44. Mal

44

MAL

A fter three rounds of mind-blowing sex, I finally let Doe take a break for the rest of the night. Twice in the shower, once in our bed, I couldn't get enough.

She hadn't complained once about being sore, but I knew she had to be after everything we just did. I sure as hell didn't take it easy on her like I should have but she didn't seem to mind. If anything, she seemed to have wanted it rougher.

After giving her medicine and laying her up in my bed with a heating pad, I found her fast asleep within fifteen minutes of us watching some documentary she had picked out. Her body was curled into mine while my arm was wrapped tightly around her middle.

She looked so peaceful.

So achingly beautiful that I struggled to look away from her.

Her mouth was in a pout, forehead slightly crinkled, I couldn't help but place a cluster of kisses along her face.

When had I ever wanted to kiss a woman like this? Cuddle her in my bed and never let go? Simple answer was never.

There wasn't a single person, a single instance that ever came close to what I feel now. It was as if I'd been waiting my whole life for this moment.

For her.

A lifeline to pull me from the darkness.

Giving her one last kiss on the spot between her eyebrows, I gently removed myself from her body. Not wanting to disturb her, I left the bedroom and went in search of my phone.

Only dressed in a pair of sweatpants, I padded into the kitchen where it was charging. I immediately reached for it and pulled up James's contact.

Me: You home?

I only wait a few minutes before I got a response.

James: Yeah. Why? What's up?

Me: I'm going to stop by to pick up Wren's things and bring them over to my house.

Seconds later, he was calling.

On a sigh, I hit answer.

"He…" I went to say, but James quickly interrupted.

"What's going on? Is Wren okay? And what do you mean you want to come get her stuff?" His voice went from worried to upset, and for some irrational reason, a swarm of jealousy hit me.

"She's fine," I gritted. "She's in my bed taking a nap right now."

Silence greeted me.

Clearly he couldn't be that shocked.

"Oh," he responded. "Is she… Are you two?"

"She's mine," I answered simply as a rush of pride swelled within my chest. I could think of no other words that described what Wren was to me other than what I truly felt, and that was mine.

A rush of air filled our phone call.

"I should say that I'm shocked, but I'm not. I see the way you look at her, Mal. She's been yours the second she showed up here." Relief billowed throughout my gut. If he saw it, then maybe everyone else did too. "So, I'm assuming she doesn't know that she's moving in if you're trying to get her stuff while she's sleeping?"

Raking a hand through my overgrown hair, I leaned my back against the counter.

"We spoke last night about her moving in."

More like I demanded that she moved in, but he didn't need to know that.

"Told her that this is where she belongs."

There was a pause.

"And she agreed?" he asked like he was surprised, which made my anger flare.

"Yes," I growled. "Look, I don't expect you to understand, but all I know is that I want her here with me every day. Despite everything that's telling me that I should just leave her be, I can't. She makes me… happy. She makes me feel like I'm a person who actually deserves to be loved and I'd be a fucking fool to let her slip from my fingers."

My breathing had gone choppy as if even just mentioning the idea of losing her made me furious. In the background, I could hear the faint sounds of Kate but I didn't care.

I didn't care if they hated it.

Hated the fact that she was mine.

If they could just see how strong my heart beat for her, or how fucking crazy I felt whenever I was in her presence…

Maybe then they would understand.

"I do understand, Mal, and I'm happy for you. I'm happy for both of you," he said. "I knew from the beginning that something would happen, I just didn't know how long it would take or how stubborn you'd be to finally realize that you wanted her."

My mouth curled at the corner.

"I've wanted her for a long time, but now I finally realize that I needed to do something about it."

We ended our call soon after James added more reasons of how he knew Wren and I would end up together.

The man didn't know when to shut up, but I didn't care.

I was happy for the first time ever.

So leaving Doe in bed, I made my way over to his house to pick up all of her crap to bring back here.

To her home.

A fter receiving an earful from Kate on how I better not hurt her best friend or fuck her over, I gave her my word before leaving with bags of Doe's belongings. On my way back home, I received a text from her.

Doe: Why is it you always leave when I'm sleeping? Do I have a snoring problem I don't know about?

I smiled.

Me: Last time I leave you in bed alone, I promise.

She responded soon after.

Doe: The sticky notes are cute though. I wouldn't mind more of those.

Me: Noted. More sticky notes. Anything else?

I couldn't stop smiling.

Doe: Hmm… How about next time you feel the need to leave when I'm sleeping, you wake me up, preferably with your mouth, and I'll come with you wherever you go.

Fuck, she was perfect.

I dragged my tongue along my lower lip in the hope that I could find a trace of her sweetness still there.

Me: Deal. I'll be there soon.

Fifteen minutes or so later, I was finally walking inside with all her bags. I set them down in the living room where I found Doe wrapped in a blanket on the couch. Her hair was up in some wild bun, while her stare was focused on something in her lap.

A notebook and a pen.

My heart hammered.

She writes too.

The longer I stood there, the more I admired her. Every second that passed, she became more painstakingly beautiful. Her eyebrows were scrunched together in concentration and a few times I caught her biting on her bottom lip.

Every little movement I wanted to memorize and store forever.

Then finally, as if she caught me from the corner of her eye, she grinned brightly.

"You're back." She closed her notebook and set it down beside her on the couch.

My heart leaped.

"I'm back, baby."

Fuck. The things it does to me seeing her here in my home… waiting for me.

Her eyes softened, and soon she was making room on the couch for me.

"Sit with me?" she asked while lifting the corner of the blanket.

Always.

I sauntered over to her where I fit my body in right next to hers and pulled her legs until they were covering the tops of my thighs.

"Where did you go?" She leaned back until her upper half was against the couch and her eyes were heavy on mine. I took the opportunity to start massaging her calves before I broke the news to her that she was officially moving in.

I had a feeling she would take it well, but another part of me hoped that she wanted this just as much as I did.

With a straight face, I nodded my head toward her bags that she had yet to notice and when she finally peered over at them, her mouth dropped.

"Mal? What's going on? Why are my bags in the middle of your living room?"

Her tone didn't seem like she was upset, but more like she was confused.

"I told you that I wanted you here, didn't I?" My mouth went dry as I waited for a reaction from her. I usually wasn't someone who worried too much about what others thought, but right now, all I could do was count my breaths.

Would it matter to me if she got pissed off that I already made the decision on her behalf to move in with me? Maybe, but in the end, I'd always have her here.

Her mouth opened and closed, and at one point I thought I heard the beginnings of a word, but she quickly stopped herself.

Now, I was starting to stress out.

My limbs went stiff and my palms began to perspire as it became more and more difficult to decipher the influx of emotions that crossed her face.

"When I do things, I do them wholeheartedly and when I brought up the idea of you moving in, I didn't just say it to be thrown out there and deciphered. I said it because I can't live another eleven years without you by my side," I admitted with every ounce of honesty I had. "I may do things a little irrationally, but that's all I know. I'll never be the clean-cut, nice guy who thinks twice before doing anything. I'm impulsive, stubborn, possessive, and that'll never change. But through all my flaws, I promise that I'll always have your best interests in mind, even if you don't agree with them at first."

I watched as her breathing went from shallow to fast.

"So, yes. I left to go get all your things from Hendricks's house and brought them here. Was that selfish of me? Maybe, but I don't regret it."

Not one bit.

Just when I thought she'd pull away from me and give me a piece of her mind, she didn't. Instead, she scooted herself closer and made herself comfortable in my lap where she was now straddling me.

"I don't ever want you to be someone you're not, even if you do make hasty decisions without consulting me first."

"Even if I'm overbearing?" I questioned with the tilt of my brow.

Closing the distance between us, she pressed her mouth to mine.

"Especially when you're overbearing," she whispered. "It turns me on."

Fuck, I was never letting this woman go.