Forgiving You

by Melissa Bender

  “I love your taste.” He kissed back up my chest, his hardness pressed into my core again, but I pushed him on his back. “No, Char,” he spoke, but his voice failed him. He wanted this as much as I wanted to give it. There’s nothing to stop me.

  “You want it. Let me show you how much I’ve missed you, Chris. I know you want it too,” I said.

  “Yes, but I don’t need it. Like I said before, I am fine without it.” He cupped my cheeks and ran his thumb over my lower lip.

  I ignored him as I moved back over him. “Let me love you, baby.” I kissed him and sucked his lower lip, kissing down his neck and giving him a mark just above his collarbone while I slid my hand down his chest and touched his growing shaft. The deep sexy groan that escaped from his lips had me moving quickly underneath the covers to finally touch him.

  I licked his cock up and down, using my hand to pull up and down as he held my head while I took him all the way in and sucked slowly. I wanted him to enjoy this, and it had been a while for him. I could tell he was itching to take it further, but he was holding off pretty damn well.

  “Fuck.” A guttural groan escaped from his mouth as his hips began thrusting up faster.

  I swallowed his release when he blew and came back up. “I love you,” I said, smiling lazily and ran my hands up and down his chest.

  His hands moved up my thighs and towards my breasts. “I love you too. That was amazing, sweetheart.”

  “You were amazing as well.” I kissed him softly and lay down beside him, “I missed that,” I admitted.

  He was silent for a while as he held me close to his chest. “Mum called earlier,” he finally spoke. “She wants us to go there tomorrow for lunch. Only if you’re up to it, that is. I don’t want to force you to rush back there.”

  It was then my turn to be silent for a little while as I thought about it. I wanted to go, and I guess it was only fair, but I was still worried. “Umm, promise that you will stay with me and not let them go off at me. I don’t want to fight, especially if Lucy is around.” I looked up at him.

  “I promise, Char. They won’t say anything to hurt you or Lucy. You did nothing wrong. It was all my fault, and they know that. Mum said it would be something quiet, and just us and them there. No big dinner or anything. Adam can come as well if that would help.” He caressed my cheek and kissed my forehead lightly as I turned to my side, facing him as our bodies pressed together like old times.

  Everything in this moment was perfect; nothing could wipe the smile from my face as I lay in my husband’s arms with our daughter sleeping peacefully beside us in her bed. I felt loved, safe, and happy.

  Nothing could wreck the feeling I had.

  Nothing apart from the hell that was unleashed the next day when the so-called small lunch had happened.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Just stand there and look pretty,” I said, grinning as I checked out the camera settings.

  “What? No,” he responded with an eye roll. “I’m not a puppet.”

  I looked up and gave him a smug smirk. “Oh, but you’re my boyfriend. You will do as you’re told. Remember, my dear. You may be the boss in the bedroom, but out of there, it’s me.”

  He scoffed. “You can’t make me do this. I’m a businessman, not your model. I have work to do and important calls to make.”

  “Christopher, don’t you dare pull the work excuse on me. Now, take that top off, get your jeans on the floor, and stand there until I’m ready. You promised me you would do it,” I growled, narrowing my eyes at him and showing him that I meant business.

  “You asked me when I was about to blow. It doesn’t count since you tricked me into this!” He threw his arms up, exasperated, and then pulled the black top off. Oh, he was so doing it.

  “See? It’s not so bad, is it? And by the way, you’ve tricked me during sex as well. If I remember correctly, you went down on me just before you asked me to let you go on that boys’ weekend, which I let you go to,” I reminded him with a raised brow.

  “Charlotte!” Chris snapped angrily undoing his jeans, kicking them off and tossing them across the room. “Just hurry up and do it then. I won’t be smiling either.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and scoffed, putting the camera down and placing my hands over my hips as I walked towards him more. “You will do it because you love me. Now, shut up and stand there until I’m ready.”

  He was pissed because I was taking photos of him in nothing but his underwear. I wanted to do a full-on naked shoot, but he said no to that, so boxers were the next best thing.

  He let out a loud sigh as he sat down, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling. “How about you stand there naked, and I will take photos of you?”

  “Spoken like a true pervert.” I winked and smiled, pulling my shirt up over my head and throwing it at him.

  His eyes widening in shock as he stood “What are you doing?”

  “Getting naked. We’ll take photos together naked from the chest up.” I put the camera back on the tripod, and set the timer and picture frame settings.

  “I don’t want your tits out!”

  “God. We’ll have our chests pressed together. Plus, these photos are just for us when we’re old, and I want to show our kids what we were like young.”

  He laughed and pulled me towards him. “Fine, let’s do this, and maybe if they’re good, then we can put them on the wall.”

  I wrapped my arms around his lower waist as he held me back; our bare chests pressing together as we looked into each other’s eyes. “Oh, I know they’ll be good.” I smiled widely at him.

  He laughed. “Char, you’re lucky I love you because I would never normally agree to this. I’m not the type of man to take pictures of myself.”

  I leant forward. “Think of these as our family portraits, or your new business cards. We both know you wanted a nice photo for that.” I winked and pressed my chest harder into him and hooked my arms around his neck “Kiss me,” I asked quietly.

  The photos turned out amazing. I couldn’t have tried to take more of a perfect shot if I tried. Chris was stunned when I showed him the photos. He couldn’t believe that we had taken such amazing pictures, and in the end, he chose out five which he had hung in the apartment.

  The black and white shots of us looking so lovingly at each other, the ones of us kissing and holding, and there was one adorable one of him pouting and me laughing—they all hung in the open.

  ***

  “Charlotte?” I heard my name being called. I looked to my left and saw Chris walking towards me with his morning messed up bed hair.

  “Morning,” I greeted and let out a yawn, covering my mouth and looking back at the wall of photos of Chris and I when we were dating. All of them were splayed out, telling a story of us when we first dated up until I was nine months pregnant. We had done the whole pregnancy reveal and a maternity shoot. We had even stripped off naked with Chris standing behind me, his hands wrapped around my swollen stomach and covering my breasts.

  His body came behind mine as he wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head. “You’ve been quiet all morning. Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  I nodded and took a sip of the hot tea in my hands. “Yeah. Just nervous, I guess. Plus, I was going to ask if you would want to take photos with Lucy, like we planned to do?” I asked, a little more nervously.

  “I would love to take photos with our daughter. I told you I would do it and I haven’t changed my mind.” He ran his hands up and down my arms as he kissed my cheek. “You’re nervous about lunch, aren’t you?”

  I nodded again. “Yeah, I don’t know what to expect.”

  “Expect a small lunch like she said it would be. I don’t want a bunch of people around Lucy and having her passed from person to person. If it gets out of hand, then we’ll leave and come home.” He slowly turned me around to face him, and I gave him a weak smile.

  He was trying.

  “Okay, that sounds good.”


  “Good. Now, come and eat something. I’ve made you breakfast, and Lucy will be up shortly. I’d like to have some alone time with my wife first.” He wiggled both brows. “Without your brother, I mean.”

  I cocked my head to the side and smirked a little. “You didn’t get enough of that last night?”

  His eyes darkened slightly. “Baby, I loved last night, but I’m talking about us eating breakfast outside until Lucy wakes up, and then I’ll hear her.” He held the baby monitor up and wiggled it in his palm. “Come on. Do you still love pancakes with strawberries and maple syrup?”

  I nodded. “If you’re making them, then I definitely do!”

  We sat outside in our pyjamas under the morning sun and shared a plate of pancakes. Chris always makes the best ones and often cooked breakfast for us every morning. When I first found out I was pregnant, I wanted them all the time. He had made a fresh batter each morning, so I could cook them during the day while he was at work. To this day, I still have no idea what he puts in them.

  I moved from the wicker chair and sat down on his lap, my arms loosely resting over his shoulders as he placed his on my hips. “Thank you for breakfast.” I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his.

  The cry of a baby had us pulling apart to catch our breath as what was meant to be a simple kiss had turned into something hot and steamy. Making out at the outdoor dining table when my brother was in the building was a big risk to take.

  “I’ll get her.” Chris kissed me once more and I stood up to let him move.

  “Okay. I’ll clean up and meet you in the shower,” I suggested, and his brows shot up, not believing if I was being serious or not. I was being serious. “Be up in five.”

  I cleaned up and put the tea towel to the table when Adam strolled over, looking like he was rested and well. His hand went to my hair, tousling it up. “Morning, little sister. How’s your sleep?”

  I slept amazingly after what Chris had done to me. “Good,” I replied simply.

  He gave a slight frown, but then covered it up with a smile. “So, in laws’ today huh?”

  “You want to come with us?” I begged. He wouldn’t let me go on my own, would he? I had to have him there for back up, to help me if things went from good to sour immediately.

  When he shook his head, my heart dropped. “Charlotte, I would go any other time, but this is something you and Chris need to do. On your own,” he spoke in a firm lawyer voice, and I gave him the finger as I walked off. I understood what he said, but still. I was annoyed slightly. If you couldn’t tell, I really didn’t want to do lunch today. Adam laughed, even more so when I stalked off.

  “Here’s mama.” Chris grinned as I stepped into the shower and was sprayed with a splash of warm water when Lucy’s hands jerked out as she made a loud squeal noise.

  “Someone’s excited to have a shower.” I kissed Lucy’s little cheek and felt her fist going right to my boob.

  “Actually, she’s hungry. Her mouth was going crazy when I held her to my chest, and she tried to look for milk.”

  “I wish I could have seen that.” I laughed and quickly started to wash my hair and body.

  An hour later, we were in the car on our way to his parents’ home. It was a thirty-minute drive going to their large mansion in a gated community, of course, since they were more upper class type of people. I was still nervous, and I had begged Adam to come along with us. Even Chris asked him to join us, and he still said no.

  Lucy was fast asleep in the backseat. I had dressed her in a little light pink outfit that Chris picked out. He even put the dark purple crochet beanie hat over her head. I really think he loved dressing her more than I did.

  “It’ll be okay,” he spoke as he pulled up in their driveway.

  I went to agree with him until I spotted all the cars, more than what the immediate family was meant to have. “Chris,” I spoke in a warning tone.

  He let out a sigh and rubbed his temples. I didn’t want to fight, so I just unfastened my belt and made my way out of the car. Chris was still standing there as I pulled Lucy out and grabbed her changing bag. She didn’t wake once I held her in my arms. Chris went to the backseat, pulling out the baby sling. “Put this on,” he spoke.

  I looked at him, slightly confused. “Why?”

  “She’s asleep. I won’t have her being passed around like a doll. Nobody touches her while she is asleep other than you or me, okay? Especially strangers.” I could tell now wasn’t the time to argue with him.

  He was going all papa bear, and he was sexy as hell like this. I nodded as he helped me place the sling on, carefully moving Lucy into it, and finally covering her up with the little pink blanket. I didn’t expect that from him at all.

  “Are you okay to carry her?” he asked me.

  I nodded. “Yeah, if she gets too heavy we can swap.”

  “Yes, but we won’t be here for long if she’s done something crazy.”

  Crazy was the operative word. When we walked into that house, it was filled with people; it was basically a dinner party. I was already feeling overwhelmed. I normally never minded coming to these things, but I, for one, was underdressed, and another, we now had a baby, and I thought his parents would like to meet her on their own without all their friends and families around.

  “I should have worn a tux,” Chris noted, glancing down at his jeans and polo shirt.

  “Incoming,” I whispered, nodding ahead at the person making a beeline for us both.

  “Charlotte, oh my, you’re a welcome sight.” I squeezed Chris’s hand tighter as his sister walked towards us, a massive smile plastered on her face as her eyes zoomed in on Lucy’s covered up body.

  “Hi.” I smiled at her feeling the nerves slowly vanish.

  “Chris wouldn’t tell us anything other than the baby was perfect. Boy or girl?” She rolled her eyes and peered at the blanket.

  I let out a soft laugh and pulled the blanket back. “Little girl, Lucy,” I answered her as Chris’s arm went around my shoulder.

  His sister broke out into tears as she looked down at our sleeping baby, and then punched her brother in the chest. “You’re a fucking moron, Chris. She’s a spitting image of you.”

  “Don’t,” I spoke to cut her off. “I didn’t come here so we can all fight. He’s here now, and that’s what matters.”

  Her eyes widened as if to say “you’re kidding me” but she shook her head. “You don’t deserve her, Chris. If that were me, I wouldn’t be so forgiving. But who am I to judge? She’s perfect, and you both look good with a baby.”

  Chris muttered something under his breath, and I shot him a look; I wasn’t in the mood to listen to him put himself down today. “Chris, do you think we could put this bag in your old room?” I asked.

  “Sure.” He looked at his sister and pulled me closer to his chest as we made our way to his bedroom.

  He closed his bedroom door and took the bag from my hands with a sigh. “Fuck, we should just leave. You want to go get junk food and have a movie marathon?”

  I nodded, sitting on the edge of his bed and laughed. “Yes. She won’t notice if we leave quickly.”

  “Let’s just go home. I’m done with this shit, and just want to focus on you and Lucy this afternoon.” He leant forward and pressed his lips against mine, being careful not to bump the sleeping baby between us.

  “Sounds like a great day to spend the day,” I said honestly as I broke away from his touch. The smile that he gave me had tugged my heart. It was infectious not to smile back at him.

  Opening the door, I was pretty sure he was just about had a heart attack as much as I did when I spotted the woman dressed to the nines standing in front of us, tapping her nails as she stared right at me. That was until Chris stood in front of me and blocked her off from sight.

  “You come back home, but don’t bother coming to say hello?” she spoke, the drama clear in her words. It shocked me because they were always a loving and happy family supporting each other. I hadn’t
ever seen them fight or be this rude.

  Chris’s flat palm went straight to the door and pushed it open with a louder thud. It banged loudly into the wall, the noise jerking Lucy from her sleep but not enough to wake her. Thank god for that, “You said family dinner. This is a fucking circus,” he sneered. “What the hell, Mum!?”

  “You didn’t think that we were really having a small get together, did you? You just had your first child, so we need to celebrate. Charlotte, good to see you. Although, I would have appreciated a phone call to say my granddaughter was born.” She eyed me, looking down at me as if to say I was the worst person in the world. “Oh well, better late than never, I suppose.”

  “I did call when I was in labour and gave birth to my daughter alone,” I muttered sarcastically. “You all cut me off first, so remember that.”

  She looked shocked at my sudden slight outburst and gave a brow raise and half an eye roll. “Well then, if you’re not mad at him, I will put it aside and ask if I can please have a hold of my granddaughter. I believe you named her Lucy?” she asked. “You should have asked for permission first.”

  “Mother, she’s asleep,” Chris spoke, stepping towards us.

  “I don’t care. Babies always sleep.” And before I knew what she was doing, she had reached into the sling and pulled Lucy out, waking her up in a screaming fit and taking off down the hallway with a pat on the bottom.

  Chris and I stared at each other in shock. “Did she just do that?” I asked him.

  He nodded. “Fuck.”

  My maternal instincts were to go and hunt her down, get my baby back, and leave. Grandmother or not, no one snatches my child and takes off without a word.

  We could hear Lucy’s little cries as we walked down the stairs, and both of us moved faster. I didn’t like my daughter just being snatched from my arms like that. Family or not, she should ask first. Chris was caught up by his father, and his group of men’s club friends, giving me a sympathetic smile. I nodded and went to take my child back alone.