The Love That Heals Me (Forever Mine Book 2)

by H. J. Marshall

  “Do you want to join Emily and Josh for dinner? She wants to spend some time with you today but didn’t want to take any time away from us.”

  “I’d like that.” Thinking how nice it would be to catch up with her.

  “She said yes. Okay, text me where and we’ll meet you at six.” He said as he disconnected the call and leaned over to kiss my temple, the chaste gesture of affection comforting.

  “Did you decide what you want to eat?” he asked, looking over my shoulder at the menu.

  “I’m thinking I’ll grab a salad now and save room for dinner. Do you know what you want?”

  He kisses my bare shoulder and began to pull the covers off my naked body. “I want more of you. A lot more. Let’s place the order and take a shower. I want to make you clean so I can dirty you up again.” His husky voice in my ear, as he moved towards the bathroom and started the shower running.

  “I like the sound of that.” The heaviness of my thoughts disappearing into my overthinking brain. I needed to calm down and take this one moment to the next.

  Even though the clock was ticking on our time together, I wanted to be able to experience as much of him as I could. I would need the memories of today to help me get through a future without him. The fear of being without him again was palpable but I pushed it down, hiding it under the fake smile and cheery demeanor I used as my armor.

  I hoped Josh wouldn’t see through the façade and decide to publicly say something about it. I needed him to keep my secret until I was able to fall apart later, knowing I had my last taste of forever.

  After ordering us lunch, I made my way into the bathroom, finding Andrew soaping his muscular body under the shower head. His eyes tracked me as I entered the large shower stall and rubbed up against his wet body, hoping to elicit a response from him.

  He spun around and picked me up, slamming me against the cool tile as he ravaged my mouth with his forceful kiss, the warm water flowing from the showerhead above us. The water created a slippery friction between us as his bobbing manhood pushed into my wet folds and he slowly pumped his hips, driving into me.

  With each hard thrust, I was pushed up the wall, only to fall back on his cock, deeper with each stroke. He never broke the connection between our lips as he made love to me, his hard-chiseled body rubbing against my pebbled nipples, creating electric sparks that shot straight to my clit.

  His pace began to increase so I slipped my hand between our bodies and stroked my clit, trying to come, hoping to finish together.

  “That’s it, Caroline. Make yourself come on my cock.” He groaned into my ear as he started a punishing pace thrusting into me.

  “Andrew. Andrew! ANDREW!” I screamed, my body convulsing from the force of his lovemaking as he shouted his release into the air, our declarations echoing in the hollow space.

  Slowly, he shifted his face to look me straight in the eyes, “Caroline, I…I love you.”

  Hoping to hide the unshed tears, I replied, “I love you too Andrew.” I put my feet on the floor and ducked my head under the water, trying to wash away my impending misery.

  We enjoyed lunch as we caught up on our time apart. I didn’t want to bring up whatever happened to Emily that made the family have to move, and I felt like there was a large chunk of his story he was avoiding on purpose. He was avoiding talking about it, and I was avoiding asking questions about us.

  Questions we both needed answers to but seemed too afraid to ask.

  “How are Lisa and Joe?” he asked, inquiring about my parents, keeping the subject safe.

  “Dad retired last year and Mom is still working as an office manager. They are enjoying having the house to themselves, I suspect.”

  “Will you tell them I send my best? I would love to see them sometime.” His reply reminding me we were getting closer to me leaving and we hadn’t even discussed us yet.

  Maddie’s words repeating in my head, ‘seize the day’, so I decided to address the situation head-on.

  “What are we doing here, Andrew?” I asked, hoping he understood the hidden meaning in my question.

  “We’re catching up and spending time together. Why? Would you rather go for a walk around the city? We have a few hours until we need to meet Josh and Emily for dinner.” He moved, starting to stand up as I grabbed his arm, silently asking him to sit.

  “I meant about us, Andrew. We have yet to talk about what all this means for us. What is today? A new hello, the last goodbye? I’m going home tomorrow afternoon and I don’t know where today leaves us. I need you to tell me what all this means.” I asked, conviction in my voice. “I deserve after all the years, to finally have closure on the pain. I need to know if today was a booty call, a new start, or our last good-bye.”

  “We will never have a last good-bye, Caroline. Not ever. I don’t know what today is. I came here with the intention of apologizing for all the horrible things I said to you. I needed you to know what I said to you, what I did to your heart, was the hardest thing I had ever done. I was wrong for causing you the years of pain you have endured. You were always my favorite hello and my hardest goodbye, ladybug. I don’t want to say goodbye again.” He said, reaching out to gently grasp my hand.

  “You live here and I live in Atlanta. How are we supposed to make things work with the distance between us?” I asked, truly hoping he had some idea how to make this work.

  “I don’t know, but I want to try. We deserve our chance at forever, I just don’t know how to make it happen, yet. Will you give me a chance to make it work? Let me get through the meeting with Josh tomorrow and then I’ll have a better idea of traveling and time off after the expansion.” His determined eyes seeking mine. “Let me try.”

  “I want to try but I’m scared.” I admitted, giving validity to my fears.

  “What are you scared of?”

  “Losing you again.” A lone tear falling down my cheek, landing on our connected hands.

  “I don’t know what the future brings, no one does. I do know that I love you with everything in my soul and I will do whatever it takes to make you happy. You are my forever, you always have been. We just hit a speedbump along the way.”

  “I love you.” I respond, reaching up and gently kissing his full lips, the sensation of his stubble rubbing against me, causing tingles to shoot throughout my body.

  He pushed me back onto the couch and settled between my legs, his erection digging into my deliciously tender core. He straightened the necklace around my neck, his gaze locked on the small, silver ladybug charm that hung from the chain.

  “You still have it?” his eyes moving up my face.

  “I carried it with me for years but decided this morning was a good morning to wear it again.” I told him as I began to rock gently against his hardness.

  His hand came up to caress my face, his thumb gently stroking my cheek as he stared into my eyes and I lost myself in his. The position so familiar, the longing so intense, as we slowly undressed each other, always coming back to the same position of embrace.

  He reached down and began to glide his hands through my wetness as I opened myself up farther, exposing my most inner parts to him. My body, my mind, my soul. Bringing his hand up, he placed his wet fingers into his mouth and sucked my juices like it was the best meal he had ever tasted.

  Gently, he grabbed his thick cock and worked it against my wet folds, gathering moisture, before he slipped inside me, connecting two broken people and making us whole.

  Our lovemaking was slow and gentle, as we rocked together, a leisurely pace to draw our passion to a crescendo. His eyes never left mine as we moved as one, saying everything with our bodies we couldn’t say with our words.

  I’m sorry I hurt you.

  I’m sorry I didn’t fight for us.

  I love you.

  Our pace never increasing, our eyes locked as we came together, fulfilling a need our souls had craved.

  Reconciliation.

  We met Emily and Josh for dinner and
enjoyed the traditional New Orleans dinner of gumbo and crawfish. Emily and Caroline chatted away during dinner so I tried to get to know Josh a little better. If he was a friend of Caroline’s, I needed to give him a chance. He was the reason she and I are together, and I owe him a debt of gratitude.

  Emily told me he really had treated her like a princess all day. He opened doors for her, walked on the outside towards the street when they were walking around, and he paid for everything all day. She seemed to be slipping further under his spell and I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

  Caroline said he is a trustworthy guy and she is a great judge of character but, just like Caroline, he was leaving tomorrow headed back to Atlanta. I was at a loss at how to keep Caroline and I together with the distance that would separate us.

  “So, what business are you in, Josh? You said you freelanced this trip with MSJ so what is your degree in?” I asked, hoping to find out more information about him.

  “I have a degree in business with a minor in fitness and nutrition. I just recently left the world of professional sports and decided to help Lucas with his side project until I find my next career.” He explained to me as we sipped our beers and listened to the zydeco music floating through the air.

  “Professional sports. Seems like a good career. Why the change, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I don’t mind. I was working over 60 hours a week, getting no recognition of my hard work, and one day, I realized what I was missing out on by working myself to death.”

  “What were you missing?” I asked him in a low tone, curious as to why someone would walk away from a lucrative career without a job to go to.

  Turning his back towards Caroline and Emily he explained “I was missing life. I was too busy working to date or try and find love. I had allowed myself the comfort of seeking women out for companionship but never enough time to find the one who completed me. I want what every man wants, a wife and kids, someone to come home to at night. I wanted to find the one person I couldn’t live without and wasn’t going find it giving my life to a job. So, I quit.”

  A look of surprise came across my face at his declaration. Josh looked like a big tough guy but underneath, he wanted exactly what I wanted, a forever with his one true love.

  “Have you found her yet?” interested in how his search was going.

  “I’m not sure but I think I might have.” His eyes glancing across the table before he took a sip of his beer and began to people watch.

  Emily?

  “Do I need to remind you of our earlier conversation about her?” I asked him, trying to remind him I didn’t approve of him perusing my sister.

  “Nope. I remember everything you said.” He smirked.

  “I think it will be fun! What do you guys think?” Caroline’s angelic voice cutting through the noise.

  “What? I’m sorry. I missed what you asked.” I told her as she and Emily began to bounce in their seats, my attention fully on her and no longer debating Josh’s declaration.

  “Emily and I want to go to the French Quarter and people watch. We can have a few drinks and she said she will drive us back. What do you say?” an enormous smile on her beautiful face.

  “The crowds shouldn’t be as bad tonight as last night. Why not? It’s not usually my cup of tea but it might not be so bad. Let’s head out.” I affirmed as I tossed the keys to Emily and we made our way towards my car.

  The sun was going down by the time we parked and made our way onto Bourbon Street. Even for a Sunday, there were hundreds of people walking around, drinking, and having a good time. The colorful street performers were out in force tonight to entertain the tourists as they made their memories in the famous New Orleans attraction.

  The historic buildings with their coveted balconies loomed over us as we made our way through the Quarter, festive jazz music causing Emily and Caroline to dance in the street, laughing as they spun each other around.

  It was amazing to see the look on Emily’s face. I don’t remember the last time she allowed herself to be this carefree and open, a smile beaming brightly as she laughed and carried on like the other tourists filling the streets.

  We had made our way into a bar to grab some drinks and were enjoying the live music that was playing on the sidewalk, the street musicians earning their money, one drum beat at a time. The crowd wasn’t as bad as I was expecting and I was busy trying to keep an eye on Caroline and Emily. I never expect problems, but am always on alert when we are out in public.

  Josh and I were trailing behind them as they stopped occasionally to window shop or take another selfie. He and I got dragged into a few of the photos and we played photographer with them, capturing the evening in photos.

  “I’m going to duck into the restaurant and use the restroom. Caroline, will you come with me?” Emily asked, as Caroline nodded her head and they disappeared into the crowded eatery.

  “She looks happy.” Josh remarked to me while the girls were inside and we waited a few feet from the entrance.

  “Caroline? Yeah, I think she’s happy. It’s hard to tell sometimes with her, you know?” I affirmed to him.

  “I know what you mean. She is good at keeping a smile on her face when she is breaking on the inside. Did you guys figure out what is happening between you? With us leaving tomorrow, I’m not sure what to expect.” He asked as we wandered a little farther away from the restaurant to avoid the loud drumming coming from the buskers.

  “We’re going to try and make things work. I don’t have the details worked out but I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen. I found her again and I’m not going to let her go this time.”

  “I’m glad. She deserves to be happy.”

  “Thank you, Josh. For making me see how stubborn I was being. I appreciate everything you have done to give us our chance at forever.” I responded, shaking his hand.

  “Get your hands off me, asshole!” I heard Emily yell, her voice cutting through the night. I was immediately moving towards her and Caroline.

  Josh and I had strolled at least half a block from the restaurant and when we approached, some jackass had Emily’s arm in a tight hold as he was trying to pull her towards him and she was pushing him away. I could tell she was terrified because she wasn’t using her training on him, the fear evident on her face.

  Caroline was trying to get the drunk man to let Emily go and one of his friends grabbed her from behind and started to pick her up off her feet, grabbing her breasts in the process, forcing a scream from her.

  Emily’s cries are the one my brain responded to in the moment of crisis. Her shrill voice asking for him to let her go caused old memories to flood my brain, my vision a haze of red.

  When I reached them, I spun the man around, causing Emily’s arm to be freed and the force causing her to fall to the ground. I pulled back and punched the drunk asshole in the face, my anger boiling at him and his belief he could put his hands on Emily and get away with it.

  With the first hit connecting fully, I kicked him in his stomach as his friend flung Caroline against the wall and threw himself at me, knocking me down as he swung, connecting with my jaw.

  I rolled him over so I was on top, my body sitting on his as I swung over and over again at him, blood beginning to be cast off from the repetitive hits.

  “Andrew, please stop! STOP please!” Caroline cried into the air from her position on the ground as the crowd circled us to watch the drama unfold. Her words barely registered as I continued to take my anger out on the two men who had touched them.

  “Josh, please stop him before he kills them!” Emily yelled as I felt his large arms come around me and pull me away from the two bleeding men.

  Struggling against his large frame, I conceded. “Let go of me. I’m done.” I yelled at Josh as he released me and I spit on the two drunk bastards.

  “Are they breathing?” Caroline asked, as she rushed over and checked on the dumb fuckers laying in the street.

  I was inhaling
deep breaths trying to get my anger and emotions under control. The men began to moan and roll to their side, pushing themselves up and stumbled away as the crowd moved on to other entertainment for the night.

  “They’re fine.” I spit out at her. “Why do you care if I hurt them or not after what they did to Emily? How could you be so careless?” A look of shock overtook her face.

  “I don’t want to see you get in trouble, that’s all. I never meant for this to happen, I…” She responded as tears flowed from her green eyes, splashing onto her grimy, dirty sundress.

  I walked over and checked on Emily who had her arm cradled against her body, turning my back on Caroline. Josh, who had walked up towards Caroline, was looking at me like I had lost my mind.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Emily gently, afraid they had damaged her surgically repaired arm as I examined her for other injuries.

  “I’m fine. You need to check on Caroline. She caught the worst of it.” Emily replied as I watched the bruises form on her arm in the shape of that asshole’s fingers.

  “Let me get you some ice.” My full attention on taking care of my sister as we walked into the restaurant and away from the scene that had just unfolded.

  “Andrew?” Caroline said, the one word cutting through my anger and focusing my frustration directly on her.

  Turning around and walking straight up to her, my finger pointed at her in anger, I yelled, “How could you let that happen to her? Didn’t you see those two assholes or were you too busy taking pictures to realize what they were going to do to Emily.”

  “What? I don’t understand. We walked out to find you and they grabbed her before I could stop them. I’m sorry.” She cried, a fresh round of tears falling down her face as she stepped back from me, trying to put distance between us, Josh taking a defensive stance next to her.

  “You being sorry doesn’t stop the fact that you allowed her to get hurt. I can’t believe you, Caroline.” I spat at her before I stepped back and Josh stepped in front of her, rage evident on his face. “I think you two need to find another way back to your hotel. I’m going to check on Emily and take her home.” I said as I walked into the restaurant and found a confused Emily waiting for me at the bar with a bag of ice on her arm.