Page 63 of Anchor

My tears fall, and I ask, “Why the bruises….”

He groans in defeat, knowing I’m testing him, and he drops his forehead against mine.

“You’re going to kick my ass, Angel,” he admits, but I don’t relent. Instead, I keep eye contact, and he sighs, admitting, “I fought at The Fight every night, letting the men kick the shit outta me.” My stomach tightens at his words. He gently wipes away my tears. “I was barely surviving without you in the years we were apart, those little snippets keeping me going, but knowing you may never wake up….” His eyes race between mine. He confesses, “All I wanted to do was join you, and I knew I had to be here for Micha, so fighting helped numb the emotional pain.”

I slowly close my eyes as my tears fall at his admittance. He whispers, “I need you like I need air to breathe, Heaven, I always have, and since I made that stupid mistake, it has defined us and our relationship; it caused me to lose you, and I know I can never take it back, I know it’s drilled in your head .but I also know that you love me.” He places his lips to my head. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have been willing to try couple’s therapy, you wouldn’t have been sleeping with me over the years, and you wouldn’t still be this hurt by what I did, you would have pushed it behind you and moved on.”

Slowly, Travis takes my hand in his, and I open my eyes when I feel him remove my ring, something I haven’t had the courage to do despite it feeling wrong on my finger. He steps back a little, a feeling I didn’t think I’d feel fills me.

Panic.

Panic and fear that we are done consume me, and absolute heartbreak fills me as I watch him remove the thin gold chain that I bought him as a wedding gift years ago from around his neck. He slowly loops it through my gold band, and I furrow my brows in confusion despite the panic and fear.

Travis gently places the chain back around his neck, then reaches for something from the inside of his cut. I gasp in shock as he holds out two absolutely beautiful rings.

He gives me a nervous smile, holds the large ring out first, and says, “I never did get you an engagement ring. I never had the money, and fuck do I regret it.”

I smile a little. The memory of a nineteen-year-old Travis trembling hits me.

“I love you, Heaven,” he whispers, and I smile up at him, gripping his arms as he cups my cheeks.

I’m sitting sideways on his bike outside the school football field, with no one about. He came to pick me up, which I’m grateful for, as my mother decided she needed to use my car after her “boyfriend” took hers today.

“I love you, too, Trav, but why are you trembling? What’s wrong?” I reply, concern hitting me.

He blows out a deep breath before letting go of my cheeks, and I gasp as he kneels before me, gripping my hand.

“I don’t have a ring; I just can’t go any longer without having you tied to me.” His eyes race between my watery ones, and he begs, “Marry me, Heaven, marry me and make me the happiest man alive.”

My tears fall, and without thinking about it, not needing to, knowing he’s my everything, even at eighteen, I nod vigorously. He grins as I throw myself at him, pressing my lips against his….

“I loved your proposal,” I admit, and he smiles softly.

“I know, but you deserved more, fuck, you deserved a ring,” he replies as he grabs my left hand and slowly guides the large white gold ring with a large diamond onto my finger. He pulls another ring out of the box, and I recognize it instantly.

It’s the white gold diamond wedding ring I eyed years ago.

My tears fall as he slowly guides it on my finger, up against the other ring, and he whispers, “I want to start fresh. I want to forget about the past, forget about the heartbreak, and restart. And I really fucking want you to want to restart with me.”

A lump forms in my throat, the rings he put on my finger soothing my burning skin.

“But how can I move forward?” I look at him. “I’ve been trying for ten years, Travis.”

He licks his bottom lip and then whispers, “But you haven’t been, Heaven; even in therapy, you still hold onto the past, you still hold onto the pain.” He gently kisses my ring finger. “I love you, Angel, so fucking much, and I can’t bear life without you, and if you’re willing to try and move forward, actually moving forward and not holding onto the past, to what I did, I promise to always put you first.” He looks at me. “I promise to be open as humanly possible for the rest of our lives, and I promise to never make you feel unworthy during any pregnancies or births you go through. Please, Angel, start a new chapter with me, and let me prove to you that I’ll never hurt you again….”

Everything in me pulls at me to say yes, but damn, am I scared, so goddamn scared.

“Clear your head, my Angel, and listen to your heart. What does it say?” he whispers, and I instantly answer, “It says yes."

He kisses me hard, not allowing me to second-guess myself, and without thinking, I open my mouth as he licks the seam of my lips, his tongue tangling with mine, and everything feels right in my world.

Travis groans before sucking my tongue into his mouth, causing my clit to pulse and wetness to spread between my thighs as his hands go to my ass and he lifts me. My legs instantly wrap around his waist, my hands going into his hair before I feel us moving, then my back is against a cold mattress.

Gently, Travis brings his hands to my tank top and glides it up, breaking the kiss as he lifts it above my head, and throws it on the floor.

My eyes connect with his as I raise my hands and slowly glide his cut off his shoulders. He sits up between my open thighs and chucks it against the chair near the door before he removes his shirt, revealing his tatted chest, before he covers my body with his. I grab my old ring on his chain and pull his lips to mine, kissing him hard, pushing my tongue into his mouth, tangling it with his, and he moans, pressing his hips against mine as I lift them, needing friction after so long without it.

Reading my body, Travis breaks the kiss and nips my chin, neck, and collarbone before pulling the cup of my bra down and taking a peaked nipple into his mouth, sucking it hard before biting it, sending tingles throughout my body, and making me gasp in pleasure and lift my hips again.

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