by Vivien Vale
There are no lines of tension anywhere on her face either. She’s relaxed, sated, and glowing.
“No. You’re not angry,” I tell her.
She flashes the sweetest smile at me.
“Exactly. I’ve never been any happier or perfect than right now with you. Even after you were rough with me as you pointed out. Not only was it rough, but it was hot. It was mind blowing to the point that I want to do it again.”
This time, it’s me laughing. Only she could put me at ease like this.
“Okay. I’ll make sure I pen you into my calendar for another round of hot and mind-blowing sex baby,” I respond.
She giggles.
“Good,” she states before giving me a brief kiss.
I pull her down to me as she’s lifting her head away from me, so I could kiss her properly. Soon, I’m lost in the sweet taste of her and how right it feels to be kissing this woman and her alone.
She’s mine, and I’ll be damned if I lose her again like I did all those years ago.
She may not have accepted an apology for my behavior the past few hours, but hopefully, she’ll accept the one I’m about to give her for the past five years.
“I’m sorry for never tracking you down before now,” I tell her in all seriousness.
“You’re just full of apologies tonight, aren’t you?” she jokingly replies.
I grunt.
“Yeah, but that one is the one that haunts me the most,” I say. “I should’ve have tracked you down. I missed out in having the most amazing woman by my side. I missed out on the beginning of my own daughter’s life.”
Margot averts her eyes with my last statement. A look of sadness and guilt washes over her beautiful face.
Shit. I didn’t mean to upset her. Before I can reassure her, she starts to speak.
“I’m sorry too, Boone. Every day I wanted to contact you and tell you about the beautiful baby girl we made together. I never should’ve kept Amelia’s existence a secret from you.”
She pauses briefly. She’s getting choked up and her eyes glisten with moisture indicating she’s fighting back tears.
“I was scared though,” she continues. “I didn’t know how you would really react. Plus, my parents wanted me to stay away from you because of their relationship with your own parents.”
I tense up.
“Did my parents…did they try to hurt you and Amelia?” I ask her.
My father is a bastard sometimes, but I don’t know if he’s that sinister or vindictive.
“I’m not sure what your parents are capable of Boone, or if my parent’s concerns have any real foundation. Their worries got to me a little, though. I would do anything to make sure Amelia is safe. Myself as well so I’m able to take care of her.”
I understand a little better now why she kept Amelia a secret.
I’m still upset that I’ve missed four years of my daughter’s life, but the past can’t be changed. All I can do now is make sure I don’t lose any more time with her. Or Margot.
“I was upset at first about not knowing I had a daughter, Margot. But that’s all in the past, and I understand better why you didn’t tell me. I don’t like or agree with it, but I understand. I’m just grateful now that I know about her and that I get to interact with her.”
“I really am sorry I didn’t tell you,” she responds.
“I know baby,” I tell her. “You’re both here, and that’s all that matters.”
She gives a shy smile. I grab the back of her neck and pull her towards me for another kiss.
The kiss starts out slow and tender, but progresses into need and passion. One hand caresses down her side toward her hip where I grip it and pull her body closer to mine.
Margot gives a little whimper of pleasure.
I want to sink myself into her again, but I stop myself short of doing just that. We need to shower and get some sleep.
I break away from her lips and stand up. She looks up at me in confusion.
I chuckle before bending down to scoop her up into my arms eliciting a little squeak of surprise from her. She wraps her arms around my neck.
“What are you doing?” she asks. “I thought we were going to go for another round of that hot sex you’re so good at.”
She’s giving me a seductive look.
My booming laughter fills the living room.
“I can guarantee you another round baby,” I tell her. “Right now though, we could both use a shower and then get some sleep. You look tired, I feel tired, and if we want to be able to keep up with the vast amount of energy Amelia seems to always have, then sleep is needed.”
She’s pouting a little now, but I can see her agreement with me in her eyes before she even says anything.
“Okay. Shower and sleep tonight, but I’m holding you to that promise mister.”
“I expect nothing else,” I chuckle.
I pick her up and carry towards the bathroom.
Chapter 30
Margot
After five years, I can’t believe I’ve got the chance to come clean with Boone.
I can feel it in the air around us—from the moment we sat down on the sofa, when Boone began to tell me about what happened to his friends in the fire department and why he left New York, I knew that there could be nothing left to hide between us.
He took me like a man who had been holding himself together for too long. He was wild and desperate—even after the pantry yesterday, he wasn’t satisfied. I suppose we’re both making up for lost time.
I always knew that after that night in college, one night was never going to be enough.
Not for me or for him.
I’m quietly grateful as Boone lifts my naked body up into his arms and carries me up the stairs effortlessly. I would try to stand, but my knees are still weak. Every time Boone and I sleep together, it’s as though he wants to try and make me come more times than ever before, and each time harder than the last.
If it weren’t for the layer of sweat on our glistening bodies, I would have been happy to cuddle up with Boone and sleep until the morning.
I flick the light switch on with my toes as we enter the bathroom.
Whilst the rest of Boone’s cabin is quite rustic and some of the furniture could almost have been vintage, there’s a modern element in the bathroom. The crisp, clean white tiles and bright white lights. The bath overlooking a large window.
With those blinds open, I imagine you can see out over the mountains and forests for miles. But it’s the shower I’m more interested in. A walk-in big enough for both of us—and probably Amelia, too—with a large waterfall showerhead.
All I want is to step into that shower with Boone right behind me.
I want the fast running water to wash away the last five years so that we can start again.
Boone places me down on the edge of the bath, and I sit there and watch him as he retrieves towels from the linen cupboard. It’s so easy to watch Boone—especially when he’s naked. His sculpted ass is so fun to watch walk away, especially when those powerful legs can cross the room in just a few simple steps.
I watch him drape two thick, fluffy pale blue towels over the heater, warming them slowly for when we come out. He begins to run the water, before turning to me with one hand outstretched.
I reach out to take it and with a small jerk of his arm, Boone pulls me to my feet. I land against his muscled chest. I laugh and as I step into the water, I feel Boone’s hand smack against my ass.
He chuckles quietly, and I swear I see an angel get her wings.
The water runs over us both, but I feel it soak through me and weigh down my wild blonde hair.
I turn to face Boone, just in time to catch him staring at me. His dark eyes study my body, drinking in just how much I’ve changed since we were in college. In the bright lights, he can see me clearly, and there’s nowhere to hide.
Not that I’d want to.
So I take this opportunity to study Boone in return. Despi
te how many times he’s been shirtless over the last few days, I haven’t had an opportunity to look at his body until now, to study how the water runs down the sculpted lines of his abs and to follow the steam as it rises off of the rippling muscles of his arms.
“Are you realizing I’m not the same girl as I was in college?” I ask and hope that he doesn’t notice how nervous I am.
“I’m not the same, either,” Boone reassures, and with one finger, tilts my head up to look at him. “You’re not the same beautiful girl, no. Now, you’re a woman—even more beautiful. Margot, you’re divine.”
A blush creeps across my cheeks, and Boone’s lips quirk into a small smile.
But his attention quickly returns to my body.
“How is this the first time we’re doing this together?” I ask, though we both know why.
“I would never have wanted to shower alone if I’d have known you could be with me,” Boone says, still smiling slightly.
“The novelty of my naked body would have worn off eventually.”
“I could never—will never—get tired of seeing you naked, Margot,” Boone murmurs in my ear and kisses my forehead gently.
I smile and look down at my feet.
We’ve both got scars now—I can see a set of scratches down Boone’s chest that I hadn’t noticed before and a series of faded burn scars across the back of one shoulder. No doubt he’s noticed the scar on my stomach from surgery after Amelia was born.
Boone squeezes shower gel into his hand, pulling me towards him so that I’m turned away, but he presses into my back. He lifts one of my arms above my head, and I curl it back and hold onto his shoulder, allowing him access to my body.
For a moment, I wonder if he’s going to fuck me again—right here in the shower. I’m certainly wet enough, and I wouldn’t say no if he wanted to.
But then Boone slides his hand down my body. Washing me with the soap and savoring every inch of skin that he can get his hand on. His fingers linger on my scar.
“Surgery,” I say softly as he pauses. “After Amelia was born, there were minor complications.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to support you.”
“How did you get those?” I ask, quickly changing the subject.
I spin around in his arms, so that our bodies are pressed together and Boone’s hand curves over my ass. I run three fingers over the scratches on his chest.
“A cat.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not.” Boone’s smiling, almost chuckling again at the memory, but I can tell that he’s serious. “I was coming home from work when I saw a couple of kids trying to climb a tree. This angry old tortoiseshell was clinging to a branch a couple of feet into the tree.”
“So you rescued it?”
“So I rescued it. Except on the way down, it took a swipe at me. Cut clean through my Armani suit.”
“It ripped an Armani?”
My jaw drops.
Boone shrugs. “I had another three more at the house back then.”
“What happened to them?”
“I sold them,” Boone says as he continues to wash my body. He cups at my breasts, running his hands up over my collarbones and then falling down my arms.
“I had no use for that kind of shit when I moved out here. It just weighed down the moving van.”
“Would you ever move back to the city?” I ask and take advantage of Boone’s pause to squeeze my shower gel into my own hands so that I could wash him down, too.
I run my hands over Boone’s chest, following the defined contours of muscle until I reach the ‘v’ of his hips. My fingers linger there before I snake around to rest my hands on his ass.
“If the perfect woman asked me to, I might,” he says quietly, giving me a look to tell me that it’s me he’s talking about.
But I’m not sure if I could ever ask that of him, not when these mountains are so peaceful and beautiful.
“But out here has everything I need. If she wanted to stay with me, there’d be schools and opportunities in town…” He continued.
“When the road isn’t blocked,” I tease.
“What about you? Could you live somewhere like this?” Boone asks.
“I travel a lot for my art.” I say, thinking aloud. “So these days, home isn’t a place. It’s more like a feeling…home is where my family is.”
I tuck a strand of sodden hair behind my ear and look at him.
Home is where you are, my mind screams at me. But I’m scared to say it.
But I think Boone understands.
When we’re both clean, we step out of the shower. The towels are warm from the heater, and when Boone wraps one around my body, it suddenly hits me how tired I am. The nights of little sleep and rigorous sex have made me all but exhausted.
I hear the pitter-patter of little feet in the hallway before Boone does, so when Amelia gently pushes open the door, I’m immediately in front of her, waiting. She reaches for me, taking a lock of hair in between her fingers. Boone hovers close behind, both of us anxiously waiting.
“I had a bad dream…” Amelia mumbles, bleary-eyed still. “Can you come cuddle?”
I take her hand and stand up. “Of course, darling.”
“No,” Amelia pauses and with her spare hand, points at Boone. My heart flutters slightly. “Both of you.”
She’s all but demanding, and who are we to say no?
“Of course I will, princess.” Boone says and smiles at me warmly. “You and mommy pop back to bed. I’ll be along in a second.”
I walk down the hall towards the bedroom.
Cuddling with Amelia and Boone?
That’s my idea of heaven.
Chapter 31
Boone
I think I’m about to tear up, and that’s fucking saying something.
How lucky am I? Only a month ago I was out here in the wilderness on my fucking own. All I had left of the love of my life were memories.
Not that I’m a betting man, but if I had been, I would have put the entire family fortune on me never seeing Margot again. Boy, I would have lost big time, and it would have fucking been worth it.
Even though I’ve retreated from the world as I know it, I understand humans aren’t meant to be alone. I mean we should be with someone. But when Margot left, I knew I’d never find any other woman to replace her.
Actually, I didn’t want to fall in love with anyone else. I had made my choice and was going to stick with it.
If not Margot, then no one else would do.
And now, here I am standing in my cabin in the middle of nowhere, feasting my eyes not only on the woman I love, but also our daughter.
My heart beats a little faster as I caress Margot with my gaze. She and Amelia look so gorgeous in their oversized flannelette shirts borrowed from me.
Amelia’s shirt is so big on her it’s like her own tent. Seeing her in this huge piece of material makes her appear quite fragile. I want to just go over and wrap my bear arms around her.
It hits me like an out of control truck hits a brick wall. Love is such an overpowering emotion, and it’s dangerous. All I can think of is wanting to make sure no harm comes to either of them.
I lost Margot once before; I can’t bear to lose them both ever again. Just thinking about both of them no longer in my world has dark clouds settling over me.
My eyes drift from my daughter to Margot. I love uttering those words in my head. My daughter.
It feels fucking amazing. She’s so pretty, so delicate, so wonderful, and just so perfect it seems hardly possible I had a part in creating her. Someone like me...created someone like that.
“You coming, or have you grown roots there?” Margot teases as our eyes meet.
I shake my head. “I’ll just be a minute. I’ve still got to change.”
“I’m tired, Mommy,” Amelia says, snuggling into her mother with a yawn.
“Hop into bed already, I’ll just be a minute,” I say.
Normally I don’t wear pajamas to bed, even in winter. I definitely prefer to sleep in the nude. But I don’t think this would be a good idea with the three of us in bed.
It takes me less than a minute to return.
Margot and Amelia are snuggled under the covers, and I see the little girl’s eyes flutter. Her eyebrows arch upward in an attempt to stay awake.
It looks so cute I just want to go over and plant little fatherly kisses on her and wish her good night.
“Here he comes,” Margot says, lifting the covers. “Breathe in, sweetheart. It’s about to get tight.”
“Hey,” I grumble as I slide in beside Margot. “Are you suggesting I’m fat?”
“Mommy,” Amelia pipes up, “can I be in the middle?”
Margot shoots me a look, and I nod.
“Sure, princess.”
A little foot kicks me in the lower abdomen as Amelia scrambles between us.
It’s the most wonderful feeling I’ve ever experienced.
“Comfy?” I fluff the pillow up a little for her, and she nods.
“This way I won’t have my bad dream.”
Margot props up on her elbow, and I see the alarm in her eyes.
“What bad dream, sweetie?”
The little girl looks from her mother to me and back again.
“It starts with me in my room, in my bed on my own.”
I watch Margot brush some loose strands of hair from the little face.
“And then something wakes me up. I see eyes. They’re not very nice eyes. Not like Boone.”
The little face turns toward me. Her lips curl up into a shy little smile.
It’s my turn to run my hand over her hair.
“The eyes are like the ones the bad man in the woods has.”
I hear Margot inhale sharply.
“Then there’s a fire and I can’t get out.”
It breaks my heart to hear this story. How can I help make it go away?
“You know something, sweetie?” Margot begins.
Amelia turns toward her.
“I once was in a room, and there was a fire.”
“What happened, Mommy?”