"Just glad to see you," he whispers in my hair, kissing my forehead, eyes, nose, and finally lips. He looks haggard, as if he's just been through a harrowing experience.
"What?" I manage between kisses.
"I missed you," he rasps out.
"I love you, Theo!" I squeeze him to my chest, knowing exactly what has prompted his display of affection.
"I love you too, dear,” he murmurs, taking me to our bedroom and proceeding to make sweet love to me.
I can tell that Theo's shaken up by what happened. He's always been uptight and unyielding with crime and violence. That's why he must never know. My husband must never know the things I do to make sure he's safe.
Never.
* * *
"You look amazing." I look in the mirror, adjusting the ribbon at my shirt's neckline. Theo comes from behind, fitting himself to my back and making me shiver. I smile at the interruption and tip my head to kiss him.
"You too." I take in his appearance. He's always been handsome, but he's most attractive when he looks at me with love in his eyes because I know he's mine. His short, dark-brown hair has the silkiest texture I've ever felt, and I take every opportunity to run my hands through it. But his eyes made me forget myself all those years ago. Not quite brown, not quite green, they sparkle with warmth and intelligence. He's now dressed for the office, in a dark-blue suit and a white dress shirt.
"When are you coming home?" I ask with a smile on my face.
"After seven. I have a few meetings. Will you be at the foundation all day?"
"Yes, we're having an event in a couple of weeks, so I have to approve all expenditures."
"I'm proud of you." His hands on my hips, he turns me around to give me a breathless kiss.
"Enough of this. You'll be late."
"I'd always be late if it means one more kiss from you," he replies sneakily. I playfully punch him.
"Love you, now go."
"Love you too, sweetie!" He gives me one last glance before grabbing his briefcase and taking off.
Sweetie… Love… I sometimes wonder if he lovesmeor just who I am for him. Could he even love me if he knew the real me? The answer is no, and I'm painfully aware of it.
I was sixteen when I first saw him. He'd been fresh out of Quantico, mingling with different prospective employers at one of my father's many banquets. I wasn't supposed to be there, but that hadn't been the first time I'd done something I wasn't supposed to.
That night was the night my obsession with Theo started, and it's never stopped. I remember seeing him in the ballroom, from my hiding place on the veranda. He'd been engaging in conversation with two older men, and he had this severe countenance devoid of any arrogance that just intrigued me.
When he'd turned, and I glimpsed at his face, I saw my future reflected in his eyes. I knew without a doubt that he was mine, and one day, I'd possess him. It hadn't taken me long to find out everything about him and put my plan into motion. It would be another three years before I would officially meet him.
He was just getting his start in the mayor's office and was looking at my father for support, and I was the young daughter of a man he knew and looked up to. Those circumstances had been fortuitous, for I'd had the advantage of my parentage and a wealth of information on his preferences. I'm not ashamed to say that I'd used that information to craft myself into his dream woman.
Innocent, sweet, vulnerable.
Theo had a savior complex. And I just needed to play the damsel in distress. Not that it was too hard with my unyielding father and seemingly restricted upbringing. He'd taken one look at my cowering self and had immediately come to my rescue.
He liked delicate and nurturing women.
I was neither.
But I made myself into one.
Two years of sporadic encounters followed by a year of slow courtship, and I knew I'd won him. Now, three years of marriage later, and my innocent persona has become a second skin. Nurturing, however, that's still hard. It doesn't help that he's been bringing up children for a while now, and I don't know how much longer I can put him off.
I don't see myself as a mother, but more than anything else, I don't want to share him with another being. He's mine,onlymine. He thinks we've been trying for the past year, but I've been secretly getting the shot. There are just so many things that if my husband found out, he would never forgive me.