I carried her not to the master suite, but directly to the large kitchen counter…a massive, cool slab of marble that dominated the center of the gourmet kitchen. The flickering candles from the proposal still cast long, intimate shadows.
I set her gently on the counter, standing between her legs. My hands went immediately to the hem of her dress, pushing the soft fabric up and away. The white silk fell to the floor, leaving her breathtakingly exposed against the cool marble. The exquisite marquise ring on her finger was the only jewelry she wore, catching the candlelight and sending brilliant sparks of white and black fire across the room.
"I need to be inside you, Love," I murmured, my voice ragged with desperate longing, my head dropping to the hollow of her throat. "I need to feel you alive, whole, and completely mine."
She reached up, her fingers gripping the lapels of my tuxedo jacket, pulling me down, her eyes full of fire and desperate, equal need. "Then stop talking, Nunus. Show me what it means to be home."
The kiss was the release of weeks of terror and longing…deep, possessive, and utterly consuming. I moved quickly, deftly removing the barrier of my clothes, not breaking the kiss until our bodies were finally skin-to-skin. I shifted her back against the cool marble, bracing myself against the counter, and finally, impossibly, claimed her. The gasp that tore from her throat was a sound of pure satisfaction, a perfect confirmation that we had defeated the demons of the past.
The hunger was primal, overwhelming the beauty of the room. I moved with a focused, desperate intensity, seeking not just pleasure, but proof that she was okay, and completely mine. The sensation of her hips moving against the cool, smooth counter, the feel of her nails scratching my back, the sound of her breath…it was the ultimate victory.
We moved, fueled by a deep, ferocious need, changing locations from the cool kitchen counter to the plush rug by the fireplace in the lounge, and finally collapsing onto the soft, luxurious carpet of the master suite. I couldn't get enough of pleasing her…the act was a continuous way of giving thanks for her survival. I focused entirely on her pleasure, bringing her to satisfaction again and again, needing her cries to drown out the echo of my fear.
Finally, utterly spent, I collapsed beside her, pulling her close against my side, my hand resting gently on her stomach. The new ring pressed against my skin.
"Perfect," I whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead, my heart overflowing with love and a profound, exhausted peace. "You are absolute perfection, Love. Always."
Belinda's POV
I lay tangled with Jay on the plush carpet of the master suite, utterly satisfied and perfectly safe. The scent of him, the heavy, contented weight of his arm across my waist, was the only fortress I needed. The world outside, the war, the betrayal…it all felt distant, eclipsed by the profound, exhausted joy of our reconciliation.
I ran my fingers over the intricate, cool silver band of my ring, then down to my abdomen. The weight of the secret had finally been lifted, replaced by the weight of his love. Now was the time for the final, happy reveal.
I shifted slightly, meeting his gaze. His eyes were half-lidded, dark with passion and peace.
"That," I murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder, "was better than any tactical victory, Nunus. I love you."
He smiled, a slow, utterly devastating grin. "I love you too. It was the only way to remind myself that everything I'm fighting for is still real, Love. You saved me from myself. I'm sorry I misunderstood you before. Let's make sure our communication is better from now okay?"
I reached up, tracing the fierce line of his jaw. "I agree. You saved me too, Nunus. You came into my life and suddenly all I could think about was my love for you over anything else. You completely took over my future plans I had set for myself. My mind saw you as a big part of them and it drove my decisions. I was afraid you'd leave me once you saw the cracks but you never did. You showed me that true love does exist and healed so many parts of my past fears. You're the one that stayed long enough to understand and love me. You actually see me. No one has ever done that before. I'm also deeply and genuinely sorry for my reckless decisions and actions that I took without trusting your protection. I know better now."
His beautiful smile appeared, and he gently sat up to kiss me and then my stomach.
"Oh…I have one more surprise for you. One more piece of information I decided to keep until I was sure we were finally at peace.."
His eyes sharpened instantly, a flicker of the old suspicion returning, quickly masked by playful curiosity. "Oh? No more secret assassinations, I hope. My heart can't take the collateral damage."
"No," I chuckled, settling my hand over my stomach. "Just a final piece of intelligence on our new recruit."
I leaned in, my voice dropping to a whisper, filled with pure, undiluted excitement.
"Remember that time Rosline did a full metabolic panel when I was 'hyper-sensitive' to the coffee, right before the whole thing blew up?"
He nodded, suddenly intensely focused.
"She ran everything. And when she was doing the analysis, she accidentally slipped up and mentioned a specific hormonal marker that indicated a male fetus, confirming her earlier suspicions. I didn't let her reconfirm it, because I knew I needed to use the secret of the pregnancy as my last, desperate shield."
I pressed my ear against his chest, listening to the rapid beat of his heart.
"You're going to have a son, Nunus. It's a boy."
I felt the shift in his chest before I saw his reaction. He froze, then let out a low, shaky breath. He pulled back, his eyes wide and bright. He didn't speak immediately…he just stared at my stomach, his hand reaching out, resting, with profound, tender possessiveness, over the life within.
"A son," he whispered, the word a sacred oath. He closed his eyes, a single, silent tear tracing a path down his temple. "A little soldier. A little king."
He looked back at me, his gaze filled with a love so fierce it took my breath away. "We're having a boy, Love. We're having a son." He kissed me, a deep, celebratory kiss, and the quiet joy of the moment sealed the promise of our new life.
Things were finally perfect for us.
Or were they?…