Page 23 of Claiming What's His
“Hmm.” She mused but laid her head back down on my shoulder as we rode up to my apartment. I loved my home, but I’d never brought women home before and sure as hell didn’t bring anyone here that I wanted to share the space with.
But as we walked into my modern penthouse, I found myself watching Cora’s face as she looked around the space. “What do you think of it?’ I asked, nervous and anxious for her to like it for some reason.
She smiled softly and slid from my arms and looked over at me. “It’s very you Mav. I can tell you had a hand in designing it and that you take pride in it.”
“I did.”
“Why did you bring me here?”
“Because you should have been here all along Cora. You should have been by my side through every stage of life, and I’ll never forgive myself for cheating you out of that.”
She shook her head and held her hand up. “It’s too much Mav. I can’t –”
“Then just settle for letting me take care of you for now.” I said and took her hand, pulling her behind me towards my bedroom. She looked over the room as I kept walking past the bed and closet and into the massive bathroom attached. “How does a bath sound?” I nodded towards the deep soaker tub.
Her eyebrows raised, “In that? Like heaven.”
“Good.” I turned the tap on and then poured a handful of salts in that I’d never bothered to open before but that my housekeeper insisted on stocking. She raised her eyebrows as I loosened my tie and pulled it free of my shirt and then took off my jacket, stalking towards her where she stood with her hip against the sink.
“Don’t you have a company to dismantle or something?”
“I only want to dismantle your clothes.” I smirked at her and she rolled her eyes at me as I slid my hands over her hips and kissed her forehead.
“Mav.” She sighed. I slid her sweater off over her shoulders and down her arms and then carefully lifted her shirt off. “I don’t know how to let you take care of me.” She said, avoiding my eyes as she pulled my shirt from my slacks and worked the buttons loose.
“That’s all my fault Cora baby. One I plan on rectifying starting right now.”
“What does that mean though? We just ran into each other yesterday and now you’re saying things like you want me by your side and you want to take care of me, and I don’t know how to just… let you.”
I stripped my shirt off and groaned when her fingers slid behind my belt as she tilted her head back to finally look at me. “It means that I’ve only ever imagined myself marrying one woman before: you. And I know we just reconnected yesterday, and we have so much to discuss and figure out, but I want you Cora. You hurt me when you left me and I have to deal with that the same way you have to deal with the pain I inflicted when I cheated on you, but I want to deal with that shit together and work on building something.” I leaned down until my eyes were level with hers and I put one hand on each side of her face. “I want you. That has never changed for me. I spent ten years building something with you and another ten years regretting everything bad I ever did to you. Let’s spend the next ten years living the life we should have been this whole time.”
Tears pooled in her eyes as she took a deep breath.
“Okay.” She whispered and I leaned forward and gently kissed her lips, running my tongue over the plump flesh I so badly wanted to devour but forced myself to keep it soft and light because of her injuries.
“Okay.” I said back and then undid her bra and pushed it down her arms. “You’re so incredibly sexy, I don’t know if I told you that yesterday or not, but your body is maddeningly beautiful.”
She chuckled softly and rolled her eyes as she undid my pants and held my stare as she pushed them down to the floor. She let her eyes flutter down to my bare cock and a grin pulled her lips up as she shook her head back and forth. “How did that fit inside of me?” She asked in wonder.
It was my turn to chuckle at her as I helped her step out of her own pants and underwear and then led her to the tub. I stepped in and sat down against the edge and held her hand as she gently slid into the hot water. She knelt down between my legs, and I put my hands on her hips and guided her to lean back against my body.
I wrapped my arms around her stomach and held her for a long time, letting the hot water sooth us both.
“This is the first time I’m seeing you completely naked in ten years, and you’re downright sinful.” She said, running her fingers over the sensitive skin of my thighs under the water. “You’ve grown… everywhere.”
I kissed her temple and hugged her tighter. “I became a man. In more than one way Cora.”
“What do you mean?” She asked, looking over her shoulder.
“What I did to you… with Sarah.” I started, hating the pain I knew this conversation was going to bring her.
“Stop.” She said quickly and took a deep breath. “I want to hear what you have to say Mav, I want to know what happened and why you did what you did… but not right now.” Her voice was soft and gentle, but I could feel the grief in it. “I just want to enjoy this moment, right here and now. For just a little while longer.”
“Okay.” I said, sighing as she clung to me. We laid in silence for a while longer again before she spoke again.
“When was the last time you soaked in a bubble bath in the middle of a Tuesday?” She asked, kissing my bicep where she rested her cheek against it.
“Never.” I said quickly, “Well actually, there was that one time you had the flu, and you were miserable and sick and couldn’t breathe at all, and I skipped school and snuck into your room and held you just like this in your tub while the vapor shit you put in the water burned my ass.”