Fated to be Yours

by Jodie Larson

  “And that’s my cue. Are you sure you don’t need me tomorrow?” I ask, packing up my laptop bag. Kara hands me my phone and key and shakes her head.

  “No, for the last time, we do not need you. Chris and I will take it from here. You are under orders to take the day off tomorrow and spend it any which way you feel the need to with Andrew.”

  My face heats up as I shuffle from foot to foot. Chris gives me a puzzled look.

  “Who’s Andrew? Did our Tess finally meet someone?”

  I roll my eyes and sigh. “I met Andrew on the plane over here. I didn’t know that he was the head of operations for the Foundation until that initial meeting.”

  “You mean Andrew Parker?”

  He wraps his arms around Kara from behind and rests his chin on her shoulder.

  “Yep, that’s him. He’s perfect for her. Just the epitome of what a perfect gentleman should be. It was love at first sight for both of them,” Kara says.

  “So what are you saying? I’m not a perfect gentleman?”

  “I’m pretty sure that you’ll be proving my point in a few minutes.”

  I need to get out of here. I open the door and turn to say my goodnight. They barely acknowledge my departure as I listen to Kara’s surprised yelp as she’s tossed onto the bed.

  My room is still dark as I slide into it, remembering not to bolt the door just in case Andrew decides to come over tonight. I place my laptop bag on my desk and get ready for bed. I leave the bathroom light on and crack the door a touch so it’s not pitch black in my room. I turn down the bed and snuggle into the softness of the sheets, closing my eyes lightly while paying attention to every single noise I hear.

  Within a few minutes, I hear the clicking of the door and the bolt sliding into place. His feet move across the carpet quietly and he drops something at the end of the bed. Another round of rustling goes on before I feel the bed dip next to me. I smile as his arm snakes around my middle, pulling me into his chest and kissing the back of my head.

  “Are you awake, love?”

  “Mmhmm.”

  “I couldn’t stay away any longer. I had to be next to you.”

  My arms cover his, pulling him tighter around me. “I’m glad you didn’t stay away. I missed you.”

  “I missed you too, love. We don’t have to do anything except sleep. I promise.”

  “Just hold me,” I whisper.

  “Always.” He nuzzles his nose into my hair, inhaling deeply as I relax into him. He draws tiny circles across my stomach. “There’s nowhere in the world I would rather be than right here holding you in my arms.”

  A million emotions fly through me, each one tied to the man who’s wrapped himself around my body and my heart. He’s so sweet and caring and mine. Well, not mine, but I feel like he’s mine.

  Our peaceful reunion is interrupted by a loud thumping noise against the wall, followed by Kara’s unmistakable moans, filling our quiet room. Good gravy, does she not have any decency?

  I laugh and turn in his arms to face him, letting my hand run down his cheek in the way that I love.

  “I take it Christopher made it here just fine?”

  I nod. “He’s reminding her of why she keeps him around if I remember right.”

  His eyes light up with laughter. I just love his eyes. The cool blueness, even when ignited with fire toward me, draws me in every time. I would be content to do nothing but stare at them daily, allowing myself to get lost in their depths.

  He leans forward, pressing his lips against mine. It’s soft at first. Like a first kiss between lovers. He takes his time, slowly molding my lips to his. My hand reaches up, allowing my fingers to trail through his hair as our mouths reacquaint themselves with each other. He tastes of mint and Andrew, something that I can’t describe only that it’s a taste unique to him.

  A flash of something familiar sets in but I quickly wave it off, not wanting to get distracted and lose the feeling I have right now, at this moment. My tongue gets bold, running across the seam of his lips in an attempt to deepen the kiss but Andrew pulls back and gives me sweet little pecks instead.

  “Not tonight, love. You asked me to just hold you and that’s what I’ll do.”

  And I’m gone. Done. Stick a fork in me, cast me to the side, send me down the river, finished. He’s not going to try anything with me because I asked him not to. He’s unlike any other man I’ve been with and I know for a fact that after this, there will be no one else for me.

  My hand falls onto his chest and it’s just then I realize that he’s still wearing a shirt and his boxers. He really didn’t have plans for anything more unless I wanted it. My heart sighs as the unnamed emotions come to the surface, begging for release. They’re on the tip of my tongue, but I choke them back down. I’m not quite ready for those to be vocalized just yet.

  He rolls onto his back, pulling me closer to his side in the process. I tuck my head underneath his chin and place a kiss in the middle of his chest. We laugh at the wall thumping, which is still going on and I hate to admit but is quite impressive. He kisses my temple and whispers his goodnight as my ear rests over his heart, letting the rhythmic beating of it lull me into a peaceful night sleep.

  MY BODY FEELS SURPRISINGLY WARM and comfortable as sleep slowly fades away from me. The feel of the soft mattress is still beneath me, the sheets still covering my body instead of tangled around my feet.

  I didn’t fall out of bed last night.

  A smile crawls across my face, delighted at this little revelation as I stir. But strong arms wrap around me tighter, holding me to the hard body in front of me. One eye braves the morning light as the most beautiful face in the world slowly comes into focus. His eyes are still closed. The thick black lashes are fanned across his cheeks. His morning stubble has my fingers itching to touch it. I open my other eye to get the full effect.

  He’s smiling.

  Either he’s still asleep and having a good dream or he’s awake and enjoying my early morning voyeurism. Privately I hope it’s the latter. I try to move my legs, only to discover that his are wrapped around them as yet another anchor.

  “I think you’re attempting to get away from me before I have the opportunity to see what you look like first thing in the morning,” Andrew says. The amusement in his deep, raspy morning voice is so sweet that I can’t help but giggle.

  His eyes blink open. Bright blues find my curious hazel and I watch as his whole entire face lights up like the sun coming over the horizon.

  “And just as I imagined, you are the most exquisite sight anyone could see. Exactly how I want to start my days, looking into your beautiful eyes with sleep still lingering behind them.”

  He closes the distance between our lips, sealing them together. A sigh falls quietly from me when he explores my neck with his mouth.

  He’s here.

  In my bed.

  And we’re both still fully clothed, yet I’ve never felt more naked. His words linger in my still sleepy brain. He thinks I’m the most beautiful sight first thing in the morning. And we haven’t even had sex yet.

  But then the scene from my dream pops into my head, bringing me back down from my high. It was different this time. I was able to see more of his face, the distinctive slope of his nose, and his perfectly sculpted mouth. He’s still approaching me from the shadows, causing me more frustration but for some reason a sense of belonging as well. The image still isn’t as sharp as I’d like. I swear it’s hanging on the edge of my mind, teasing me that there’s something familiar about this shadowed being.

  It could be the fact that I didn’t fall out of bed last night as to why I feel different about the dream. Or it could be my subconscious trying to let him go with the realization that Andrew is here now to fill the void in my life. The need for my mystery man is no longer a necessity. Andrew is here, seemingly ready to take on the role of the main man in my life. He hasn’t said quite as much, but he’s alluded to it enough times where I have to think that’s what he w
ants.

  His nose circles mine, bringing me out of my thoughts and back to the present. I kiss him on the end of his nose in the same way he does to me, my most favorite of his gestures of affection. Well, at least the most decent in public. His arms wrap tighter around my middle, drawing me closer to his body.

  “I like this, sleeping here next to you. For one, I didn’t fall out of bed and hurt myself like I do every morning.”

  I try to laugh it off. Andrew’s smile slowly fades from his face instead.

  “I would never let anything happen to you while you’re in my arms and in our bed. I wish I knew what your dreams are about that cause you so much distress at night.”

  He cups my cheek and stares into my eyes, searching for the answer to his question. I’m afraid to vocalize my dreams, afraid that he won’t understand or worse, that it’ll scare him away. But if we have any hope of a relationship he needs to know everything about me. With a shaking hand, I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and attempt to swallow past the lump now formed in my throat.

  “I know you do that when you’re nervous, tucking your hair behind your ear. You have nothing to be afraid of with me. I want to be the one to protect you every day, be the light that chases away your nightmares in the dark. Your knight in shining armor, for lack of a better term.”

  I blow out a breath, letting go of my fear in the process. “They’re not nightmares. At least I don’t think they are. My subconscious is trying to tell me something but the message is vague and I can’t see the whole picture at times. The last few nights though, the picture has been getting sharper, allowing me to see a few more pieces to the puzzle. I’m hoping that means something good is going to happen in the future. But there’s a face that keeps coming from the shadows and my mind’s eye won’t let me fully see it. I think that’s why my body is so restless at night. It’s trying to see what’s coming, but it can’t.”

  My fingers pick at his shirt while I try to explain to him what I think the dream means without actually giving away too much. How does one explain to the man who is currently occupying a bed with them that they dream of someone else every night?

  Andrew looks down on me, his thumb running down my cheek, gently easing my mind into the calmness that it craves. “Our minds have a funny way of interpreting dreams. This face that you regularly see could be a person blocking a path you’re trying to take or it could be the person you’re supposed to run to. The shadows are just your mind trying to keep it at bay, keep some sort of unknown at an arm’s length in a way of self-preservation.” His hand cups the back of my head, pulling me closer until we’re nose to nose. “But as long as I’m here with you I will do everything I can to keep you safe and to make sure that your dreams come true, whatever they may be.”

  If there was any doubt lingering in my mind before it is gone like the wind. My heart has fallen completely and effortlessly into his hands. It is now his to take care of, to mind, to guard. And I give it freely to him, without question or restraint. This mystery man, this person in my dreams cannot hold a candle to Andrew. He would never lie in the shadows, always at an arm’s length. No, he would be bursting through the darkness, never stopping until he reached me. That I know without a doubt to be true.

  My fingers reach up and run through his dark hair, lovingly caressing him, trying to reassure him that I believe everything that he’s said to me. He is my knight in shining armor, my light against the shadows of the dark. He’s the one person I could never live without, the other half of my soul. It’s crazy, I know. Believe me, I know how desperate I sound, but I’m a hopeless romantic and he’s saying all the right things at just the right time.

  Andrew’s fingers mirror mine, threading the long strands of my hair in his, combing through it slowly before finally falling down to the sides of my neck. His fingers follow the trail, drawing circles down my arm before placing his fingers in mine. Our joined hands are lifted to his mouth as he places a gentle kiss upon each of my knuckles then clutching our hands to his chest.

  We lay there, completely entranced with each other, doing nothing but staring into the depths of each other’s eyes, the portal to the soul. Nothing is spoken. No words are necessary for communication between us. His body speaks for him and my body answers. Two matching hearts beating as one in the early hours of the morning.

  Seconds, minutes, hours pass by with nothing else but the sound of our breathing. Finally, my stomach rumbles loudly, breaking our trance. Andrew laughs, kissing the tip of my nose as the heat of embarrassment flushes my face.

  “I believe that’s my cue to feed you. Though I must say it pains me to have to leave this bed. However, we have a busy schedule ahead of us and lying here all day is not part of that. But I am willing to adapt if need be.”

  My brows furrow as he smiles that dazzling smile of his. “What plans?”

  He taps the end of my nose. “I’m giving you the grand tour of London. Well, as much as we can fit in over the course of the afternoon. I will not break our evening plans because I have something special in mind for tonight.”

  My whole face brightens at the thought of a special night with Andrew, my mind working furiously on what that could be. He leans over, softly kissing my lips before sitting upright and stretching his arms above his head. I mirror his action but instead of sitting up I’m still lying on my back. The feeling of not lying on the ground is too good to pass up. It’s not every day that I wake up lying next to the most handsome man on the planet. That’s incentive enough to stay in bed all day long.

  With great reluctance, I slide up and lean against the headboard of the bed. He wanders around my room, pulling things out of his overnight bag that was placed at the end of the bed.

  “Would you like to shower first? It’d probably be faster if you go before me since it may take me a while to get ready. You know how it goes with women in the mornings.”

  My legs swing over to the side, throwing the covers away from my body. He stills as his eyes roam over my newly exposed flesh, which isn’t much considering the nightshirt I wear comes down to my knees. His lips twist into a playful smirk as I stand next to him.

  “Believe it or not, I’ve never cohabitated with a woman before so I’m not familiar with the rituals of the morning preparations.”

  This little bit of information surprises me. But it also raises a few questions of my own that need clarifying. He’s either a virgin, which I highly doubt, never had a lasting committed relationship or he’s a serial one-night stand type of guy. The ones that I try to avoid at all cost because they lead to nothing but heartbreak.

  “Are you saying you’ve never seen a woman get ready in the mornings or you’ve just never lived with one?”

  My voice wavers slightly, the fear evident in the words that I’ve chosen. He stops what he’s doing, dropping the pile of clothes on the floor and takes the few steps over to stand in front of me. The feel of his hands as he runs them up and down my arms calms my nerves.

  He looks down at me, his face serious. “No, I’ve never lived with a woman before. Yes, I have seen them get ready in the mornings but I don’t want to talk about other women while I’m here with you. As far as I’m concerned there was no one before you.”

  My heart flutters again in my chest at his words. He’s too good to be true, knowing exactly what to say to make me feel like the most important thing in the world to him. So he has a past. Who doesn’t? He’s dated a few women before me. That’s not surprising either. It was more surprising that he wasn’t currently dating anyone when I met him.

  “What did I ever do to deserve you?” I ask.

  He gathers up his clothes again and kisses my cheek. “I’ve asked myself the same thing every day since we met. I won’t take long.”

  He disappears into my bathroom and I slump back onto my bed. Reaching for my phone, I text Kara, letting her know that I have a giant bottle of Advil in case she needs it after the pounding she was doing against my wall last night. Kara texts back wi
th her usual smart ass remarks, making me laugh.

  It’s too quiet now that Andrew isn’t in the same room as me. I turn on my playlist, needing to fill the void and start bouncing around to the beat as Gavin DeGraw sings about being in love with a girl. Warmth spreads through my body as I wonder if Andrew feels the same way as I do about him.

  I listen as I hear him singing in the shower, and I turn down the music so I can eavesdrop better. It’s comical that he’s singing along with the song I’m playing. Apparently I must have the volume up loud enough to be heard over the rushing of water. But I don’t want to draw unnecessary attention to my spying. So I resume the volume it was at and busy myself around the room, picking out clothes that I think could be appropriate for our excursions. I don’t like being unprepared for situations. Being unprepared means things can happen and for me that’s never something good. The black cloud that follows me around generally sees to that.

  A puff of steam comes out of the now open door and my mouth turns into Niagara Falls again as Andrew emerges from the bathroom. I swear he’s walking in slow motion as he pulls his shirt over the hard muscles of his abdomen, giving me just the barest glimpse of his rock hard abs.

  He sits next to me on the bed and begins lacing his shoes. My eyes close as his sweet, sexy scent surrounds me in the safety of the cocoon that he brings. It should be a sin to smell that good.

  Andrew nudges my shoulder, flashing me that heartbreaking smile of his. “Your turn, love.”

  My head turns to acknowledge the statement only my body feels frozen to the spot. The heat emanating from him warms my skin even though goose bumps are present. He laughs and stands me up, patting me on the behind as I gather my clothes and disappear into the bathroom.

  I close my eyes and inhale deeply. It smells of him, his body wash, his cologne and just him. I want to bottle this up and bring it with me so I’m never without this smell. Stripping out of my nightshirt I turn the water on and occupy the space that he was just naked in, feeling slightly dirty at the thought.