Page 120 of Penalty to the Heart

All I could see was my pain.

All I could feel was suffering.

A misery so intense that it maddened the mind and tormented the heart.

All I wanted was to desperately feel anything else but the agony I was in.

And she did that for me.

For one beautiful moment, Roxie took all that suffocating pain away.

With her kiss.

With her body.

With her heart.

And for the first time in months, I was able to breathe again.

As if the weight of all my guilt and grief had miraculously been lifted off my chest, the excruciating boulder that had sat there for the last few months was nowhere to be found.

Her touch alone gave me the reprieve I longed for.

But I know it’s still there.

I can feel its eyes on me, ready to claw its way back inside me.

But it won’t dare return. Not just yet.

Not while I’m still staring at her lovely face.

Not while she’s within an arm’s reach.

Here, despair can’t sink its teeth into me like it wants to.

If these stolen moments of happiness are all I can obtain, it’s enough.

It’s more than I deserve.

Unable to stop myself, I swipe the loose lock of hair that has fallen to her face, needing to see her in all her splendor.

“It’s rude to stare,” she whispers, alerting me that she’s awake.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“You didn’t,” she yawns out of pure exhaustion. “I’m just not used to sharing a bed.”

“Neither am I, though I am starting to see the benefits of it,” I tease, pulling her closer to me so she can feel how hard I am.

“I can tell.” She smiles, her eyelids still heavy with sleep.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t be opposed to giving you a little demonstration of the benefits of sharing a bed with me.”

“Sometimes I forget how young you are. Only a twenty-something-year-old would have this much stamina.” She sighs before snuggling closer to me.

“Is that a problem? Being ten years younger than you?” I ask, wanting to know exactly how many obstacles I have in my way before conquering her heart like she’s conquered mine.

“It is when I have work in the morning, and you refuse to let me sleep.” She giggles softly.

---