Chapter Eighteen
Elizabeth had been in the room barely five minutes when the door
chimed. She quickly wiped at her eyes, hoping it wasn’t too obvious
that she had been crying, and crossed the room.
Upon opening the door, she found John standing outside. She saw his
eyes widen with concern briefly and knew her emotional state was no
secret; but he soon schooled his features and smiled
sympathetically.
“Jake sent me to make sure you’re okay,” he said.
Elizabeth laughed at the little boy’s thoughtfulness. “I’m fine,
John.”
John simply nodded. “I can see that.”
She smiled sheepishly, lowering her head, and shrugged. “It’s just…
things are changing.”
He nodded again and took a step closer to her. “Well, I’m under
instructions to take care of you. So… can I come in?”
Head still dipped she looked up at him, smiled and stepped aside so
he could enter the room.
“Thank you,” he grinned, turning to face her as she closed the door.
“You probably should also know that Jake told me to stay here
tonight.”
She looked straight at him now and raised an eyebrow. “Really?” she
asked, a smile tugging at her lips.
“Yep… So that you don’t get lonely.”
Her smile formed fully now, but she felt the tears brimming over
from her eyes again. “Ugh, this is silly,” she said wiping at the
moisture with frustration. “It’s not like I’ll not see him every
day.”
John stood in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders,
gently massaging them with his fingers. “It isn’t silly. It’s
perfectly normal. You’ll miss him.”
She met his eyes, for a moment just absorbing the comfort of having
him there with her, then she wrapped her arms around his waist and
pulled him closer, his hands sliding onto her back.
“Are you really staying here tonight?” she asked him.
“If you’ll let me,” he replied, his thumbs stroking along her spine.
She shivered at his touch and nestled closer to him. “I guess
there’s no reason why you shouldn’t now…”
John nodded. “No there isn’t.”
“And I suppose, after six weeks, I can be sure this isn’t a dream?”
“I’d say so,” he smirked, both of his hands settling on the small of
her back.
“Okay,” she acquiesced, “You can stay.”
“Thank you, Ma’am,” he whispered, lowering his lips to hers.
She returned the kiss for a few seconds, revelling in feelings she
still had trouble believing were really happening, but then she
remembered her intention to tease him and pulled back.
“So can we read a book and make up stories then?” she asked him,
batting puppy dog eyes at him.
He laughed and slid his hands down to cup her butt. “If that’s what
you want to do,” he said, then he kissed her again, his tongue
slipping between her lips this time – his plans for the evening
perfectly clear as his hands massaged her ass and his tongue duelled
with hers.
When she needed oxygen, Elizabeth prised her lips from his and
dropped her head back, gasping for air. John switched his attention
to her exposed neck, trailing kisses along her jawline, then down to
her shoulder, taking time to pay particular attention to the spot
just below her ear. She trembled under his ministrations, but
managed to retain enough coherent thought to continue their
conversation.
“Did you have something else in mind?” she asked as his mouth began
its journey back up her neck.
His tongue joined his lips in teasing that sensitive spot near her
ear and she let out a quiet moan at the sparks it created inside
her.
“Well…” he said, moving his lips to her ear and whispering the rest
of his sentence.
Stunned by his words, Elizabeth dropped back in his arms, eyes wide.
“You’re serious?”
“I am.” And both his tone and expression supported his words.
Her heart was beating rapidly with a mixture of the emotions he had
stirred within her – through his touch and his suggestion – and
Elizabeth felt her stomach churn with anticipation. She supposed
that was her answer then.
A wide smile spread across her lips. “Okay then.”
John’s grin mirrored hers. “Really?”
She nodded, “Really. We’ll go with your idea for tonight.”
The sound John made as he swept her up into his arms was somewhere
between a shout of victory and a scream of excitement. And she found
that strangely reassuring – for she was pretty sure she wouldn’t
dream him making that sound! And as he kissed her with more passion
than she had ever thought possible she was further convinced that
this was real. They really had found him.
And as he laid her down on her bed without breaking the contact at
their lips, and rested on top of her, she found herself more than
willing to lose herself in him. Yes, things were changing, but these
changes were definitely for the better.
TBC (in a short epilogue)