Chapter 37

37

TALLULAH

M y head was spinning with everything that had happened tonight, but the weight of the ring on my finger and the sensation of Niall’s lips against mine kept me anchored. All my life, I’d been mocked and ridiculed even by my very own parents for liking the things I did.

They’d made me feel like there was something wrong with me. Like I was touched in the head for wanting to pursue the fine arts, like being creative and eccentric was some kind of crime. For the first time in my life, I felt so completely accepted and so seen that it was making me all teary and emotional.

Especially because Niall accepted me so completely that he even wanted to marry me. To be with me for me, and then he’d gone through so much effort to make this night absolutely perfect and one that I’d never forget. I still couldn’t believe that anyone would do so much for me, but it was definitely going to take me some time to believe that Niall was mine.

He loved me so much, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, and it was the best feeling ever. I kissed him back hard, just as passionately as he was kissing me. More tears streamed down my face as I set the champagne down.

My entire body felt hot with all the adrenaline still coursing through it, the love, and disbelief, and surprise, and shock making for an intoxicating combination. Right now, I couldn’t imagine ever not kissing him again.

Food, drink, sleep, and work be damned. All I wanted to do for the rest of my life was be with this man.

I moaned into his mouth, pushing my fingers into his hair and holding him to me, wishing that I could find the words to express how much he meant to me. I also knew that I didn’t need to come up with them tonight. We would have a lifetime together for me to let him know that I felt exactly the same way he did and that I couldn’t wait for our future together either.

A future I now, for the first time, truly believed we would have. The kids. The trick or treating and decorating the house every Christmas. Our days would be filled with the joy of children and jobs we adored, and our nights filled with love and each other.

I knew there would be many challenges to come, but right now, with our lives suddenly so full of possibility, everything just seemed rose-colored to me. My heart was beating out of my chest, my entire being filled with so much happiness and excitement it was almost too much to bear.

I smiled against Niall’s lips, lifting myself up on my knees and crawling into his lap. “I did something else when I went out shopping with Sayra.”

“Something we need to talk about right now?” He groaned into my mouth, his breathing labored as he pulled back to look into my eyes when I nodded. “Okay, I’ll bite. What did you do?”

“I bought all those things I told you about, but I also bought something a little more interesting than dresses and shoes.”

“Lingerie?” he said hopefully.

I chuckled and shrugged my shoulder. “That too, but right now, I’m talking about something from a drug store that I needed to stop by a doctor to get.”

He frowned. “Doctors and drug stores don’t exactly make for sexy conversation. Unless…” His eyes suddenly widened, a slow grin spreading on my face. “Was it a pregnancy test?”

I laughed as I shook my head. “Nope. Not yet. We’ll talk about that when the time comes. This is more for the part where we’re still practicing.”

The grin spread, a flush appearing across the tops of his cheeks. “That sounds even better right now, if I’m being honest. Are we done with condoms?”

“We’re done with condoms,” I whispered as I brought my lips back to his. “I’m on the patch now, and according to the doctor, I started it at the right time so we should be good to go.”

Niall moaned and his lips crashed back into mine. His hands grabbed eagerly at the hem of my shirt. I laughed, but my own heart was suddenly racing again even faster. Heat pooled between my legs. I’d never get over how much it excited me when he got so turned on.

Within minutes, my clothes were off and his head was buried between my legs, his tongue sliding hungrily between my folds. My back arched as I writhed under the magical powers of his mouth.

Niall’s fingertips roamed across my skin, touching me everywhere in light, soft touches that set me on fire and made me need more. With my head resting on one of the beautiful cushions he’d brought in here, I spread my legs wider, tugging at his hair. My nipples hardened to points and the first frisson of pleasure wound through me.

“Niall.” I moaned between panting breaths, my entire body aching for him. “I need you. Now.”

“You’ve got me,” he murmured into my most private part, the vibrations of his voice there sending me hurtling so much closer to the edge, but I pulled him up anyway.

My eyes on his, I ripped his T-shirt off his head and scrambled to get him naked too. Apparently understanding, he helped by kicking off his shoes and shucking his pants and underwear once I’d unbuttoned his fly.

When the clothes between us were finally gone, I wrapped my legs around his hips, looking straight into his eyes as I guided him closer to me. Both of us were breathing hard, the anticipation of having nothing between us turning us both a little wide-eyed as we struggled to suck in enough oxygen.

When his tip finally slid through my folds, I cried out and he hissed. Then he brought his mouth back to mine and kissed me as he lined himself up with my entrance. My toes curled as he started pushing into me, his tongue stroking mine and his heart pounding against my chest.

I felt so deliciously consumed by him that I completely lost track of where I ended and he began, but I did it happily, giving myself over to him completely. As he pushed further inside, the moment intensified even more, until it felt like nothing and no one else existed.

Niall didn’t stop kissing me for even a second. His hands finally took mine as he thrust all the way into me. The sensation was so different that I could barely breathe, the need to move almost overwhelming. He muttered a string of curses into my mouth, and when I opened my eyes to look at him, his eyes were screwed shut and his brow was furrowed.

Winding my fingers tighter around his, I rolled my hips. Once. Twice. Encouraging him to move even though I could see that he was on the brink of losing control. That was exactly what I wanted, though.

This man was going to be my husband and his pleasure was my pleasure. We were on this journey of self-discovery and love together. When his hips finally started rocking, quickly speeding up to the pace of pistons firing in and out, my eyes nearly rolled back in my head at the pleasure that raced through me.

I’d never known anything could feel so good as this, and if it had been impossible to imagine ever doing anything else before, it was so, so much worse now. I wanted it to last forever, but before I even knew it, my body was contracting around his. An orgasm that left me seeing pops of white light thundered through me.

Niall roared as he swelled inside me. His body quaked as he tensed above me and his thrusts finally lost their rhythm. His hips jerked a few times as my own climax finally started subsiding. Then he collapsed on top of me, breathing hard. He pressed a kiss to my throat.

“I love you, Tallulah,” he whispered raggedly, still twitching a little bit. “I think we’re going to need to take the next couple weeks off work, but I do love you.”

A girlish giggle bubbled out of me as I nodded my agreement. “I’m not sure how the boss is going to feel about that, but I’m sure we could convince him.” As I said it, I smacked his toned butt and squirmed a little underneath him. “What do you say, boss? Do you think a couple weeks is going to be enough?”

“Did I say weeks? I meant months,” he joked, finally pulling out and rolling to lie down next to me. He pulled me into his arms and dropped a quick kiss on top of my head. We lay there together, both struggling to catch our breath. “I can’t fucking believe that you’re going to be my wife.”

“I can’t fucking believe that you’re going to be my husband,” I replied as I listened to his heart thumping against my ear. “I know I haven’t always been as vocal about my feelings as you have, but you need to know that I feel exactly the same way, Niall. This is just the beginning for us, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what happens next.”

We spent the rest of the night buck naked on my dining-room floor, feeding each other the snacks he’d brought and drinking champagne. We shared our hopes for the future and made plans together. In the early hours of the next morning, we finally fell asleep in each other’s arms after making love again, and just before I drifted off, I silently thanked whoever was out there for giving me the love for all things that had led me to New Orleans.

Coming here had allowed me to find Niall, and it was here that we would have our happily ever after.