Sherlyn
The moment I saw Shane, I felt better. Locking my SUV, I got inside his car. We sat in silence for several moments before I blurted out that Darkwater was now dating Janine.
"Don't I wish?"
His response surprised me. "They left together and—"
"And what?"
"They're dating."
"I doubt that."
"I saw them."
"I'm sure you did, but what did you actually see? She's your close friend and he's an idiot too stupid to show or tell you how he feels. That doesn't add up to the two of them dating, Sherlyn. You and I are about to have dinner, but we're not dating. There's no reason to suppose they are either."
"She's so pretty and I'm—"
"You're the one he's warning other interested men to stay away from, Sherlyn. You're the one he looks at with a deep-seated need in his eyes."
"That's just lust."
"No. It's not. Trust me, there's no way he's interested in anything but friendship with her. So what do you say? Are you up to having dinner with me?"
Even though I knew he shared Darkwater's dislike, his efforts to reassure me touched me. I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"For coming and for making me feel comfortable enough to talk about him and for being willing to listen to me talk about him."
"It's an ugly job, but someone has to do it." He smiled and squeezed my hand. "Feel better?"
I nodded. "Yes. I do."
"Good. Then you can thank me by having dinner with me. I'll follow you home to park your SUV and then we can have dinner out. Okay?"
"Okay," I said and fastened my seatbelt.
An hour later, we were seated at a Center City restaurant waiting for our first course when I looked across the room and then did a double take as I saw Darkwater and Janine sharing a table with Michael and Jeffrey. As I was about to look away Darkwater suddenly turned his head and our gazes locked briefly. Then he looked at Shane and I could almost feel his temper rising from across the restaurant.
Tearing my gaze from his, I reached across the table to touch Shane's hand. "We need to go."
He looked across the room and sighed. "We're not doing anything wrong and damned if I'm going to run from him."
"It's not a question of running, Shane. It's more—"
"No."
As I tried to come up with an argument that would convince him to leave, Darkwater walked over to our table. He and Shane traded unfriendly stares. "I warned you to stay away from her, Reddorn."
"And I told you I'd do that when she asked me to," Shane said, rising.
I threw a pleading look across the restaurant and was relieved when Michael rose and slowly crossed the room.
Darkwater looked at me. "What are you doing with him, Sherlyn?"
"What are you doing with Janine?" I challenged.
"Not what you've been doing with him!"
"Maybe if you got your shit in gear she wouldn't be with me," Shane said. "And you wouldn't need to be consoling yourself with her charming friend."
"I'm going to knock you the fuck out."
"You can try but I guarantee it won't be nearly as easy as you seem to think it will be. In fact, if you throw a punch at me, you're the one who will be picking his stupid ass up from the floor."
I watched in alarm as Darkwater clenched his right hand into a fist.
Then, thankfully, Michael was there to grip his arm. "This is not the way to handle this, Thomas." He looked at Shane. "And why the fuck are you in the middle of this?"
Shane narrowed his gaze. "I have no beef with you or your brother. Need I remind you he's the one who came storming over here with threats? Why don't you ask him why the fuck he doesn't either make a move or get the hell out of the way so I can?" He stared at Darkwater. "I promise you if I get her, I won't make any of the stupid mistakes you've made with her. I won't give you an opening or an opportunity to win her back."
"If you think you can take her from me, you'd better think again—after you pick your teeth up from the floor." Darkwater attempted to jerk away, but Michael kept his grip on his arm. He looked at me. "You spend the night with me and then the next day you're kissing him? Fuck him and fuck you too, Sherlyn!" he said, jerked away from Michael and stormed across the room. He spoke to Janine and the two of them left the restaurant.
Michael sighed and turned to look at me with a cold look in his eyes. "This shit is unnecessary and should be beneath you, Sherlyn. You know damn well you shouldn't be with him." He turned his gaze on Shane. "And as for you, if it weren't for Am, I'd kick your ass myself."
"You could try but you wouldn't be any more successful than your brother."
"Why the fuck would you do this? What man worth the name needs to get off by stealing another man's woman?"
Shane inhaled slowly. "I've had it with you and your brother and your threats. I'm not afraid of either of you, but for Am's sake, I'll tell you this. I'm here only as a friend. Now kindly get the hell out of my face before I knock you on your ass."
"Fuck you, Reddorn." He turned and gave me a long, cold look before he walked back to the table.
Shane sat back down, placing his clenched right hand on the table.
"I'm sorry," I said, my throat tight with tears. "I shouldn't have called you and put you in the middle and exposed you to their anger."
He inhaled slowly before he spoke. "It's all right. They're both slightly taller and heavier, but I haven't had my ass beat since I started boxing in high school." He sighed. "However, we're going to need to work this out or Amber's wedding is going to turn into a warzone."
"It's my fault—"
"I think Amber would probably think there's enough blame to go around. Oh, fuck!"
I glanced over my shoulder to see Jeffrey crossing the room to us while Michael sat at the table staring straight ahead.
He surprised me by reaching out to place his hand on my shoulder. "You're going to need to forgive him, honey. He's in love with you. You must know that."
The hell I did.
He turned to look at Shane. "My brothers and I are close. He's in love with her and you seem to be determined to get in the middle of something you should stay out of. You'll have to forgive us if we're not too damn thrilled with you at the moment."
"I'm here as her friend, but that wouldn't be necessary if he handled his damned business."
Jeffrey narrowed his gaze. "He'd have an easier time doing that if you kept out of the damned way, Reddorn. Is that too much to ask? Imagine if this was John and Am and some dickhead kept getting in the middle claiming to be a friend when even a legally blind man could see he wanted more. I'm asking you man to man to please butt out. Please."
He nodded at me and then walked back across the room. Moments later, he and Michael left.
Shane sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I feel like I've been run over by a steamroller."
"I'm sorry, Shane. I shouldn't have involved you, but I just wanted to talk and—"
He shook his head. "Don't apologize for needing someone to talk to. Although I don't consider myself a dickhead, I think the last Darkwater idiot was probably right. I should butt out and leave the idiot and chief to get on with it with you."
I felt like crying. Everyone but Darkwater and I seemed to think he was in love with me and now he and his brothers had almost certainly ensured Shane wouldn't come near me again—even as a friend. And when John learned how I'd embroiled Shane in my troubles, he'd probably give me the cold shoulder as well.
"But that doesn't mean I won't be available if you need a shoulder to cry on. I will. Okay?"
I nodded, but I knew I wouldn't call on him again. Even though we'd only known each other for a few days, I felt as if I was losing a friend when we said good night at my door after a dinner neither of us enjoyed or wanted to extend.
He kissed my cheek and left.
Alone in my apartment, I undressed and ran a hot bath. Then lying in the water with the lights low and soft jazz filling the air, I finally answered Am's call. "I just need to be alone, Am," I said, making no effort to control the tears streaming down my cheeks.
"That's the last thing you need. I've talked to Janine, Darkwater, Michael, Jeffery, and Shane. I know this has been a horrible day for you. This is when you need your friends most, Sher. I'm coming over."
"No. Please. I just want to sit in the bath and cry tonight. Let's have an early breakfast tomorrow."
"Sher—"
"Please, Am. I just can't take anymore tonight. Please. We'll do breakfast tomorrow."
"Oh, Sher, are you sure? I'm going to find sleep difficult thinking of you crying alone."
"It's what I need to do. In the morning—"
"What? In the morning will you give Darkwater another chance?"
"He practically told me to go fuck myself and he left with Janine."
"You know damned well he's not interested in her any more than she's interested in him. They met tonight to discuss how he could win you back from Shane."
"I'm not in love with Shane, Am. I never have been."
"But you're in lust with him."
"Yes," I admitted. "But thanks to the damned Darkwater brothers, he won't come near me again."
"You can hardly blame them for trying to guard Darkwater's interests."
"Oh, really? Are we talking about the interests of the same Darkwater who admitted to sleeping around since our breakup but thinks I should just keep my knees pressed together and wait for him to come for another drive-by fuck and run?"
"He's a man. That's what they expect us to do."
"It doesn't make it right or mean I have to fall in line with his damned wishes while he fucks a different woman every other damned night, Am!"
"I know, but let's face it, Sher. Women do a lot of unfair shit for the sake of love." She sighed. "He's hurt and he needs your understanding. Believe me, I know it's a lot to ask, but weigh it against the facts."
"What facts?"
"The fact that he's in love with you but doesn't know how to handle it or admit it."
"Then I don't know what you expect me to do about a man who won't admit how he feels, Am."
"I expect you to try to understand him if you love him as I know you do."
So I was expected to continue to give and give while he took and took? "I'll talk to you tomorrow," I said and hung up.
I turned up the music loud enough to drown out the world outside the warm bath and spent another half hour in the tub crying. When the water cooled I got out, wrapped a towel around my body and walked into my bedroom.
I came to an abrupt halt in the doorway. The nightstand on either side of my bed held a vase filled with red roses. And Darkwater rose from the chair near the window.
I was so surprised, I allowed the towel I just begun to wrap around my waist to fall at my feet. "What are you...how did you get in?"
"You still haven't changed your code or your locks."
"I'll remedy those oversights tomorrow, but that doesn't explain where you get off coming in here uninvited. Not after you left with Janine and..." I frowned. "How did you get in when you left my keys on the nightstand?"
He shook his head and reached in his pant pocket to reveal the keys I'd given him. "As you can see I still have your keys."
"I don't understand. You left—"
"I left another set of my keys on the nightstand in the hope that you'd come back to me."
"No."
"Yes, Sherlyn."
Reaching down to scoop up the towel, I wrapped it around my body and walked over to the nightstand to open the top drawer. As he'd said, the keys inside were his. Not mine. I frowned. How the hell had I confused the two? I closed the drawer and turned to face him. "That still doesn't explain why you're here."
"Why the hell do you think I'm here, Sherlyn?"
I knew why I wanted to believe he was there—because what everyone said was true and that he was in love with me. But after all I'd been through, I needed to hear him say how he felt. "I have no damned idea, Thomas."
"Then let me show you," he crossed the room, reached for the end of the towel, and tugged until it fell to the floor. He stared at my naked body for several moments before meeting my gaze. "Damn, you get more sensual every time I see you, Sherlyn."
I inhaled quickly, my heart pounding.
Kicking the towel aside, he pinned me to the wall, burying his lips against my ear. "I'm here to claim what's mine."
Oh, God, I was so hopeless when it came to him. Surrendering to my need, I melted into his embrace, slipping my arms around him. "What's that?" I whispered.
"You," he said in a brusque voice before he turned his head and brushed his warm, insistent lips against mine.
The taste and heat of his mouth moving over mine while his big body pinned me against the wall quickly aroused the need and desire for him that had always lurked just beneath the surface.
Within moments of our first kiss, I heard his zipper slide down. Then I felt his bare cock lying between our bodies. That was a precursor to the greatest feeling in the world. Mindless with need, I sucked his thrusting tongue between my lips and reached down to close my fingers around him. As we continued to burn each other's lips with hot, biting kisses, I quickly pumped and massaged him to a full erection. Then I reached down to cup my hand under the balls heavy with the cum I longed to have filling my pussy.
He groaned, tore his mouth away from mine, and stepped back.
As I watched by the light of the full moon that filled the room, he quickly undressed. When he was nude with his cock standing at complete attention, he rubbed against me. I experienced the absolute joy of having his big shaft pressing against my pussy, demanding to be allowed to slide deep inside it and straight into my heart and soul.
Even as I parted my legs, I caught myself. No matter how wonderfully delicious it felt, nothing good ever came of our having raw sex. I couldn't take another morning after like the last two.
I managed to summon the strength to press my hands against his abs in a weak, half-hearted effort to keep him from spearing me with his bare cock. "Condom," I whispered.
"You're mine and I want it raw."
"Condom."
"I need it raw and I know that's the way you want it too," he responded, rubbing his cock against my slit.
"Wants and needs never end well for us. You need a condom."
"No more barriers between us."
Although I ached with the desire to feel his bare shaft-powering deep into my pussy, bitter memories of how things had gone wrong each time we fucked raw overwhelmed me. "We can't," I said, weakly shaking my head.
"We're going to, sweet girl."
To finally hear that cherished endearment again, crumbled my defenses. This was the man I'd always loved and knew I always would love. What could be more right than sex with him with nothing between us but our mutual desire and need? At that moment, I knew that even if he didn't love me, he wanted me. And just for that moment, overcome with my love and desire for him, it was enough.
"Tell me you want and need it raw too."
"I do," I admitted while still pushing against his abs.
"Then let's enjoy and explore the wonder of sharing it again, my sweet, sensual girl." He took my hands in his and kissed them before pushing his hips forward.
"Oh!" I clutched him close as he slowly eased his hard, bare cock deep into my pussy. "Oh...god!" Holy fucking happiness. He was buried inside me and we were locked in an embrace that had never felt better or more right with any other man.
This was why I'd been born a woman, to love and please him. I closed my eyes on a wave of desire and need so strong, I felt lost it in.
"No. No. Keep your eyes open, Sherlyn."
His sudden, sharp demand threatened to pull me out of the moment. Oh, hell. Not that again. "Why?" I asked, reluctantly opening my eyes to look up at him.
He stilled the delicious movement of his cock to stare down at me. "So you won't forget who the hell you're with! When you close your damned eyes you forget you're with me and call out..."
Without his having to finish the sentence, I suddenly knew why he'd turned cold after we'd had raw sex; I knew it was my fault. And I'd compounded that horrible mistake by ending our relationship without bothering to insist he tell me why he'd cooled towards me. I lifted my hands to cup my palms over his cheeks. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I've always known when I was with you."
"The hell you have!"
"I have," I insisted.
"Don't lie to me!" Placing his hands on my shoulders, he pulled out of me and stepped back.
While I stared at him in shock, he bent down to reach for his pants.
And I just knew that if I allowed him to walk out again, it would be for the last time.
I rushed forward to snatch his trousers from his grip and tossed them on the other side of the bed. "I'm not lying. I know what I did, but I can't explain it because I've always loved you."
"Really? What about when you were kissing Reddorn or engaged to Don? Don't you tell me you didn't come close to sleeping with Reddorn or that you didn't love Don."
Hearing the pain and jealousy in his voice, I wondered how I'd never understood his need for reassurance that I still loved him before. I placed my hands on his chest and looked up into his dark, angry gaze. "Shane is a handsome, charming, and kind man, but then so are you."
He shook his head. "That's not good enough, Sherlyn."
"Okay. I was sexually attracted to him, but I wasn't in love with him. If not for Janine, I would have happily slept with him."
"I'll bet you would have."
I compressed my lips. "Like you, I had needs. Even if I had slept with him, I would still have been in love with you. And speaking of Janine, what the hell were you doing with her?"
"You can't really think either of us have any sexual interest in each other. She was hurt because that dumbass Reddorn couldn't see past you to her. Even though she clearly wanted him for herself, she spent the entire night trying to convince me that I'd misunderstood that kiss in the park."
I sighed, annoyed that I could have thought otherwise. "She's always been a good friend. I have to call her today and apologize for being such a bitch."
"She'll be glad to hear from you."
"Now tell me why you asked her out and made sure I knew?"
"Because I wanted to make you a little jealous."
"Well you did."
"Good. Then you know how I felt when I came to surprise you for lunch today and found you in the park happily kissing Reddorn."
Oh, damn. "What you saw was nothing."
"What I saw was you kissing him! Say what you like about me, I've never kissed another woman in your presence."
That was true enough. "I didn't know you were there and it didn't mean anything."
"It meant something to me and I'm sure he enjoyed it."
I sighed. "I'd just admitted to him that there wasn't going to be anything between us because of Janine and the fact that I was in love with you. He's been very kind to me. The kiss just happened, but it meant nothing."
"It nearly got him strangled on the spot. And Don? Are you going to tell me that was nothing too?"
"No." I shook my head. "I did love Don and I would have been happy married to him."
He turned away.
I caught his hand and tugged at it until he turned back to face me. "But I would have been even happier married to you because you're my first and greatest love. Even when I loved and adored Don, part of my heart still belonged to you. As much as I loved him, and I did love him, I was still yours to lose." I placed one of his hands over my heart. "This has always been and always will be yours for the taking, Darkwater...just as this is," I told him, placing his other hand over my pussy.
"I know you don’t love me, but I love you so much I hurt all over with it. No matter who I meet or who I end up with, I'm afraid I'm always going to be deep in love with you."
He sucked in a deep breath, before he pulled his hand away from between my legs and then slowly pushed his thick, hard cock into the pussy that would always happily welcome his cock.
Because I knew he wanted it, I struggled to keep my eyes open as jolt after delicious jolt send shockwaves through my body. The sweet wonder of his long, deep strokes set my pussy ablaze and filled my heart with a joy I'd never felt as deeply with anyone else.
He turned up the heat and deepened his kiss and quickened his thrusts while his big hands stroked and caressed my body until my pussy gushed and I was so hot I felt ready to burst into flames. As I came, my lids fluttered shut, I clutched him close, and sobbed out his name. "Darkwater...Darkwater...Darkwater... I love you! I love you always!"
He groaned something unintelligible against my neck, dug his hands in my ass, and exploded inside me, filling me with his seed.
Oh, lord, what a wonderful feeling.
He turned his head to brush his lips against mine and we held each other in silence until the tremors left our bodies. Then he took my hand in his and led me across the room.
We lay on the bed in a tangle of arms and legs. I closed my eyes and settled down to fall into a contented sleep. Although he didn't love me, he wanted me enough to call me his. Just maybe, if I were patient and loving, he might eventually feel more for me.
We fucked twice more during the night before exhaustion overwhelmed me and I slept deeply and contentedly with his body draped along my back.
I woke the next morning to find him still in bed with me.
"You were wrong," he said as I opened my eyes and turned from my back onto my side to face him.
I frowned. "About what?"
"About him."
Hearing the tension in his voice, I suppressed a sigh. Which him did he mean? Shane or Don? "Him who?"
"Don."
Oh, hell. Why was there always such anger in his voice when he spoke of Don? "If you're going to tell me he cheated or—"
"No. That's not what I meant. I'm sure he wouldn't have cheated on you anymore than..."
"Then how was I wrong about him?"
He kicked the covers away and rose to walk over to stare out into the breaking dawn. "You were wrong in thinking he was the only man who ever really..."
His voice trailed off but I knew where he was headed and I felt overcome with emotion. Was he finally going to finish a damned sentence that dealt with his feelings for me? Probably only if I pressed the issue. "How was I wrong about him?" I asked.
"You were wrong in thinking he was the only man...he wasn't. Long before he came along and stole you..."
"What?" I encouraged.
"He not only wasn't the only man, he wasn't even the first."
His voice cracked.
My heartbeat a wild, hopeful tattoo because I knew he was struggling to admit how he felt about me. "What do you mean?"
"I do," he said in a low, brusque voice.
I sat up, clutching the covers against my body as a shield in case I'd misunderstood him. "You do what?"
"I do...love you, Sherlyn."
Tears sprang to my eyes and my throat tightened. I wanted to scream in delight but I couldn't seem to move or even breathe in case this was just a lovely dream that any sound of movement would shatter.
He sighed and turned to face me. "I do...I have...long before he came along."
I sucked in an aching breath, my throat tight, my heart pounding.
"I don't know why it's been so hard for me to admit. I have loved you for a long time. I was in love with you before you met Don—"
Oh, God. Please don't let this be a dream. Please. "If that were true—"
"There's no if about it. It was true... "
"Then why..."
"It was true, but I wasn't ready...I..." He trailed off and turned to stare back out the window.
"I know I've hurt you over the years and I haven't...loved you as long as you've loved me, but I do love you. I love you now and I loved you then, sweet." He inhaled slowly. "I thought my heart would break when you fell in love with Don."
I longed to rush across the room to embrace him, but was fearful of doing anything that might interrupt his sweet admission.
"Do you know I was relieved when he died?"
I swallowed, conversely hurt and pleased by the admission. Don's love and passion had lifted me out of a pit of despair when I'd thought I'd never know emotional happiness without Darkwater. He had made me feel loved and adored. I had loved and adored him. I would always ache when I thought of his death. I expected the ache to dull over the years and I was hopeful of finally having a happy life with Darkwater. Nevertheless, a part of me would always mourn for him. And I hated hearing he'd been glad when Don died.
"I wish you didn't feel that way."
"So do I, but he took what I wanted and needed the most in the world. He took you from me."
"He didn't take me. You ceded me to him or any other man willing to fill the void loving you left me drowning in. Had you told me how you felt, there wouldn't have been a Don or a Shane," I said.
"I know, but I wasn't ready to settle down and I had no right to ask you to wait until I was."
"I would have waited for you," I admitted. "I would have suffered through countless years and affairs had I known you loved me and would one day be mine."
He shook his head. "Because I loved you I couldn't ask or expect or even want that for you. I thought when I'd had my fill of meaningless relationships, you'd be there waiting and I'd...I'm sorry I hurt you."
"You weren't ready before. And now?"
He exhaled slowly before crossing the room to sit on the side of the bed. He caressed my cheek. "And now I'm not willing to risk losing you again."
"But you're still not ready to settle down?"
"I am ready. I was ready the moment we had unprotected sex or we wouldn't have had it."
Recalling all the pain and anguish I'd felt since our breakup, I jerked away from him. "Then why the hell didn't you say so? Why didn't you tell me you loved me? Why didn't you do a single damned thing to keep me in your life when I felt I had to end our relationship before you broke my heart?"
He reached out to stop me as I attempted to roll off the bed away from him. "I'll tell you why because you kept tripping over yourself to assure me you were no longer in love with me. Every time I tried to tell you how I felt, you shot me down by reminding me you were in lust but not in love with me. I let you walk away because it hurt knowing I was as much in love with you as ever while all you felt was lust."
"And I'm supposed to buy that excuse?"
"It's not an excuse! Do you have any idea how I felt? After years of resisting my urge and then need to be with you because I wanted to do right by you, we finally get together and you can't stop telling me I was nothing more than a hard cock. Then I had to suffer through the indignity of looking at Don's damn face every time we ended up in here. And if that wasn't bad enough, you started calling out his damned name after we had raw sex.
"If we're going to ask why: why the fuck do you keep insisting you didn't love me anymore until you made me believe it? Why the fuck didn't you move his picture when we became lovers? Why the fuck did you make me look at him night after night?"
Hearing the pain under the anger filled me with regret. "I didn't move it because I wanted you to care enough about our relationship to ask me to move it."
"And I wanted you to care enough about it for me not to have to ask, Sherlyn! How the hell did you expect me to find it easy to admit how I felt when I always felt as if I had to compete with him and his god damned perfect self who never hurt you while I seemed to do nothing but hurt you?"
I blinked back tears, realizing I'd played a part in the misery I'd known since our breakup. "You didn't have to compete with him."
"The hell I didn't. I'm still competing with him—and now there's the fucking Reddorn too!"
"Shane..." I shook my head. "I was lonely and Shane made me feel attractive and wanted. I probably could have been happy with him if not for Janine, but you must know by now that you've never had any real competition, Darkwater."
"And that's another thing. Why the hell do you keep calling me Darkwater when you know I prefer Thomas?"
I shrugged. "Because that's who I fell in love with...Darkwater."
"What? In case you haven't notice, Sherlyn, I'm only one person."
I shook my head. "Oh, no. Thomas was Am's big brother who didn't know I was alive. Darkwater...he was the man of my fantasies who I fell so deeply in love with that I now know I'll love forever. No matter who I meet or who I end up with, a part of my heart will always belong to him...to you, Darkwater."
He stared at me. "Who you end up with? Are you dense or are you just trying to fuck me off, Sherlyn?"
"What do you mean?"
He curled his fingers in my hair and pressed his forehead against mine. "I mean you're mine. My days of and interest in sleeping with anyone but you are over. I want what my father had: the love of a woman I'd be willing to work 60-70 hours a week to take care of.
"My father warned us not to marry until we were so deeply in love that a beautiful woman walking naked in front of us wouldn't tempt us to stray for even a moment. I've reached that point in my life, Sherlyn. I no longer have a sexual interest in any other woman. I'm totally in love with you and I'd willingly work 70 hours a week to give you what you needed if I had to.
"Everything that I have or will have, I'll happily share with you...my time...my money...my heart. They're all yours to do with as you will."
"Oh...Darkwater. Having enough money not to have to worry about being laid off and unable to pay bills would be nice, but it's your time and heart I need. Give me those and I'd happily work 70 hours a week to help make ends meet and come home to wait on you and fulfill all your needs."
"If you can forgive me and have me, I want you as my wife and the love of my life because that's what you are: the love of my life."
I pulled away and stared at him through a flood of tears.
"What do you say, my sweet, sweet girl and the remedy for all my aches, pains, and miseries. Will you be the remedy for everything wrong in my life? Will you marry me?"
And just like that, with one question, he made nonsense of all the years of pain and anguish I'd suffered loving him. "Yes," I whispered. "Oh, yes and yes again!"
He drew me down onto the bed, turned me on my back, and slipped between my thighs as he kissed me slowly.
I closed my eyes and stroking my fingers down his back to his ass, I rubbed myself against his cock until I felt him thickening and hardening against me. Then I reached between our bodies and pressed the big, pulsing head against my slit.
"Take me...fuck me...love me," I whispered.
"I do, my sweet girl," he said and thrust his hips forward, driving his hard cock deep into my pussy with one, delicious stroke.
"Oh...Thomas," I moaned.
He lifted his hips, drawing all but the big head of his shaft out of me. "Call me Darkwater, sweet girl," he said and thrust back inside me.
Oh, shit! That felt good. "Darkwater...my Darkwater."
"And only yours."
I clung to him and we fucked each other with an urgent, raw need and desire that was all the sweeter because we'd both admitted we were in love. I was lost in a wonderful bliss unlike any I'd ever felt or experienced—even with him. Why? Because I knew I was loved and knew I was once again his sweet girl and his remedy.
Much later, after we'd fucked once more, we lay in a tangle of arms and legs.
Although I felt happy and content, he was silent and tense. I decided we needed to talk and clear up all remaining misunderstanding. As I lay trying to decide where to start, he suddenly turned me onto my side so we faced each other.
"Why so many pictures of him and none of me, Sherlyn?"
"You've never needed to be jealous of him, Darkwater. Never."
"That doesn't answer my question."
I stroked my fingers down his cheek. "Aren't you in for a shock?" I slipped out of bed and opened the chest at the foot of my bed. Reaching under the covers I kept there I pulled out a photo album. Getting back into bed with him, I opened the album that contained some of my favorite pictures—all of him through various stages of his life.
"This is my favorite," I said opening the page to a picture of him in a swimsuit smiling into the camera. Long, dark hair cascaded over his shoulders and chest. "This is from Am's sixteenth birthday party. It's the first time I saw you in person and I immediately fell in love with you. And I'm still falling."
I turned the page. "This one is of you wearing your National Guard uniform. And this one is from your thirtieth birthday party. This one is from Am's college graduation. This one is of you when you were only six months old." I looked up at him. "The entire album is filled with pictures of you."
"Where did you get these pictures?"
I shrugged. "Some I took surreptitiously. Most of them Am gave me." I closed the album and looked at him. "How pathetic is it for me to have cherished so many pictures of you when you have none of me."
"Clearly, I was wrong, but so are you." He rose to get his wallet. When he slipped back in bed next to me, he opened it and removed two credit cards. Under each was a color picture of me. One was of me standing on a beach during a trip to the tropics I'd shared with Am and Janine. I wore a bathing suit that I'd allowed Am and Janine to convince me was complimentary. The second picture was a headshot of me that I couldn't remember taking.
He stroked a finger along the picture. "I have a few more but these two are my favorites."
"How did you get them? Did Am give them to you?"
"Not intentionally. I helped myself to Am's collection while you two were on various vacations."
"So you had an ulterior motive for paying for those trips."
He sighed. "I hated those damned trips."
"Why?"
"Every minute you were away I lived in fear of Am calling to tell me you'd fallen for someone else. During those times, having your pictures was a little like having part of you always with me...especially when I lost you to that damned Don."
I shook my head. "Don't, Darkwater. Please. He was a good, kind man and..."
"Who you'll always love?"
I chose my words carefully. While I didn't want to downplay what Don had meant to me, I also didn't want to say anything to give Darkwater reason to hate him or to be jealous of him. "I'll always have fond memories of him." I took his hand and placed it against my chest. "But my heart always has and always will belong to you. I love you now and always, Darkwater."
"These fond memories you'll always have of him..."
"Please don't feel that they will ever in any way encroach on the depth of my love and devotion to you."
He didn't respond.
I bit my lip. "Is my remembering him with fondness going to be a problem for you? As you can see, I've removed his pictures." His silence continued for so long I fully expected him to say something like it was about damned time when he finally spoke.
"And put them where, Sherlyn?"
I took a deep breath. "I put them in an album."
"I see."
So just removing them from display wasn't going to be enough for him. "If you like, I'll..."
"You'll what?"
I looked down at my hands. "I'll get rid of them."
"Will you?"
It would hurt but not as much as losing him. "Yes. I will."
He lifted my chin and slowly shook his head. "No. No. I won't ask you to do that."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure that I'll always probably be a little jealous of him, but that's something I'll have to work on."
"I'll get rid of them."
"No. No. He made you happy at a time when I made you miserable. I guess I owe him for that. And now that I have everything I ever wanted in you, I don't need to be overly jealous of him anymore."
"Oh, thank you for understanding, Darkwater."
"Now is there anything else we need to discuss before I ravish you again?"
There were still issues to deal with. I needed to repair my relationship with Janine and meeting Shane socially would be awkward, but I felt as if everything I'd ever wanted or needed was now within my grasp.
Clearly, we'd both have to work on talking to each other when we had problems or issues, but I no longer thought that would be a problem. Together we could do anything. "No," I whispered.
He smiled. "Then let the ravishing begin," he said, easing me onto my back.
I parted my lips and sighed with anticipation as he positioned himself between my legs with his cock pressing against my slit.
I smiled up at him, sliding my hands around his body to clutch at his hips. "Please do."
He eased his hips forward.
I moaned and closed my eyes, savoring the sweet thrust. Then I tensed and quickly opened my eyes before he could insist I did.
He inhaled slowly and shook his head. "Close them if you like."
"Aren't you afraid I'll..."
"Call out his damned name again? I'm sure you will for a few more times. Every time you do, I'll fuck the hell out of you to remind you that you're with me and who you belong to."
"That sounds like a threat."
"It is, sweet girl."
The endearment removed any possible sting from his remark. "Oh, yeah? And what if I tell you that such threats will almost ensure I call his name out on purpose just so you can punish me appropriately."
To my surprise, he laughed.
"And you, Darkwater? What are you?"
"I'm what I've been for years now, my sweet, sensual girl, your exclusive property. No matter who I was with for the last few years, my heart was always yours and always will be."
"And those five to seven women you've slept with?"
"They were to ensure what I already suspected; that I no longer had a need or desire to sleep around because you were all the woman I needed and wanted in my life," he promised, bending his head to blister my lips with hot, demanding kisses.
As I happily lost myself in him, I closed my eyes. He was everything I'd ever wanted or needed. More, he was mine for more than just a transitory moment. He was mine forever. I didn't delude myself into thinking we wouldn't have problems.
He probably wouldn't say I love you nearly as much or as freely as I wanted to hear it, but that was something we could work on. Fate was smiling on us and I was going to have my happy ever after fairytale ending with my very own Prince Charming. Finally.