Page 77 of Sparks Still Fly

“You’re doing great, O.” She looks at Julia, brushing the little wisps of hair on her head. “And so are you, poppet.”

“Poppet? I like that.” Maeve blushes and shrugs, running a finger over Julia’s little button nose. I lean down to kiss Maeve’s forehead, but Julia screams again, so I start making shushing sounds as I bounce around the room.

She feels so small, but she’s so strong because she’s trying and almost succeeding at breaking out of the blanket. I walk around for a few minutes as Jessica looks on with a pleased look on her face, and Maeve watches with a warmth in her eyes I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. It’s hard to decide whether I want to watch Julia’s facial expressions or Maeve’s right now.

As Julia settles down, the room grows quiet, and I clear my throat. “I uh, think it’s working?” Maeve nods with a proud smile on her face. Jessica and the other woman both smile, looking pretty pleased with how I’ve handled my crying baby.

My baby. She’s about to be mine.

We spend about an hour with Julia, and even though she sleeps most of the time, I love every minute of watching her, getting to know the little noises she makes. She’ll stay with the emergency foster parents she was placed with until everything gets signed off by the courts tomorrow.

We got into the building with no issues, but when we leave, there are a handful of photographers outside. They shouldn’t be here. This is private, so no one should know about it.

I immediately sense Maeve tense next to me, so I put my arm around her as we walk out toward the car.

They fire questions at us, from wanting to know about our wedding, to the wedding night, to what our plans are for where we’ll live. Maeve keeps a straight face and continues walking. We’re only a few feet from the car when one particular question has her stopping in her tracks.

“Maeve, how did you end up going from dating a major celebrity to marrying a deadbeat dad who needs to settle his shit in court?”

“Excuse me?” Her blue eyes look like they could shoot fire at this poor idiot’s face right now. I assume she’s going to keep walking, but she doesn’t. “There is nothing deadbeat about my husband. If you need to know one thing about him, it should be this: he loves so very well. He loves in big ways, with grand actions, like buying his wife a whole stable filled with horses. And he loves small, with quiet actions, like making sure my favorite snacks are always stocked, and my tea is made the way I like in the mornings.” She swings her arms out as she speaks, chest heaving as she flies through this monologue. “If anyone was ever made to be a father, it’s this man. He had the best examples of unconditional love growing up, and now he lives those examples daily. I see it. I feel it. And I only hope I can show even a fraction of that love and devotion back to him. So, you, asshole, you do not get to sell him short. Not even for one moment. I may not deserve his love, but people like you don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as Owen James.”

Her chest is heaving, but she’s done talking, so I guide her into the car and rush to the driver’s side. Maeve isn’t one to lose control, but that back there was her absolutely relinquishing it.

She doesn’t say anything until we get to the end of the road.

“I’m so, so sorry, Owen. I’ll never forgive myself if I messed everything up. I didn’t know what else to say. That was so horrible, and I couldn't let him speak about you like that. But I’m sorry if this sets you back. I swear I’ll do anything to set things straight. It’s probably best if we divorce now, right? I mean, it’s probably best if you’re not married to whoever that lunatic was out there. That clip is going to be everywhere.”

I can’t bring myself to say anything. I keep replaying her words over and over in my head—the ones she said back at the Health and Human Services parking lot, not the nonsense she’s talking about now.

She fucking loves me. I know she does. Even if the exact words didn’t come out, what just happened out there? That was all love. She. Loves. Me.

It’s the only thought in my brain for the entire ten-minute drive to the house we’re staying in for the night, and when I pull into the garage, I get out of the truck the second the ignition is off. I shut the garage door and round the vehicle to get to her side. Maeve hasn’t moved, and she turns quickly when I open her door. There are unshed tears in her eyes, and I feel a little bit guilty about that, but I couldn’t focus on this during the drive. I need to feel her and look her in the eyes, so I help her out and when the door is shut, I push her back against it. Her big doe eyes are on me, looking so sad and confused. I take each of her cheeks in my hands and kiss her. Just a soft, tender kiss. She relaxes into me, her hands coming up to my chest, fisting my shirt.

“Maeve, listen carefully. Are you listening?” I keep her face in my hands tipped up so I can see her.

“Yes,” she responds in a raspy voice.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. You spoke up for me. I don’t care about what some asshole thinks. I care about what you think. And you seem to think I love you a whole lot, which tells me I’m doing my job right.” She nods, eyes filling back up with tears. “And I think you were also saying something else back there, which is that you’re not deserving of this love, and I can’t have that. I won’t hear it, you got me?” A tear slips down her cheek. “We were made for each other, Maevey. There was never any other option but this. But us.” She nods again and brings her hands up to my shoulders, standing on her tiptoes to reach my lips. I lean down and take her mouth, and this time the kiss is feral. It’s tongues and teeth and moans and fuck, I need her.

“I’d love to be the guy who carries you to bed right now and makes slow, sweet love to you, but I’m not gonna be that guy. I need to be inside you now. Fuck, I need it so badly I’m about to burst out of my own skin. And it’s not a physical need. It’s more than that. It’s because the only way I feel whole is when I’m connected to you, fengári mou. And right now, I need to feel that more than anything. Is that okay?” We’re both panting by the time I finish talking, her hands digging into my shoulders.

“Yes, Owen. Please.” Her voice is steady and her eyes clear, despite the lust coursing through both of us right now.

I start pulling the front of her dress up until it’s all bunched at her waist. “Take off your panties, Mrs. James.” Her eyes widen as she lowers her hands to hook her thumbs into her silky underwear, letting them fall to the ground. “Now pull out my cock.” Her hands work quickly to undo my belt, steady through every motion as she lowers my zipper, lowers my pants and boxer briefs together. She lets out a quiet moan as she looks at my erection between us, upright and aching for her.

“Always such a good girl. Now, hold this.” I hand her the fabric of her dress that’s in my hand and she takes it. My hands go to the backs of her thighs, and I lift her, feeling how wet she already is for me on my lower abdomen. She gasps at the contact and brings her hands back to my shoulders, the dress now trapped between us.

“Say you want this, Maevey.” I repeat the words I said to her that first night. “All of this. Even when it’s messy and hard. Say you want me.”

“I want this. All of it. I want you. I’ve never wanted anything more than I’ve wanted you for the last ten years, Owen.” She brings her lips to mine, pulling my lower lip between hers. I lower her, so she feels the head of my cock nudging her, and she bites down on my lip. I want to sink into her hard and fast, but I don’t want to hurt her.

Knowingly, she says, “You won’t hurt me darling. We were made for each other, remember?” She smirks, and I pull her down to me, burying myself in to the hilt. Her pussy’s got such a tight grip on me in this position, and I could live like this forever, feeling her squeeze me, hearing her whimpers.

I pull almost all the way out, but I don’t make her wait. I plunge back in hard and fast, and I can tell she’s close already. “I love seeing you like this, Maevey. Love seeing you come undone for me. Love the way you sound when it’s just you and me loving each other like this.” She whimpers and pulls at my hair, moving her hips as she chases her own pleasure. “That’s it, wife. Take what you need. Take everything. I’m yours.”

She grinds on me while I hold her up, loving the feel of her body seeking pleasure from mine. I don’t know if I’ll ever get enough of us like this.

Her movements become more frantic, and her moans get louder. “Owen…I need…”

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