, he didn’t look away from her eyes. “How long are you going to let us suffer for something that happened when we were barely more than kids? How many years are you going to define your worth by whether or not you have a womb?”
“It’s more than that now, Leo. So much has happened…”
“Yeah, it really did. A fuck ton of pain happened, Amelia. To you, to me, because you can’t fight destiny.” She closed her eyes. “Look at me.” Brown eyes focused on him. “I fucking know you feel it. I’ve always felt it.”
“I can’t…”
“No. You don’t get off that easy, Amelia. If you leave me again, if you walk away from what we have, it isn’t because you can’t stay...it’s because you won’t stay.”
Putting her hands over her face, she sobbed brokenly. “You don’t understand.”
“You’re right. We’re two broken halves of the same soul, Amelia. Together, we can patch the break but if you keep running, neither of us will ever feel complete. I’ve lived that half-life for eight years and I’ll be damned if I go back to it.”
He made love to her well into the night, pushing her through one orgasm after another. He kissed, licked, and sucked every inch of Amelia’s body, took her in every position, and kept her mind off balance.
Leo wanted her in complete chaos and he achieved it.
Exhausted, covered in mutual sweat, she stared at him through half-lidded eyes.
He whispered, “From the start, I’ve belonged to you and you’ve belonged to me. You’re the only woman I want, the only woman I’m able to love.”
“Leo...you need a child.”
“With or without you in my life, an heir is the least of my concerns. I promise that the chances of me having one without you are far worse than with you.”
They dozed together and eventually showered. Crawling back in his bed, Leo touched her as he had before he’d ever seen her fully naked body. He learned her through his fingertips and she closed her eyes to soak up every sensation.
“You accept touch as if starved for it. I know what that feels like, Amelia. Other people have touched me but it never sank past the surface of my skin. I’m starved for touch, too.”
She slipped into a deep sleep and Leo watched her. He wasn’t going to talk her into staying with him. The time for talking and explaining was over. Touch was his only weapon and he planned to use it without mercy.
The following morning, he watched her eyes flutter open. She placed her hand on his face.
“Leo.”
“Good morning, Amelia.” He leaned over to kiss her lips. “Take care of things and come back here.”
Nodding, she climbed from the bed and walked naked to his bathroom. When she reappeared a few minutes later, he slid to the floor on his knees in front of her.
Holding her hips, he kissed the tiny scar from her surgery. It didn’t seem big enough to have taken all that it did from them. Resting his face on her lower stomach, he hugged her lower body and stroked the backs of her legs.
Amelia slipped her fingers through his hair. “You wear it longer now.” He could hear the tears in her voice. “I like it.” She shook with emotion.
“I love you, Amelia. I’m sorry you lost the chance to carry a child yourself but that changes nothing about my love for you. Don’t leave me. Stay with me and let me love you.”
