When It's Right(82)
“You’re the one that feels good.” He kissed her neck and shoulder. “God, you smell sweet.” He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply—flowers and citrus. Her scent would haunt him the rest of his days.
The thought made him smile when he thought of Gabe’s obsession with Ella’s perfume. Now he got it. He got a lot of things, like the protective streak that reared every time he thought Gillian needed him. He loved her.
She rubbed her feet up his calves, her hands down his back to cover his ass. They came back up to smooth over his arms and settle on his biceps. She squeezed, he flexed, and she sighed. He smiled. “You have a real thing for my arms.”
“So much strength, yet you know how to be gentle.”
He raised up on his forearms and stared down at her. “I’ll be anything you want.”
“I know that, Blake. I love that you try so hard to take care of me. But you have to stop tiptoeing around me, worrying about everything you say or do.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The way you hold yourself back, giving me space when you want to be close. You used to have a beer or two after work. Since I got here, you don’t.”
“I don’t need to have a beer after work.”
“Exactly. So if you want one, have one. It doesn’t bother me, because you don’t need it to get through your day.”
“And I’m with you all the time.”
“Yes, but you’re always so careful and polite about the way you approach and touch me. Look how long it’s taken us to get here.”
“I thought you needed time.”
“I need you. The real you. The man who wants me desperately and shows me with every ounce of love and passion he can’t contain when he touches me.”
“I want to make you happy.”
“How can I be happy if you’re not?”
“I am. I’m with you.”
She cupped his face and looked him in the eyes. “Please, Blake, I’m trying so hard to work on living a carefree life. Every accomplishment I make seems like I haven’t actually taken a step forward if you keep treating me with kid gloves.”
“Taking special care of you is not a bad thing.”
“Being sweet to me is never a bad thing. Holding pieces of yourself back, changing who you are is not okay with me. If you want me to share the bad things with you, but you won’t share all of yourself with me, how can this ever work? Eventually you’ll get tired of it.”
“Gillian.”
“No, Blake. You want me to trust you, and I do, but how can that bond hold if we can’t share everything with each other?”
He rolled to his side and kept her next to him. She put her hand over his heart, snuggled into the crook of his arm, and laid her head on his shoulder.
He kissed her on the head. “I want to give you everything.”
She leaned up and kissed him softly. “I’ve never been happier than I am when I’m with you. You give me magic. You’re amazing.”
Something in her tone told him they were talking about the amazing way they made love together. “Amazing, huh?”
“Incredible. Stupendous. Fantastic.” She nipped at his chin. “How do you like those adjectives?”
“I’ll work on it. I’ll do better next time,” he teased, making her laugh.
He pulled the blankets over them, wrapped his arms around her, held her close to his side, and kissed her goodnight. He pressed his lips to hers, kissed her once, twice, and held the third for a long, lingering moment. “I love you.” Now that he’d told her, he couldn’t help saying it again. Until he met her, his life had seemed cold and lonely. She’d lit a fire in him that would burn the rest of his life.
Chapter 23
Gillian stared at her reflection in the mirror and ran a nervous hand down the skirt of her dress. Grandma Dee helped her pick out the pretty dress, and Gillian paid for it with the money she earned working for her grandfather. She turned to the side and studied the still pink scar lines over her shoulder and up her neck. She had a new one to add to her collection, thanks to Ken. She pushed thoughts of that nuisance out of her mind.
She hadn’t told Blake what happened. Ken kept his distance. She’d made her point. To him and herself. She wouldn’t be anyone’s victim anymore.
The dress didn’t cover everything. She liked the snug fit over her breasts and to her waist before its skirt gently flared and draped to her knees. The raspberry-colored roses with their deep green leaves made a lovely pattern against the white background. The color made the gold in her hair stand out.
“Gillian, get a move on, sweetheart,” Blake called up the stairs.