“Calix,”
“Nova, I’ve searched for home since I lost my parents. I’ve searched the fucking world - and it wasn’t until I first saw you that I found hope. When I took you, I found happiness. But it wasn’t until I was inside you, with no barriers between us, that I found home. I’ve been searching for years, love.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Calix continued. “I was seven when it happened. When your - when they died, I was only seven. I’m twenty-eight years old, love. I’ve been searching for home for twenty-one years and it wasn’t until I found you that I knew I had a hope of finding home. I’m begging you - don’t take it away from me. Don’t give me only half.”
I didn’t realize I was crying until his thumbs were wiping away my tears. Pressing my lips against his, I murmured. “Okay. I’ll get on birth control tomorrow.”
He nodded, hugging me tight. “Thank you, love.”
It was in that moment I found myself wondering if there was anything at all I would refuse him. He was such a strong man with so many hidden weaknesses - and I longed - no, I ached to heal his every scar. If I could give myself to him and help him to find home, who was I to refuse him? Because as much as this man had taken from me, I’d also found home in him. I knew, no matter what happened or where my life took me from this moment on, that I would never be home away from Calix.
Whispering against his throat, I asked. “What are we going to do today?”
“I thought we would take a trip to the Acropolis where the Parthenon Temple stands.”
I scrunched my nose. “It’s too late in the day for the Parthenon Temple. It’ll be too crowded.”
He chuckled. “Alright, how about the Temple of Hephaestus? You said you wanted to see that one too, didn’t you?”
“Yes!” I wiggled in his lap and his blue eyes ignited at my excitement.
“Come love,” he stood with me still on his lap, gently placing my feet on the floor. “Let’s tour Athens.”
Chapter 16
I joined Calix at the small round table outside our bedroom on the deck for breakfast. While I’d showered and dressed, Calix had ordered our breakfast. I decided against my regular breakfast of blueberries and milk with a light sprinkling of brown sugar for a stack of buttermilk pancakes and sweet syrup. After our long day of touring Athens, sightseeing, and shopping, I was exhausted and famished. I’d slept through the night like a baby, curing my exhaustion. I had high hopes that the stack of buttermilk pancakes would cure me of my hunger just as efficiently as the sleep had cured my fatigue.
I dressed in another dress today. This one was also made of chiffon, which was an ideal material in the hot weather as it was light and airy. It was a white dress patterned with soft burgundy roses and green leaves. It was delicately adorable and I had a feeling Calix would enjoy seeing me in it. We hadn’t make love since yesterday morning and I missed him being inside me. Never would I have suspected that after having him once, I would ache for him again. And I knew that if I had him again, I would ache for him again, and again, and again. I’d decided that it was a never-ending cycle. As long as I lived, I would long for more of Calix.
Lowering myself into the chair at the table, I felt Calix’s eyes on me and my own flickered up to meet his. My breath caught. This happened every once in a while - I would catch sight of Calix and my breath would snag in my throat. It was always a painful kind of burning. I hadn’t put my finger on what it was that made my breath catch until now. Now, I knew. That look in his eyes - the one with the smoldering heat, intense infatuation, and studious hunger - that was the equivalent of his love for me. I knew it now. Calix loved me. I was certain.
It was a different kind of love than the love I felt inside for him. My love was quiet, humble, and careful. Calix felt love on a whole other spectrum - so far away from the love I felt for him - it existed on a whole new solar system. But it wasn’t any less beautiful than the love I held in my heart and soul for him. Actually, it could be arguable that his love was much more beautiful. The man was calculated, but there was nothing calculated about the look in his brilliant eyes now. Calix’s love was passion in its finest expression. It was irrational and consuming in its action. It was equally possessive and protective. Calix’s love was indefinable. It was childish. It was beautiful. Perfect.
“Hi.” I breathed. And then I smirked at myself. Of all the wonder that had just moved through my mind, the word I’d come up with was ‘hi’. Interesting.
Calix cocked his head. “Is there a reason for your smile, love?”