Chapter 35

[Clay]

Stepping into the hallway, we both stall after I close the door, leaving it open enough to paint a thin sliver of light across the floor of Dutton’s room.

Tonight, there will be no man peeping through the window. Dutton let it be revealed the man in Walmart was the man who took him and Mavis, and I’m certain he was the same man outside my house.

And Wesley is behind bars on a number of criminal charges.

However, I don’t want to think about either man. My woman and her son are safely back inside my home.

“What do you need from me?” I ask her as we remain in the hallway. I gingerly reach for the skin beneath her eyes. The black and blue marks mixing with exhaustion. “I want to be with you. Hold you tight against my body and be one with you, but I understand if you need space. Time and patience before we touch like that again.”

Mavis stares at me.

“You need control, butterfly.” Her life has been chaos in the past twenty-four hours. Past year. Past years . But not the last few months, because she’s been with me, and I want her to see that we are as stable as it can get. “You tell me what you want from me right now.”

Mavis steps up to me, close enough to be hugged but not reaching out for me. Swallowing hard, she lowers her gaze. Her eyes brim with tears. “I need you to take care of me, Clay.”

Reaching up for her hair, I brush it over her ear.

“Always, baby. But tonight, be specific.” Not more than a second passes when an idea strikes me. “Take a bath with me?”

Her head pops up and she nods once, blinking those normally lustrous eyes which are presently sad and dark. I take her hand and lead her to my guest bathroom, which has a soaker tub. The basin is deep and large enough for two, so I set the water to a comfortable temperature and while the tub fills, I strip her of her clothes before removing mine. The way she wraps her arms around her middle, she comes off as shy, but I don’t want her ever hiding from me.

“Where does it hurt?” I question, knowing not all her bruises are visible.

“My shoulders and neck are stiff,” she admits, reminding us both that she endured an accident first.

Taking her hand, I step into the tub first, then help her over the edge. “Feel good?”

She nods, and I lower us both, settling her between my bent, spread legs. In this position, I pepper her upper back and shoulders with kisses, tenderly covering all her aches.

Then, I press her forward to wash her hair, taking my time to rinse the long locks. I sponge her back with a washcloth and stroke down her arms before settling her against my chest.

I want her to relax, and we sit in silence for a while, soaking up the warmth of the water and the comfort of our closeness.

“If he’d hurt you . . .” I swallow the thickness in my throat. “I don’t know what I’d have done.”

Mavis runs her hands over my arms around her middle.

“I might never be free,” she finally whispers. “I might have to always look over my shoulder. Always worry double time about Dutton’s safety or mine. I don’t want to bring danger to your door.”

“Hey,” I murmur, wrapping my arms around her and pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “You didn’t bring danger here. And I’ll always have your back, butterfly. I’m always going to be equally concerned about you and Dutton. Your safety. Your happiness.”

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been happier than being here with you.”

“Then why do you sound so sad about it?” I chuckle, cupping her chin and turning her head so she’ll look at me.

“I don’t want to be a burden.”

“Mavis.” My tone strengthens.

“You heard my dad. I’m different than them.”

I did hear him and he’s an ass for saying such a thing to his daughter. I still didn’t know if it was meant as an insult. He could have intended it as a compliment, meaning she’s smarter, stronger, better in some way. But the comment clearly hurt her. “You’re perfect.”

Her gaze lowers. “When I was younger, I just wanted a simple life. A nice, quiet house. A stable income. A job that made me feel good about myself.”

“You have all that,” I remind her.

“But I also wanted the fairy tale. A man by my side. The wedding and dress. A family to call my own.” She doesn’t look at me while she talks.

“Who doesn’t want the fairy tale, butterfly? Growing up I wanted my mom to be alive and my dad to love his kids. I wanted our beautiful, growing family to stay the way it was. Life happens, and I don’t say that as an excuse. Life is the fairy tale, if you look in all the little cracks and corners.”

Mavis still doesn’t look at me.

“One day, you meet a woman in your store, and you want her, but you can’t have her. And still, you long for her. Your day brightens when you catch a glimpse of her in town, or when she smiles at you like you are old friends.”

“Clay,” she whispers, her hands tightening around my wrists over her chest.

“And you don’t give up faith that you’ll deserve a smile like that from someone, if it can’t be her.” I kiss her neck and murmur near her ear, “How lucky am I, that one day, the queen became mine?”

Mavis twists a little more, giving me a glare like she doesn’t believe me.

“Those smiles became mine.” I kiss her shoulder. “And she still brightens my day when she looks at me.” I press the softest kiss to her jaw.

Then I pull back so we can look at one another better. Only, she shrugs. “Seems silly to still wish for the fairy tale at forty, though.”

“Why?” My brows pinch. I’m truly puzzled. “So the story might change a bit, but it has no less value to you .”

Mavis doesn’t look up, her hands coasting over the smooth surface of water in front of her.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting normal, whatever normal might be. Quiet. Security. Stability.” I emphasize each word. “If that’s your fairy tale, then so be it.”

I take a deep breath. “And if you want a wedding, I’ll give it to you.”

“Clay.” Her voice is a warning, pinched with hurt. She thinks I’m joking.

“Butterfly, I told you I was falling for you, but the truth is I fell a long time ago. On a stolen smile, and kind words. Not to mention, you’re stunning. And by some lucky star, you became available. And I’m not letting my fairy tale pass.” I pinch her chin and make her look me in the eye. “I love you, butterfly.”

Her eyes well with tears again.

“And just to confirm my feelings for Dutton, as I’m the lucky guy with a package present. I love him, too.”

The tears tip over the rim of her eyes and her hand comes to my jaw. “I love you, too, honey.” Then her mouth is against mine, and while the kiss is slow, love fills every press and suck that turns to nips and licks, and then tongues coming together, until Mavis is twisting to straddle me.

With her hands around the back of my neck and my hands on her hips, she settles in my lap where I try to ignore how hard she’s made me, and we kiss and kiss, like that afternoon in the old cabin. Taking our time to let our mouths speak without words.

I love this woman. I love her child. And I want her to be my wife. They will be my family.

As the kiss heats, Mavis begins to move. Her center covering my length. The water sloshing around us.

“Let me just touch you, beautiful,” I beg against her mouth. Sliding my hand around her hip, I intend to slip it between us, get my fingers on where she’s slick and sensitive.

Mavis gently moves my hand back. “Let’s just be one.” Then, she’s wrapping her hand around me, holding my heavy shaft upright and positioning herself on the tip.

“I’m not—” My voice catches, as Mavis lowers herself, taking me into her body. Raw. Real. With nothing between us.

She gasps at the intrusion into her body, as I fill her full, until she settles on my lap. Glancing down first at where we are joined beneath the water, she then snaps her head up and our eyes catch.

“This is the best feeling in the world, baby. You are the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“That’s my line,” she whispers. “You’re the best person I’ve ever known, honey. And I never want to lose you.”

“You won’t.” I stretch up to kiss her, hard and deep, until my dick twitches inside her, needing more from her.

She pulls back and chuckles, glancing down where we connect. “It’s never been like this, felt like this.” She looks up again, her eyes filling with tears once more. “I love you so much, Clay.”

“I know, butterfly. I love you that much, too.” My mouth is on hers again, and then we move. Slow and rhythmic at first, like a practiced dance, until our mouths turn more frantic. We break apart, catching our breath as our bodies take over.

I dive into her. She takes me deeper. We move together and we love each other with her arms wrapped around my neck and mine around her lower back.

The water is a tidal wave within the tub as our bodies rock. Mavis’s breath starts to catch, hitching higher and higher.

“That’s it, baby. Let me take care of you.” Let me be her fairy tale come true.

“Always,” she whimpers, dragging up and down my dick, pistoning herself, until she stills, and tips back her head. “Oh, Clay.”

The cry sets me loose, and I move her up and down a few more times, drawing out her release before tugging her down and going off inside her, filling her more ways than one.

Like she has filled me.

With her love and her trust and her commitment.

To stay mine.