Healed

by Rebecca Brooke

  I took the box and placed it on her flat belly, right in her line of vision. Her eyes fluttered open, and the blue of her irises reminded me of the sky on a clear summer day.

  “Is this for me?” she asked, lifting the box.

  “No, it’s for my other fiancée,” I joked, earning me a slap to the chest. “Ouch! Of course it’s for you.”

  The giddiness in her expression made a warm feeling spread through my body. It wasn’t lust, but a contentment at seeing her so happy.

  She lifted up until she was seated, leaning her back against the headboard of the bed. Carefully, she unwrapped the paper, almost as if she was afraid to tear it, and pulled the box from it wrappings. The name of the jewelry store was emblazoned on the outside of the box and with trembling hands she removed the lid, lifting the velvet box from inside. Flipping the lid open, she gasped when she saw the beautiful white-gold oval pendant encrusted with diamonds, and aquamarines that matched her eyes.

  “It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

  Reaching down, I took the necklace from her fingers and latched it around her neck. “No, now it is beautiful.”

  The smile she gave me was exactly what I wanted to wake up to every morning. “You sure know how to sweet-talk a girl.”

  She slid her leg over my thighs until she was straddling me, her long hair covering my chest as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. The warmth of her body seeped into me at every point we were connected. Opening my mouth I slipped my tongue out to suck on her bottom lip, convincing her to open up and let me in, and when she did, her taste exploded through me, making me shiver. The kiss was quickly spiraling in frantic, frenzied need.

  In my opinion, there were too many clothes between us—even though Emily only slept in a T-shirt and panties. I grabbed the hem of her shirt, breaking the kiss long enough to pull it over her head and throw it to the floor, only to return my lips to the sweetest place on earth. The kiss was all-consuming, stealing my breath and making me dizzy. Emily had a way of making me feel things no other woman had ever been able to.

  Suddenly, Emily pulled away.

  “Baby, where are you going?” I asked through labored breaths. I reached out to bring her back to me but the glint in her eyes and the way she bit her bottom lip told me she was up to no good. She grabbed my hands and pinned them to the bed. It would have taken me less than a second to shake her off, but I didn’t, wanting to see where this was going.

  My eyes closed the moment her lips slid down the column of my throat, the kisses stopping at the base, only to be replaced by a light sucking, making my dick twitch in need. Her warm, wet tongue continued its descent down the center of my chest, down to dip into my navel. A moan rose up from the back of my throat. Every nerve ending in my body was on fire with her simple touch.

  When her lips left my body, I almost groaned in disappointment. Small fingers dipped beneath the waistband of my boxer briefs, lowering them until my dick popped free, before her touch disappeared completely. I tried waiting patiently for it to return, keeping my eyes closed and trying to control my breathing, but it was impossible with the parts of my body that still tingled where her mouth had been.

  Soft lips wrapped around the head of my cock and my eyes snapped open.

  “Em, what are you doing?” I moaned as she took me deeper into her mouth.

  With a half-hearted attempt I reached for her. Emily had done this before, but every time it felt better and better. It was incredible—unlike anything else. Nothing compared, except being buried inside her. I doubt there was a guy alive who didn’t love the feel of a warm mouth wrapped around them.

  She brushed my hands away and kept sucking, taking time to suck just the head into her mouth. The move had my eyes rolling into the back of my head. At least until she moved all the way down my shaft and I gritted my teeth to keep from thrusting my hips up toward her sweet mouth. My brain was covered in a massive fog of desire. To stop my body from moving, I fisted my hands into the blankets next to me.

  “Oh God, Emily, please don’t stop,” I panted, needing to feel her lips as they continued to take me in.

  “Mmm,” she moaned around my cock, sending tingles from the tip all the way through my body.

  Her eyes flicked up to mine, watching me as she moved her head up and down, sucking in every inch of me. The skin around my balls tightened. I knew I was close, but I didn’t want to finish with her mouth wrapped around me. I wanted to come when I was deep inside her.

  She must have sensed what I was feeling because she chose that moment to pull back up, licking across my slit. It took everything I had not to thrust back up. Finally, her mouth pulled off with a pop. The banked fires in her eyes as she crawled back up my body had me grabbing her around the hips and flipping her to her back.

  “Oh,” she yelped, as her back hit the mattress.

  I took her mouth in a fierce kiss. “Now it’s my turn to play,” I growled.

  A flush spread across her beautiful body. “The first thing we need to do,” I said, punctuating the words with kisses down her neck, “is to get rid of these panties.”

  Tracing the line along the center of them, I could feel the wetness seeping through. Shit, I wanted a taste, but she deserved a little torture first. Carefully, I slid my fingers under the waistband and slipped her underwear down and off her legs, using my tongue to take in her glorious taste and slide it down into the valley of her gorgeous breasts. They were the perfect size to fit into my palm. Running my hand up the inside of her thigh, feeling the silky smoothness beneath, I lightly grazed her clit before moving my hand up farther. I caressed her body until I reached her breast and lightly ran my thumb over the hardened little nub.

  “Andrew,” she whispered, her breaths coming faster, her hips bucking beneath me, and I knew if I were inside her I’d feel her clenching around me, drawing my body even more tightly into hers.

  With slow, soft movements, I continued to trace her nipple, at the same time lowering my head to her other breast. A quick flick of my tongue and she was clawing at the mattress.

  “Andrew, please . . . touch me.”

  Taking a deep cleansing breath, my mouth returned to ravish her breasts once more, trying to bring her to the peak of ecstasy before joining my body with hers.

  “I need you to touch me,” she panted.

  Her hands reached up to thread through my hair, holding my head to her breast. Knowing it was time to push her a little further, I slid my hand back down her body until my fingers found her clit, slick but unattended.

  “You’re so wet,” I groaned into her body. “So hot . . . so sexy.”

  Her hand gripped my head, pulling my lips back to hers. “I want you so badly.”

  That’s when I slipped one finger into heaven, while still rubbing my thumb around her clit—brushing, never quite touching. Her head thrashed on the pillow.

  “Please don’t make me wait anymore.”

  “I like that you said please,” I whispered, placing a brief kiss on her lips, slipping another finger inside, gliding back and forth. I finally moved my thumb to stroke her clit.

  “Andrew,” she screamed, her body spasming beneath mine as the orgasm took her.

  Before the pulses finished coursing through her I covered her body with mine, thrusting deep within her. Whether unconsciously or not, her hips moved up to meet my thrusts. She felt so tight. It was mind-blowing.

  “Fuck, you feel so good.”

  Bending down, I covered her lips with mine, moving in and out of her, my pace increasing with each thrust as our bodies moved in sync like a well-rehearsed dance, every moan, every whimper just sending me higher. Her hands cupped my ass, forcing me deeper into her. I couldn’t hold back anymore. My body moved faster.

  “Em,” I shouted, pumping into her one last time before I came, taking her over the edge once again.

  Not wanting to crush her, I did everything to hold myself up, but the muscles in my arms were toast. Pulling her tightly to me, I r
olled so that we were lying on our sides, facing each other. The panting that was our breathing slowly calmed down to a normal rate. I reached up brushed her hair back from her forehead, smiling at her sweaty, flushed face. Nuzzling her neck, I whispered, “This has to be the best Christmas morning in history.”

  “No kidding,” she said, snuggling deeper into my arms. “What time do we need to leave?”

  “Mom said she’d have a brunch ready around 11:30, so we have time to cuddle for a bit.”

  “That sounds perfect,” she mumbled, her voice sounding sleepy.

  We must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, I woke up and Emily was no longer in my arms, but the shower was running in the other room. There was still a half an hour before we had to leave. As much fun as it would be to join Emily in the shower to help her wash, I knew that we’d never get out of the apartment in time if we did that. Stretching, I waited patiently so that I could take my turn.

  I was excited about spending the day with my family, sharing all of our traditions with Emily, just like her family had the night before. From the moment I met Emily, everything about her called to me, and the realization that this time next year we’d be only months away from walking down the aisle had me ready to stand up and jump on the bed.

  Emily

  AFTER ONE OF THE hottest rounds of sex we’d ever had, we both fell asleep. It was easy considering I was lying in my favorite place. Nestled next to Andrew, I was always so warm and cozy. I could have stayed there all day, maybe even all week. Unfortunately, there was a nagging feeling in the back of my head that told me I needed to get up. My eyelids fluttered open. Once they adjusted, I was able to read the clock on the nightstand. We had about an hour before it was time for us to leave. Deciding that if I stayed in bed much longer I’d never get up, I forced myself to pull out of Andrew’s arms, carefully, so as not to wake him up. He grunted a bit in his sleep, then settled back down.

  I figured the easiest thing would be for me to get in the shower and wake him up when I got out. If he knew I was already in there, I was pretty sure he would join me, practically guaranteeing we’d be late.

  Stepping into the bathroom, I grabbed my toothbrush to brush my teeth. That’s when I noticed the necklace again. It was absolutely gorgeous. I took a few minutes to examine it. I’d never seen anything like it, and it was absolutely perfect.

  In record time, I’d brushed my teeth and showered, the hot water feeling amazing because although my skin had been blazing hot earlier wherever Andrew had touched, now I was back to freezing. Winter had to be the worst season of all.

  Wrapped in a towel and shivering, I made my way back to our bedroom so that I could get dressed, surprised to see Andrew fully awake and sitting up in bed.

  “Morning,” I said, getting caught up staring at the hard, defined planes of his chest. The worst part was knowing exactly what he didn’t have on underneath that sheet. My body began to warm—and it had nothing to do with the hot shower from a few moments ago.

  “Morning,” he answered, his voice still husky with sleep.

  “I’m surprised you’re still in here. I know you could hear the shower running.”

  “It took every ounce of willpower that I had to stay here, trust me.”

  Holding my towel tightly, I bent down and placed a brief kiss on his lips, before standing and moving toward the dresser to grab a bra and underwear. Pulling those on I looked around the room for a pair of pants. Normally, the mess in our room would have made me crazy, but most of it was stuff from my parents’ house last night. They really had gone overboard.

  Finding my jeans in the middle of the chaos, I turned around to see Andrew still sitting in the middle of the bed, staring at me.

  “Are you getting in the shower?”

  “In a minute. Right now, I’m admiring the view.”

  “Well this view needs to get dressed so we’re not late getting to your parents’.”

  “Be my guest, I won’t stop you.”

  Rolling my eyes, I put my jeans on and pointed to the door. “Get your ass out of bed and get in the shower.”

  With one hand lifted in surrender, he used the other to throw the covers off, pausing because he knew I’d be looking, eventually leaving the room. Sighing, I looked around at the disaster before me. If I thought I had the time, I would start cleaning now, but as it was, we were already pushing it and I still had to finish getting dressed.

  Looking through my dresser, I found the perfect cranberry-colored sweater to wear. Andrew’s parents were a little more formal than mine. My mom couldn’t care less if you showed up for Christmas in sweats, as long as you showed up. In fact, my guess was that she was still in her pajamas right now. Since Andrew was still in the shower, I decided to give her a call.

  There was only one ring before Mom answered. “Merry Christmas, Emily.”

  “Merry Christmas, Mom. I figured I’d give you guys a call before we got on the road.”

  “I’m glad you did. Did you both have fun last night?”

  “We did.”

  “Good. We tried to get as much of our normal Christmas stuff in as we could.”

  “I know, and you have no idea how much that means to me.” There was a slight quiver to my voice and I knew that if I could hear it, Mom could hear it as well.

  And right on cue. “Oh, sweetie, don’t be sad. We’re going to miss you today, but it’s not the end of the world.”

  “It just feels weird.”

  “I know, but that’s part of being in a relationship. It’s not about two separate people anymore. It’s about you two, together, as a family.”

  Family.

  Such a simple word, but for some reason it never occurred to me to think of Andrew and I that way. When I thought about it though, that was exactly how I felt. Andrew was my family and wherever he went, I’d go too. Well, at least until he pissed me off—then all bets were off.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “For what?” I could hear the confusion in her tone.

  “For making today seems a little less strange.”

  “You’ll have a good time today.”

  “I know. His parents are great.”

  “Oh, I forgot to ask you last night. Aunt Debbie called, wanting to know if you were coming to dinner on New Year’s Eve.”

  Aunt Debbie was Dad’s crazy, stuck-up sister. She thought she was better than everyone else, and while she was a fantastic cook, her condescending nature could be too much at times.

  “Aww, I really don’t wanna go,” I whined.

  “You didn’t go last year, and she’d really like to see you.”

  “Ugh, I know, but it’s such a hassle and it’ll just end up being a nightmare.”

  There was a noise by the doorway and I looked up to see Andrew standing there, except, the moment my eyes should have connected with his, he looked away, moving further into the room.

  What’s that all about?

  “Look, Mom, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you guys later tonight to talk to everyone else.”

  “Of course. You two have a good time today.”

  “We will. Love you, Mom.”

  “Love you too.”

  Disconnecting the call, I let my gaze wander around the room, searching for Andrew. When I found him he had his back turned to me, getting dressed in silence. The playful Andrew from earlier gone, to be replaced by . . . who the hell knows what.

  I went back into the bathroom to do my hair and makeup, and few seconds later he was standing at the door.

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yeah, just give me five minutes to finish,” I said, pulling the straightener through my hair.

  “I’ll be in the living room when you’re ready.” He turned and left without another word.

  Oh shit. It was nice to see we’d landed in the town of Passive Agressiva, a place that annoyed me more than anything. If you’re pissed, just say something—don’t sit there and wallow, only to tell me three day later why you w
ere pissed because, to be honest, by then I no longer gave a shit.

  Giving him a minute to calm down, I finished my hair and makeup, finally going out to the living room where my purse and coat still sat on the back of the couch from last night. That’s where Andrew was, sitting with his arms on his legs and his hands folded between his knees.

  “Ready?”

  Without a word, he stood and walked to the front door, the bags I’d set out yesterday, full of stuff to take to his mom’s house, already gone. I was not going to do this with him the whole car ride, and especially not on Christmas morning.

  By the time I’d turned and locked the door he was already in the driver’s seat with the engine running. Taking purposeful strides, I made my way across the lot to the car. Sitting down in the passenger’s seat, I reached over and turned the car off, ripping the keys from the ignition before he could stop me.

  “Hey!”

  “I’m not giving these back until you explain what the hell your problem is.”

  “I don’t have a problem. Now give me the keys.”

  I still hadn’t shut the door, wanting an escape if he tried to get the keys back.

  “Bullshit. Ever since you got out of the shower you’ve been acting like a total asshole, and I don’t want to do this with you.”

  The silence continued, stretching on, making things a little uncomfortable. Eventually, Andrew spoke. “If you don’t feel like spending the day with me, then why don’t you just stay here and I’ll go to my parents’ alone.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about you going to your parents, and me going to mine, just like we did last year.”

  “Now why the hell would you suggest that? You need to knock this shit off and just tell me what the hell is wrong with you.”

  His head snapped in my direction, eyes flashing. “Me? What’s wrong with me? How about, after a fantastic morning, I get in the shower only to come out and find you complaining to your mom about having to go with me today.” His hands clenched the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles where white. He was pissed, but I could feel myself tensing, my nails digging into the palm of my hands.