| |
I sit beside Will in our upgraded, first-class seats and gaze out of the porthole-style window as Greece fades away below us. “Are you planning on working this week?” Will asks and then brings our joined hands to his lips.
“Yeah. I need to go in and catch up. There have been some pretty major changes since...Bells left.” Will’s eyes drop for a second but land back on mine with intensity.
“It wasn’t her fault either, Eva.”
“I know.” I squeeze my eyes shut. “I know that. The logical bit of my brain knows that...but I just can’t. Not yet. I’m sorry.”
“It’s going to take some time,” he says, but then he frowns. “Why did you forgive me?” He peeks up at me, like he doesn’t really want to know the answer.
“Because. I. Love. You. It’s different. I... love you so much, Will. I need you more than I want to. More than is good for me. Bells, Gary, even Mum... I already learned to live without them. I don’t want them in the same way I want you. And because...this guy, whoever he is, knows you. He knows how to hurt you. The pain he caused you... And I hate that. He knew exactly what would happen...and he did it anyway.”
Will goes quiet, but when he looks back at me, I can see the heat in his eyes. “I love you too, more than is good for me. More than I have control over. Probably more than I can handle. But I won’t ever stop. Not for a second. I promise you I never did. But this...Bells, Gary, Joyce—it’s all your call. I can’t tell you what you should do.”
I lean over and press my lips to his. “Thank you.” I wrap both my arms around his right one, rest my head on his shoulder and settle back for the short flight to Blighty.
***
“Eva, we’re home, baby.”
I inhale deeply and look through the taxi window. It takes a second for the familiar surroundings to click into place. Oh! Oh no!
“Will!” I grab his hand as he starts to slide out from the back seat. “I sold it! I don’t own Eden anymore.”
He looks at me with a soft smile, and I don’t think he’s listening. I try again, but he puts a finger over my lips. “I know. I bought it...and The Nook.” He replaces his finger with his lips in a light, quick kiss and leaves me staring blankly as he climbs out. I’m still frozen when he opens my door.
“Come,” he says quietly. He leans in and takes my hand as the taxi driver unloads our luggage. I follow him in a dream, right up to a new oak front door with an apple depicted on a small stained-glass window.
Will is watching my face carefully as he speaks softly. “I did the renovations. I hope that’s okay?” I can’t find words. Or movement. Will thanks the taxi driver and unlocks the door. He stoops down to lift me, and his arm tightens around the backs of my knees as he scoops me up and carries me inside.
Eden was always a beautiful house. Now it’s stunning. The whole place has been transformed but has retained the original features, a mix of old and new. My eyes jump around, trying to see everything as Will sets me on my wobbly feet and leads me into the kitchen first.
It has been refitted with chunky, solid-oak worktops and cream-coloured units. The walls are tiled, in the places that make sense to have tiles, and painted a light sage green on the rest. There’s now a breakfast bar island in the middle of the room with high-backed, dark leather stools and a vase of tall flowers in the centre. “Cream leather would have been my first choice, but with our girls, they would have ended up this colour anyway.” Will’s smile is hesitant.
“It’s stunning.” I speak at last.
“I wasn’t sure if you’d ever see it...Baby...” I glance at Will and he has tears in his eyes. I step in close and hold him. “I did this for us...so that we could be a family...” I reach up and wipe a stray tear as he continues. “When I saw it was for sale, Eva, I couldn’t believe what I had done. To you. To us... But when the agent told me you agreed to sell the woodland too, I thought I’d lost you forever. I thought you’d never come back... but I did it anyway, praying that you would one day. That you might be able to forgive me one day, but I never dreamed that... you’d still love me.” Will’s voice has grown quieter and rougher. Tears stain his cheeks and I kiss them away.
“I’ll love you until the day I die. Maybe longer.” He gasps.
“‘Til death do us part?” I watch his uncertain eyes and nod slowly. “You’d still marry me?” he says so fast the words are blurred. I watch his eyes for a moment longer.
“Yes. Call me crazy, but I love you.”
“Can I show you our bedroom?” He really smiles at last, and I giggle. He grabs my hand and practically drags me upstairs. I note somewhere in my brain that it’s a new staircase. Solid wood. I love it.
Following an extensive introduction to our new bed, Will showed me around the rest of the house, and after cooing over the beautiful bedrooms for both of our girls, Will leads me to another door. “This is the nursery,” he says, and pushes open the door. My eyes fly to his.
“When did you...?”
“The morning after you told me you were pregnant. I called the designer when I went to get us breakfast. Do you like it?” Do I like it? I bloody love it! Soft, muted pastel blue, great for a boy or girl. Thick, heavy curtains that will help baby sleep... There’s even a rocking chair in the corner. “We can change it if you don’t.” There’s an anxious note to Will’s voice, and I realise I need to speak again.
“Will...” I turn and take his face in my hands. “It’s... beautiful. Thank you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.” I nod and kiss his lips lightly. Until he takes over the kiss and consumes me.
“Is it wrong to have sex in the baby’s nursery?” he asks between kisses as his hands slip under the hem of the shirt I’m wearing.
“I don’t know...and I don’t care.” I grab his hair and pull his wandering lips back to mine as he lifts me off my feet. My legs wrap around his waist, my arms around his neck, and he walks towards the closest wall and pins my back to it as he drops his boxers.
He’s inside me in one thrust. I bite my lip, a satisfied smile already pulling my mouth upwards.
“Baby...” Will pulls away to see my face. “Can I...? It’s quite rough like this. Hard...?”
“Yes,” I gasp.
“You’re sure? It won’t... hurt her?”
“No. Please. Do it hard.” I arch into him, driving my weight lower. He still looks unsure, so I reach for his balls and cup them lightly. “Please?” I tempt him again, and gently, rhythmically, pull down until he can’t hold back, and his hips drive home in heavenly, deep thrusts as I use my thighs to move with him, sending him deeper. Harder.
I dip my face into his neck; the mint and citrus smell is divine. Especially mixed with sweat and sex, and I lick my way to his ear. I bite softly on his lobe, and his intensity increases further, making me gasp.
Oh! God, yes! Keep doing that.
I whimper as the feeling builds. This is going to be huge. Will continues to take my breath away with every body-jerking movement, and I grind against his advances, catching my clit on his pubic bone. I’m so close!
I cry out, and he slams into me. Twice. Thrice, and I fall apart in a shuddering mess as I reach the pinnacle. Will grows and pummels ferociously for another three strokes before he groans, long and low, in my ear. I can feel him twitching inside me as aftershocks ripple through my body.
Will pulls out quickly and flips us around, his back to the wall. He folds down to the carpet, and I curl up in his lap. My whole upper half is being rocked with his hard breathing.
“God, I love pregnant sex,” I mumble. I turn my head and kiss his chest, and Will chuckles.
“So do I, baby. So do I.” And then he adds, “Does it feel different? For you?”
“It’s more intense. Everything is more sensitive. Especially my breasts.”
“They’re definitely bigger.” I can hear his grin.
“Yeah? Give it a few months, and they’ll be bloody balloons.” His hand skates up my side and cups one gently, his thumb flicking over the hard bud of my nipple. I jolt.
“How sensitive is it?” He looks down at me, and I tilt my head back, his thumb still tantalising.
“Very.”
“Bed,” he growls. “Now.” And he shifts his grip on me and stands fast. I squeal as he runs towards our new bedroom.