by K. A. Hobbs
“I thought we were going out?” he shudders a little in my arms.
“We are.” I lick another then another, I’m about to lick a fourth when he turns in my arms and looks down at me.
“Katie, stop it. We have to go out.” he tells me, all the while I trace the lines of his chest and lean in to kiss his tattoo.
“I know that, but I ju—”
“You just need to have a shower and get ready.”
“I just want t—”
“Off you go.” he turns me in his arms and pats my bottom.
“You’ll regret it, Daniel, just you wait!”
I head to the shower and turn it on, the whole room is steamy from Daniel’s shower and it smells heavenly, just like him. I slip under the spray and start to wash my hair. After I’ve shaved everywhere and rinsed my conditioner off, I step out into the bathroom and notice Daniel is standing by the sink shaving. His eyes meet mine in the mirror and it doesn’t go unnoticed by me that his eyes stray from my face and down my body.
“Can you pass me a towel?”
He steps over to the big pile just to the right of him and hands me one of the fluffy towels I love so much, how he keeps them so fluffy I’ll never know and he won’t tell me. I wrap it around myself and grab another to wrap around my hair before heading into the bedroom. I’m in the middle of getting my dress out when the phone rings.
“I’ll get it!” Daniel calls, heading downstairs.
When I hear him head into the office, I know he will be a while. Since he started working again, the enquiries and jobs have just come flooding in and he has more work than time to do it in and has had to turn some down. I am so proud of him. I blow dry my hair and curl it, pinning it loosely, then I start my make-up. I’m going natural everything except my eyes which I’m going to have smokey. When I’m finished I slip the towel off and slip into my new underwear.
I’d seen this while I was out shopping and decided to treat myself… and Daniel. It’s a blush coloured strapless bra and suspender belt. It’s beautiful and I know Daniel will love it. He’s old fashioned when it comes to lingerie. He wants lace and ruffles. Stockings not tights and it’s all the more appreciated if a suspender is holding up the stocking. I attach my flesh coloured stockings and slip on my robe while I go in search of the poppy Daniel bought me to wear in my hair tonight. When I come back into the bedroom he is just putting on his suit trousers. I watch as he pulls them up his long, muscular thighs and decide, after looking at the clock, we have time. I clear my throat to get his attention and when his eyes meet mine, I drop the robe.
“Wow.” he breathes, his eyes going wide.
“Like?”
“Love.” he smiles, walking towards me.
“I thought you might.” I groan as his hand comes up to trace the cup of my bra.
“It’s new, I haven’t seen this before.” his finger traces the line between my breasts and lower, over my stomach.
“I saw it and thought of yo—”
My breath hitches as his hand slips inside my knickers, this thumb making contact with my core. He looks down at me, his eyes darker and hooded as his hands caress and tease me. I close my eyes and surrender to the feeling of his hands on me. I feel his hot breath on my neck and turn my head to the side, giving him better access to one of my favourite spots.
“We really do have to get ready to go out, Katie.” he murmurs against my skin.
“I know, but this is too good to st—”
I gasp as I feel one of his long, perfect, skilled fingers slip inside me. Daniel kisses a line across the tops of my breasts and up my neck, only stopping when he reaches my lips. He rests his mouth against mine and when I open my lips to welcome him in, he slips his tongue inside my mouth and groans. I wrap my hands around his neck and pull him to me, needing to feel more of his skin on mine.
“We nee—” he tries to speak but I stop him with more kisses and my hands tracing his erection through the thin fabric of his trousers.
“We need to make love, I’ll never last if we don’t.” I speak into his mouth before I pull back and drop to my knees in front of him.
Watching his reaction is almost my undoing. His eyes go wide, his jaw goes tight, the muscles ticking and his hands ball into fists at his side. Daniel isn’t a dominant man, but he isn’t a saint either. He’s sexual and devoted and sex with Daniel is always incredible. He knows how to play my body, he knows just what to do to keep me guessing and he knows how to please me to the point of ecstasy then tease me by stopping. As I reach up and unzip his trousers, his breathing picks up, his chest rising and falling fast. Releasing his erection into my hand, I dip my head and circle just the head of him in my mouth, he groans, a deep sexy sound that seems to come from deep within his chest as one hand comes up and cups my cheek.
“You’re beautiful, so insanely beautiful, Katie.”
I take him deeper into my mouth, my lips stretching to accommodate his size. He moves his hips forward a little then pulls back, all the time his hand rests on my face, an act of protectiveness not dominance.
“I don’t think there is anything sexier in the world to me than seeing you like this. It’s beyond anything I could ever have imagined.” his hand leaves my face and his fingers dance their way down my throat and to my breasts.
I pull back, removing him from my mouth, pressing a kiss to the very tip of him before I speak.
“There is nothing sexier to me than pleasing you, Daniel. I want to please you, like you do me so often.”
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, almost like he is steadying himself. He opens one eye and looks down at me, a small smile on his perfect lips.
“Are you trying to kill me? Or make us awfully late for this event of yours?”
“Neither. I’m not even in control of myself right now, this is what you do to me,” I tell him, getting to my feet and pressing myself to him, “You make all logic cease to exist. When I’m with you like this, there is only you and me. There is no one else, nothing could stop me being with you.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“It sounds like Heaven. My Heaven.” I whisper against his mouth, “Now… Make love to me.”
He picks me up, taking me by surprise and carries me over to the dresser, placing me on top of it. The bottles of perfume I have neatly lined up on there clanging together and wobbling precariously close to the edge. Without taking his eyes off me, he reaches out and pushes the bottles back to a safe distance before reaching down to pull my knickers to the side. The act seems so incredibly sexy, so visceral, like he cannot bear to waste time removing them, like he has to be buried inside me this instant, that it sends a wave or arousal crashing over me.
“I wake up every single morning and and thank God I have you next to me, Katie. I go to sleep thinking the exact same thing,” his hands grip my hips as he moves slowly towards me, “I know I’m the luckiest man alive. You’re everything and more than I could have ever dreamed of, I didn’t even know these feelings existed until I met you.”
“Daniel..”
“And in six weeks time, I’ll be sliding another ring on your finger,” he takes my left hand and kisses my engagement ring, “I’ll be standing up in front of all our friends and family and telling them, I’m yours and you’re mine and we’ll be that way forever.”
As he says the word forever, he slides himself into me, his jaw going tight, his eyes locking on mine. I can feel every delicious inch of him and I can’t help but groan in response, to not only having him inside me, but his words. Daniel has the habit of telling me the most beautiful and earth shattering things when we make love. It seems, when we are joined in this way, his feelings pour out of him and he cannot help but share how he feels, right at that moment, with me.
“That day, “ he tells me as he continues to move within me, “Will be one of the happiest and proudest days of my life and I will always, always treasure it.”
“I’ll be whole that day,” I whisper, “I
’ll be yours forever, even though you have me, all of me now and always.” I whisper, linking the fingers on our left hands together.
“You’re the only person to have all of me, you will always be the only person who knows me, every single part of me, like no one else, Katie. Only you.”
I sit up, wrapping my arms around his neck as we move together. The feeling of being totally and completely together in the moment a little overwhelming. Tears spring to my eyes and I can’t stop them. Nothing is more beautiful than being with Daniel like this, making love with the man who is my other half, who has held me up when I’ve been unable to stand and face the world, who gives everything he is to me because he wants to, not because he has to.
“I love you, Daniel.” I tell him, gripping his face in my hands.
“And I love you, Katie. You. You are my life. You are my light.”
We find our release together, gripping each other so closely we are one person. In that moment I don’t think I have ever felt closer or more complete in my life. The love I feel for him consumes me completely. It heals me and it makes me whole. It put all my broken pieces back together until I was me again. It found pieces of me I didn’t know were missing until they slotted into place. It is a promise of protection and safety. It is what keeps my heart beating every minute of every day.
“And you are my warmth.” I whisper, as we hold each other catching our breath. After a few minutes, I feel his smile against my skin.
“We’re going to be really late.” he laughs against my neck.
“We are. You’re right,” I pull back and look him in the eyes. They are shining with love and devotion, “But what a reason to be late.”
* * *
We aren’t late, we’re a little early actually. When we enter the building there is a buzz of activity. Everyone is dressed in their best clothes and looking gorgeous. I make my way further into the room for tonight and smile, it looks beautiful, all golds and creams. I find the table we are sitting on and place my bag down. I need to go and check on a few things before everyone arrives. Daniel comes along with me, his hand in mine or resting on the small of my back. I’ve been so wrapped up in how nervous I am, I forgot maybe he’s nervous too.
“Are you okay?” I ask him as we walk into the reception area.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”
“It’s not making you a little nervous that you’re going to be spending the evening surrounded by people you don’t know?”
“I’ll be spending the evening watching you shine, watching how incredible you are at your job, watching how many people love and admire you. I’m far from nervous, I’m looking forward to it.”
“God, you’re amazing.” I tell him, stopping us from walking and resting my hand on his hip.
“It’s you that’s amazing, Katie. Look around you, you made all this happen, while planning our wedding and helping three other couples plan theirs. You. You are amazing and I am so proud of you, I’m so proud to be the man you call yours.” I don’t know what to say, I just look at him and smile.
“Come on, people are arriving, it’s your time to shine and for me to puff out my chest like the proud fiancé I am.” he kisses my temple and leads us over to where people are arriving.
The next hour and a half are spent introducing people and chatting. I am in my element and with Daniel’s hand pressed to my lower back the whole time, I feel like there isn't anything I can’t achieve. When it’s time to sit down for dinner, I finally get a chance to talk to him and have a drink myself.
“Okay?”
“More than okay,” he reaches up to brush along my cheekbone with his hand, “You’re incredible. I already knew that of course, but to see you at work tonight, how everyone pays you one hundred percent of their attention when you talk, how their eyes shine with admiration for you, Katie… It has been an incredible experience for me.”
“Were you bored?” I ask, leaning in to his touch.
“Not in the slightest,” his eyes travel over my shoulder to where the dance floor is, “I really hope we get to share a dance together later?”
“Oh absolutely,” I smile, “I’ve been looking forward to that all week.”
“Maybe we can practise for our first dance?”
“Maybe we can.”
I get pulled into conversation around the table then, Daniel tells everyone about his photography work and everyone listens completely wrapped up with his stories of travelling all over the world to capture various different things. It’s my turn to listen with pride now, he is animated and confident, the love for his job evident, I reach over and take his hand in mine as he talks about being in Italy. He squeezes my hand and continues talking, never for a minute losing focus.
When the meal is cleared away and the band begins, Daniel pulls me out of my chair and into his arms. He swirls us around the dance floor as the band sing Moondance. The next song begins and Daniel pulls me a little closer to him, his jacket discarded, he is absolutely gorgeous in his waistcoat that just seems to showcase his tall, lean body. I look over his shoulder and notice Nicola from work watching him with a look of interest, she notices me looking and winks and sticks her thumbs up at me. Yes, I’m aware how gorgeous my soon to be husband is, and yes, I’m aware how very lucky I am too.
The evening is filled with lots of dancing and fun and by the time we make it home, I’m ready to crawl into bed I’m so exhausted. I remove all my make up, brush my teeth and collapse into bed. I’ve never been so pleased to climb into bed in my life. My feet are throbbing, I’ve been on my feet since seven this morning and it’s now well past midnight. I watch with sleepy eyes as Daniel undresses at the bottom of our bed, the only light coming from the lamp beside the bed. He is so utterly perfect and even more so because he can’t see how perfect he is. I groan with delight when I feel his warm body press to my back, I must have fallen asleep.
“Go back to sleep, beautiful.” he whispers, kissing the top of my head.
“Goodnight, Daniel.”
I’m asleep before I even hear his mumbled reply.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
From where I stand, I can see Daniel in the dining room, working away on his laptop, getting things ready for his week away to Italy. He looks relaxed and happy, dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt, his bare feet resting on the chair opposite him. He taps away, running his hand occasionally over his chin and mouth which he does when he is concentrating on something, a habit I’ve picked up on recently, he also does it when he is nervous. I have music on and I’m enjoying getting dinner for the both of us. When a song begins to play, I smile and begin to sing. Turning to the sink with my back to Daniel, I begin preparing the vegetables. When two warm, strong arms wrap around me, I lean into the wall of muscle and allow him to move us gently to the music.
“I don’t think there are many things in life better than this.” his breath is hot against my neck, his stubbly cheek tickling.
“Than being in the kitchen while I cook for you?” I whisper, swallowing down the emotion I feel.
“Than having the woman you love, who completes you, in your arms.”
“So romantic.”
“It isn’t about being romantic, it’s about being honest. You,” he presses a kiss to my neck making me shudder, “Are everything to me. I’d do anything in my power to make you happy.”
“And if what would make me happy wasn’t in your power?”
“Then I would find out whose power in was in and I’d find a way to do it. Nothing will stop me making you happy, Katie.”
I turn in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck, I look deep into his eyes.
“You make me happy. I don’t need anything else. Just you. Always just you.”
“But if the day comes when that isn’t enough, tell me. I’ll give you anything, I’ll do anything, as long as you stay by my side.” his eyes are so serious it makes my heart ache.
“Stop it, that day will never, ever come, Daniel,” I hol
d my left hand up, the hand that is home to the most beautiful engagement ring, “You see this? This is a promise of forever. For you. For me. For us.”
In three weeks, Daniel and I are getting married all the months of planning are all going to be worth it. I’m going to walk down the aisle to him and when we walk back down, we will be married. It seems to have taken a long time to get here, but the reality is it hasn’t. It has been a whirlwind of emotions and healing. Of love and friendship. Of discovering myself again after losing sight of who I am. It has been a journey I would take again if I knew it meant I’d be where I am right now. There aren’t reasons for everything in life, there isn’t always a simple answer. When you’re caught up in a storm and you can’t see how you’re going to get out of it, it’s hard to keep smiling. Then everything around you begins to calm and in the calm, you see your light. Daniel is my light.