Page 20 of A Father's Insistence

“What about the future?” She sucks on the end of the red fruit.

“What do you mean?” I swallow my strawberry in one bite and choose a raspberry next.

“Do you see yourself as just the future Viscount or something else?”

I breathe deeply and pop the raspberry in my mouth.

“I’m destined to be Viscount. I’ve seen how my father has run things, and I’d like to do some of it differently, but until I hold the title, I’ll follow his rules?”

“What would you like to do differently?”

Joanna sits forward in her chair, listening intently to me.

“You called me a philanthropist earlier, and I’d like to do more of that. Help people who haven’t had the privileges in life that I have. Victoria and I said as children we wanted to set up our own art school for people to learn to paint like all the great artists.” I go quiet for a moment and remember my carefree sister. Knowing what Joanna has been through, I’m desperately worried for Victoria. I want to get her and my niece away from Nicholas before it’s too late, but I fear I won’t be able to.

“I promise you, she’s happy,” Joanna states out of the blue and picks up another strawberry.

“No one can be happy with a man like that. It’s delusional.”

She looks down to the ground and places the strawberry back on the plate.

“I’m tired. I think I’ll sleep.”

Looking at the clock, I see two hours have passed with us talking and eating.

“One final question. This time, I’m asking it.”

“Ok.”

“After this is all done, do you see yourself still being married to me?”

Joanna gets to her feet and comes over to where I’m sitting, opposite her. She places her hand under my chin and tilts my head up toward her face. Slowly, she leans forward and presses a kiss to my lips. It’s soft and tastes of strawberries and chocolate. I lick my lips wanting more of her taste.

“You’ll always be my husband. You saved me when no one else could.”

She goes to turn around, but I grab her hand and pull her back to me. My heart is beating so fast. I’ve tried to keep my distance from her, not just for her sake but also for my sanity. I must be wrong in the head. She’s a victim of abuse and doesn’t need me forcing anything on her so soon, but I want her. I want her in my bed, I want my dick inside her, and I want to bathe her insides in my cum until my child grows within her. I’ve never felt emotions this urgent and overwhelming before. Joanna Nethercutt, no, Joanna Hamilton, my wife, has embedded herself under my skin with her beauty, naivety, and a spirit so strong she could fight a million soldiers single handedly if she wanted to. I stand and pull her to me, so she’s resting against my body. My forehead drops forward onto hers and rests there a moment while our eyes look directly into each other’s. I shut mine and bring my lips to hers again. This time, it’s not a brief kiss but one that seems to go on forever. It grows more and more urgent as every minute passes.

Joanna whimpers under my touch, and I instantly pull back. It’s not a whimper of pleasure…it’s one of fear, and when I look at her, she has tears streaming down her face. I don’t say anything to her—I just swoop her up into my arms and carry her over to the bed where I lay her down and climb in beside her, fully clothed. Then pulling her close to me, so her back is against my chest, I hold her tightly until her breathing evens out, and I know she’s fallen asleep. I pushed her too far tonight. I have to be mindful of what she’s been through, and how it will shape our future life together. She may never get over it. We may never consummate our marriage, but I’ll be beside her like this forever. I allow my own eyelids to flutter shut as the exhaustion of the day washes over me.

The next thing I know, I awaken to Joanna screaming and kicking out in my arms. She’s shouting, ‘no’. I need to rouse her gently, so holding her tightly, I softly tell her it’s a dream, and reassure her I’m here. Eventually she stirs and opens her eyes. They are wide with fear, and there are black circles underneath them where her sleep was disturbed. She pushes me away and sits up gasping for air. Reaching over to the nightstand, I grab a glass of water sitting there and offer it to her. She drinks the whole contents in a few big gulps.

“Tell me...” I try to stop myself from asking because I don’t want to upset her any further, but I can’t. I have to know. “Joanna, tell me what your dream was about?”

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