“I must look a mess.”
He shook his head. “Not at all. You’re beautiful.”
“So, our day off? What would you like to do?”
Her cheeks were a glorious red color. She couldn’t even accept when he called her beautiful.
“You’ve not had many compliments in your life, have you?”
She shook her head. “You don’t need to say nice things to me.” She sat up with the blanket around her lap. He watched as she tucked her hair behind her ears, and released a breath. “I don’t need pampering.”
“I wouldn’t dream of pampering. I will pay you a compliment, and you will accept it. So say, ‘thank you, Edward’.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Say it.” He made sure to put on his Dom voice so she knew he wasn’t kidding around.
“Thank you, Edward.”
“I know I’m beautiful,” he said.
“I can’t say that.”
“It’s what I want to hear, and what I say.”
Again with another eye roll.
“I know I’m beautiful.” She pressed her hands against her face. “Wow, that sounds so wrong. I can’t even believe I said that.”
He chuckled. “I won’t make you say it in public in front of everyone. You need to lighten up a little, baby. Accept a compliment because they are going to be coming.” He reached out, moving her hands out of the way, and placing a finger beneath her chin. Staring into her eyes, he found himself melting once again. The color didn’t matter to him. There was so much emotion in their depths. Behind them was a woman with so much warmth and passion that with the right guidance, he could bring it out of her, and nurture her. He wasn’t going to ever give her up.
This was it for him, for life. She was going to belong to him. William thought he was crazy for making that commitment so soon after only just stating his intentions. Edward just knew. No woman had ever left him feeling this way.
He wanted her.
“Your eyes struck me first, Isabel. The day I walked into the diner. I would have stayed all day and all night if I could. All I ever wanted was to see what was really going on in that head of yours.”
“I’m sure there have been plenty of women in your life over the years.”
“There have. I’ve had my share of younger women, older ones, kinkier ones, easy ones. I’ve even done a couple of slutty ones, and yeah, I’ve loved every single second that I’ve been inside them.” He saw the jealousy in her eyes. “But none of them ever made me want to sit and stare at them. I’ve been with women, fucked them, and had them out of my life within an hour. You, Isabel, are different.”
“I bet you say that to all of them.”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t. I’ve never been the kind of person to say shit I don’t mean. You say stuff that you don’t mean, people end up hurt. I don’t do that. Those women, they knew I only wanted a fuck. I never wanted to sit and watch them, or take my time getting to know them. I certainly didn’t want to share meals with them, my life, my home, my friends. I want to share that with you. I will never hold anything back from you, baby. I promise.”
Tears filled her eyes, and he noticed her hands were fidgeting in her lap. “Complete truth and trust?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. “I was, erm, I was sad the other day. It was like a switch went off, and I couldn’t stop it. Peter was talking about Rose, his wife, and I saw the smile on his lips. It’s the kind of smile that people who are in love give about each other. Even my parents had it for each other, even if it was fleeting.”
“Why did that make you sad?”
“Because no one has ever thought of me like that. I know it’s silly, and I feel completely stupid for thinking it. I guess I was just upset, and a little jealous. No one is ever going to love me that deeply. All the men at Control, they love their women like that?” she asked.
He nodded. “Not all love is like that though.”
“I want that. Don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“You didn’t even hesitate.”
“It’s what I want, babe. I want that kind of love.” He took her hand, and gave it a squeeze. “Maybe we could find that with each other?”
“Do you really think that is possible?”
“Anything is possible. You’ve just got to give yourself a chance to believe.”
****
Edward left her long enough to get changed, and when her usual jeans and long sleeved shirt were in place, she met him in the kitchen for breakfast. There was nothing out of the ordinary so far. They talked about the latest headlines in the paper, and about the quality of the bacon and eggs.