Page 37 of Broken Bonds

Lionel sits next to me, his body pressed against mine. That makes me cry harder. I feel silly. I blame it on what happened the last few days, it must be the tension drowning my body.

I hear him taking a deep breath, getting ready for whatever he’s going to tell me.

“Stella, building a house is easy. Making it a home is the tricky part. Clearly, I have no idea how to have a relationship. Look at the mess I made with my terrible joke.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“The last thing I want is to make you sad.” He drops his head against the gray wall behind us. There is a soft thud that reverberates in the silence. “I’m not asking you to be patient because you shouldn’t put up with my nonsense. Instead, I am asking you to show me the way.”

“I’m here,” I say, setting my phone down on the wooden floor. “That should be enough.”

Lionel searches for my hand and entwines his fingers with mine, leaving me no chance to escape. “It’s a lot, it really is. But I told you last night, Stella, we both have to do our part for this to work. Otherwise, our life is going to be hell.”

I turn to look at him. I’m a tearful mess and I don’t care. “What do you think the last three months have been for me? The last few days? You deceived me, the man I met at my honey stand was an illusion, after we got married, you showed your true colors. Do you think being with you has been easy for me?”

This time Lionel doesn’t take the time to answer, nor does he close his eyes as he always does.

“I-I-I’m sorry, Stella,” he stutters and it breaks my heart. “I-I-I-I’m really sorry. P-p-p-please forgive me.”

Unable to resist any longer, I throw my arms around him, my face buried in his neck, while the tears drown in the delicious aroma of his cologne. Lionel hugs me tight, his hands touching my back.

“We can leave the past behind, Stella,” he says in my ear. “I know we can.”

Not a word comes out from my mouth, so I nod and he notices it, because his arms tighten around my waist, pulling my body closer to his.

“I can’t change the past, although I want to, but I can’t,” he whispers. “Let’s start again, let’s write a new story together. One we both like, and makes us happy.”

“That only happens in fairy tales,” I reply, putting my hands on his chest to push him away. He smells so good, feels so good, and says things that make my brain all gooey.

I have to get out of here.

But before I can do it, Lionel’s lips touch my cheeks, drying my tears with his lips. Allowing him to kiss me is a mistake and that’s a fact. Resisting is as difficult as swimming against the current of a rough river. I’m not strong enough.

“Let’s start our story here and now.”

Oh God, what is going on?

I open my mouth to speak as he lowers his head and takes my face in his hands to seal our lips in the sweetest kiss.

I can feel the world spin around us creating a magic bubble. I get lost every time his tongue brushes against mine. The colors of our souls mixing into one so vibrant and full of life. He’s my husband. I’ve kissed him before, many times. And at the same time, it feels so new, so different. As if this were our first kiss.

My body doesn’t respond to my thoughts. At the moment, I should run away and seek refuge in the hills, but my heart has already fallen prey to his charm, a spell that I can’t break.

Truth be told, I don’t want to break it.

“Does this mean you forgive me?” he asks me as his lips run down my chin.

Everything has changed, not only this between us, but the way he marks me again as his own.

“It’s a beginning.” My voice is panting and trembling.

Lionel chuckles softly, but continues to rain kisses across my jaw.

“I hate to see you cry,” he confesses and that surprises me. “And I hate to be the reason for your tears.”

He whispers before kissing me again, feeling his lips move over mine in a touch as careful as it is suggestive. It isn’t a passionate kiss, but at the same time it’s full of hunger.

It’s sweet, like the honey my bees produce; tender, and somehow possessive. He’s marking me as his, making me feel wanted. A sigh escapes from my lips as he puts his tongue over mine with a silky caress. I have to hold onto his broad shoulders because his kisses make me feel dizzy. My entire body has turned to jelly, like clay in his hands for him to mold, and I’m sure that if it hadn’t been for him holding me tightly to his chest, I would have ended up a puddle on the floor.

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