Page 82 of My Vows Are Sealed

“I love you,” I choked out. “So much.”

That earned me another kiss. “You’re my everything.”

Finally,finally,he picked up his speed just a little bit, and I let out a moan as I started to move my hips in time with his thrusts.

“I don’t know how much longer I can hold it,” he grunted.

“Then don’t,” I gasped. “It’s okay.”

“Not without you,” he insisted. “Can I try something?”

“What?” I wondered.

He slid his hand between us and pressed his thumb against my sensitive nub, and I let out an embarrassingly loud moan. I didn’t know how much longerI’dlast either if he kept doing that.

“Feel good?” he asked.

“Yes. Don’t. Stop,” I panted.

As he pressed down a little harder, he picked up his pace again, and it only took a few more strokes for me to fall off the edge of the cliff, crying out his name. And with one more pump, he followed me.

“God, Dar,” he groaned as he buried himself as deep as he could.

I could feel him pulsing inside me, and his arms shook with the effort he was exerting to hold himself up. I pulled him down for a kiss, curling my arms around his shoulders, and he lowered himself onto his elbows, letting me feel every inch of him against me.

Part of me expected to feel a twinge of guilt or regret for what I’d just done now that it was over. After all, it went against everything I’d ever been taught about sex and love and intimacy. But I didn’t. Not even a little bit.

It didn’t matter that I hadn’t said “I do” and signed a piece of paper yet. Brendan was my soulmate. And showing him how much I loved him, giving him the only part of myself that I’d been holding back, wasn’t wrong. It was an inevitability.

Chapter 23

Brendan

A Page Is Turned

My head spun as I laid there waiting to regain the use of my muscles, my arms shaking from the effort I was exerting to keep myself from crushing Darla.

When I’d walked in my door after work tonight, I definitely wasn’t expecting this turn of events. I wasn’t expecting today to turn into one of the best and worst days of my whole life.

As incredible as it was to finally get to make love to her, I couldn’t just forget why she’d changed her mind about waiting. I wouldn’t have taken it back for the world, but I sort of felt like I’d taken advantage of her, even though she’d assured me multiple times that she was okay with what was happening. Because I knew it wouldn’t have happened if her father hadn’t come a hair’s breadth away from assaulting her. I just hadn’t been strong enough to say no, especially not when she’d basically begged me. I didn’t think I could have said no toanythingshe’d asked of me tonight. But I couldn’t help the fear that now that it was over, she’d regret making this choice.

I moved to get up so I could get rid of the condom, but Darla whimpered in protest and tightened her hold on me, like she’d been doing all night. A lump rose in my throat, and I swallowed it down and blinked back tears before pulling back to look at her.

“I won’t even be gone for two minutes,” I promised, giving her a kiss. “I just need to go take care of the condom.”

She nodded timidly, and I kissed her again, then got up, grabbed my boxers, and slipped into the bathroom.

I didn’t know how I was supposed to leave her tomorrow to go to church – because I knew I had to go to keep up appearances – and I didn’t know how I was supposed to let her go to school on Monday. The only time she’d seemed calm tonight was when I was holding her. But people would definitely realize something was wrong if we just never left this apartment all of a sudden.

As I pulled the condom off and tied a knot in it before tossing it in the trash, I noticed a little blood on the outside, so I grabbed a washcloth from under my sink and wet it with some warm water.

When I walked back into the bedroom, Darla was curled up into a ball wearing the shirt I’d given her to sleep in. I went to sit next to her and bent down to kiss her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder at me, then rolled onto her back and pulled me into a kiss that could have set this apartment on fire. I prayed that meant she was still okay with this, but I needed to actually hear the words from her.

“You’re bleeding a little, baby,” I whispered against her lips. “Let me get you cleaned up.”

She turned bright red as she granted me access to wash between her legs, hissing as the cloth came into contact with her center. Thankfully, it was a quick job and there were only a few drops of blood on the sheet. I’d have to change it tomorrow, but I didn’t have to worry about it tonight.

After throwing the washcloth into my laundry basket, I crawled into bed with her, pulling her back into my arms, and she curled into my side, draping an arm across me and planting a kiss on my shoulder. I felt that feather-light brush of her lips all the way down to my soul, and I let out a contented sigh as I combed my fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead.

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