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“I need to tell you something.”
Her movements faltered.
“You need to tell me something right now?” She panted incredulously.
Her hands were clenched in the pillow either side of his head, her knees tucked tightly against his hips, too wrapped up in the feel of his body underneath her to notice how distracted he’d been all night.
She whined and started slowly trying to grind her hips again.
"Can't this wait till after you've made me-"
"No, Norma. This can't wait."
His tone was sharp, sharp enough to still her and then lift herself off him, rolling to his side with a quizzical look. He tugged the sheet up over their naked bodies, sighing up at the ceiling as he struggled with what he needed to say.
"Spit it out, Alex," she snapped, resting her head on her hand, her glare jagged through the silent, darkened bedroom they'd shared for months now.
"You're scaring me," she added quietly, and he melted, the tension in his body softening, flicking his head to meet her eye, unable to handle scaring her even for a moment.
"I've met you before," he blurted.
"What?"
"I met you. Before. Before all this."
Christmas 2002
"I'm telling you! You're hurting me!"
"And I'm telling you to shut the fuck up!"
Alex Romero rounded the corner of the swanky hotel interior to find a tall, sandy blonde man grasping a petite woman too hard around the wrist. He yanked her forwards and she stumbled, letting out a pained sob.
“Sam! Stop!”
“Hey!” Alex barked out, his presence drawing their attention, both freezing on the spot. “There a problem here?”
There was a pause as the woman turned away, baby blue chiffon swirling as she turned and sniffled.
“Nah. No problem here, buddy,” the man slurred at him, ignoring Alex’s harsh glare.
“Ma’am?” He pressed on, ignoring the drunk man’s words, watching as she stiffened and finally turned to meet his eye. “Is this man bothering you?”
For a moment, something complicated and painful flashed across her face and no-one said anything.
“I’m a police officer, ma’am. If this man is-“
She shook herself and instantly interrupted, her words clipped.
“This man is my husband. Everything here is fine. Thank you.”
The drunk, sandy blonde man slid his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side, shooting Alex a smug smile.
“See. We’re fine.”
Alex narrowed his eyes. Nothing was fine but he could tell from the resolute, icy glare from the woman and the glazed blinking from the man that he was unlikely to be able to fix anything at this moment.
“Okay. Well, enjoy the rest of your night.”
Alex turned away, unable to look at the sad beauty in front of him a moment longer, furious at himself for leaving her but unable to pluck up the courage to do anything more.
That didn’t stop him from watching her though, seeking out the head of bottle blonde, shoulder length curls from across the crowded ballroom, keeping an eye on her as her husband dragged her back to the bar to perch next to him. She stared glumly out at the sea of swaying couples on the dance floor, toying with the straw in her drink, pulling up the neckline of her floaty dress as she surveyed the party.
The police commissioners’ ball wasn’t exactly a rager, but the liquor flowed, and the halls were decked and Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You had played a grand total of three times before eleven pm. Alex knew a young sheriff from two states away wouldn’t normally have been deemed worthy of an invite, rubbing shoulders with mayors and senators and most likely mobsters, but his father did business with several chiefs of police down in Arizona and, since Alex had never seen the Grand Canyon, he’d accepted on his father’s behalf. Though he was starting to wish he hadn’t, the woman in blue plaguing his evening as he watched her.
“Your husband isn’t much of a dancer,” he blurted, making her jump as he eventually cornered her outside. He hadn’t meant to follow her, realising how sinister it seemed, but he’d seen her rise and decided now was as good a time as any for a smoke.
“Jesus! Are you stalking me?” She choked out and he spluttered a nervous laugh. Yes. But he would never admit it.
“No, I just…” He trailed off with a shrug, tapping a cigarette from the box, watching her eyes follow his movements hungrily. “You want one?”
She hesitated.
“I shouldn’t.” Her eyes darted back to where bass was booming out from the packed function room. “My husband-“
“-Isn’t here,” he finished for her. “I won’t tell if you won’t.” He held out a cigarette, surprised when she faltered for only a second more before opening her mouth, allowing him to place the filter between her lips. He lit hers first, allowing himself a deep inhale of her perfume before there was a bloom of burning nicotine as the tip of her cigarette caught.
“Thanks,” she uttered, leaning back against the wall, wrapping her arms around herself as she tipped her head back, watching their smoke mingle and disappear up into the heavens above them.
“You’re crashing the party, huh?”
She stiffened, answering his question without words, opening her mouth to lie before she simply shrugged.
“What you gonna do, arrest me?”
He shook his head, taking a long, deep inhale, waiting for her to speak.
“My husband sells insurance. There’s an insurance conference at the Hilton on the other side of town. We heard your little cop ball might have a better open bar?” Her voice broke just slightly, just enough for him to hear. “Guess we were right. You pigs know how to drink.” She cleared her throat, Alex ignoring her insult. “You gonna tell on me?”
“No,” he said instantly, both of them relaxing, smoking in silence for a minute.
“Your husband doesn’t wanna dance with you.” He’d meant it as a light-hearted question but it had come out as a statement, and he cursed the drinks in his system for lowering his inhibitions and making his meaning more obvious.
“Maybe I don’t wanna dance,” she shot back, taking a deep inhale of her cigarette, keeping her gaze pointed up at the moon.
“Yes, you do.”
She scoffed, glancing at his face through the gloom of the side of the hotel, her mouth dropping open in surprise. Her eyes narrowed.
“You got me all figured out with those police skills of yours, huh?” She stepped closer to him, chest heaving with each breath, her arms still wrapped around herself to combat the cold. “You think you know me, huh? Then what am I about to do next, Officer Smartass?”
He gulped.
“I have no idea,” he blurted honestly, recoiling as she suddenly blew a mouthful of smoke into his face.
He shrugged. She laughed.
“Of course you don’t,” she said with a cold giggle, tossing her unfinished cigarette aside and skipping back up the steps before he could say another word.
He didn’t see her for the next hour despite searching the crowded ballroom for her, disappointedly sure she had left until he spotted the powder blue of her dress in a sea of red, green and gold. She was slipping around the corner towards the restrooms and without another thought, he followed her.
“Hey!” He called out and she whirled around, looking much more dishevelled than the last time he’d seen her. Her hair was messier, her makeup looked smudged and when he looked closer, there was a swelling to one side of her lip he hoped he was imagining. Her hand flew to cover that side of her face and he instantly knew he was imagining nothing, watching the same move he’d seen his mother pull a hundred times before.
“Jesus! You’re obsessed with me!” She sighed out.
“You look like shit. He hit you?” Alex muttered darkly, watching her cheeks colour, her eyes darting away.
“What? No. Of course not.” She was almost convincing, clearly spewing a lie she told often, the words falling from her lips like a habit. “We had too much to drink. I’m just gonna freshen up.”
Still covering her mouth, she turned away, squeaking in surprise as his hand shot out to grab for her, closing around a wrist she was pretending wasn’t sore.
“Hey, wait-“
“LET GO OF ME!” She yelled, surprised when he did so immediately, letting her steal away into the plush bathroom only a few feet away to fix what her husband had broken.
She didn’t expect him to still be there when she emerged ten minutes later, hovering right outside the door with no embarrassment.
“Jesus Christ!” She exclaimed as she nearly bumped into him, skidding to a halt just in time. “Remember when I turned a corner and you weren’t fucking there,” she muttered, tutting as he blocked her path. “Those were the days.”
He narrowed his eyes as he examined her, noting the freshly blended patches of concealer under her eyes and barely covering a pink swelling around the left side of her mouth, her lipstick a little too perfect, her gaze a little too defiant. She shook her head before slipping past him with a haughty scoff.
“Wait-“
“For what?” She spat.
He floundered. He wanted to arrest her husband, to take this stranger into his arms and to dance with her the way she longed for. But he didn’t, glancing desperately around the generic corridor for a reason to make her stay, his gaze finally darting upwards.
“Mistletoe,” he blurted.
She turned, following his gaze up to the bunch of white plastic berries shrouded in green leaves above them, letting out a bark of laughter.
“Nice try, Romeo-“
His hand shot out to stop her turning away again, his tug sending her tumbling against his body, her palms landing on his chest.
“Kiss me,” he said simply. Her eyebrows drew together in surprise, tensing at the feel of an unfamiliar male body against hers.
“You’re bold. I’ll give you th-“
“Kiss me. Please.”
There was a pause, the sincerity in his tone taking her aback, their eyes meeting. His were a plea, something desperate and soft there, like if he could just kiss her, everything would be ok. They glanced at each other’s lips, drawing closer, close enough to smell perfume and cologne and alcohol all over each other.
For a second, she almost let him. But if he kissed her, everything wouldn’t be ok. It wouldn’t change a thing for her. It could only make things worse, and he felt the moment she had that realisation.
“Not today, Cop,” she murmured, shoving him away. He stumbled back, just catching the small smile she shot him. “Merry Christmas though…”
He cleared his throat, watching her turn away, feeling an irrational pang of panic as she neared the corner, about to leave his life for good.
“Merry Christmas…”
He finished his story, turning away, a heavy air of shame clinging to him as he avoided her gaze.
“I wondered when you’d remember me,” she murmured softly. He clicked the bedside table lamp on to turn back to her open mouthed, staring at her. She blinked in the sudden light that flooded the room, wriggling to sit up, holding the sheet against her chest.
“You knew?” He spluttered, hating himself as she nodded.
“Right from that first moment. On my porch.” She reached out to cup his face, shooting him a fond smile that made him hate himself.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
She shrugged, her eyes shining.
“How do you not hate me?” He choked out and her face crumpled for a second, shaking her head helplessly.
“I could never-“
“I had so many chances. So many chances to save you. And I-“
She gasped, shaking her head, shuffling closer to him. The sheet slid from her body and she made no attempt to cover herself.
“You’ve saved me now.”
He sniffled, his head wobbling.
“I should have kissed you the first time I met you,” he breathed out, half to himself, and she grasped his jaw firmly, drawing his gaze to her.
“Kiss me now then,” she demanded, and he hesitated, letting himself wallow for a split second before he complied, swaying towards her.
She kissed him sweetly, lapping at his tongue when it darted out, letting out a soft sigh into his mouth before she pulled away.
“I don’t want you to kiss me there,” she said suddenly, pulling back and laying herself down, holding one hand over her lower body in a claw shape.
He frowned in confusion, heaving out a laugh as he tried to figure out his always mercurial wife.
“What are you doing, Norma?”
She tucked her face into her shoulder cutely, shooting him a coy giggle.
“Isn’t it obvious?” She glanced at her hand, still hovering over herself. “I’m holding invisible mistletoe.”
He paused for a moment longer, glancing from her pinched fingers back to her face, then back. She pointedly dropped the hand holding the “invisible mistletoe” a few inches, now clearly poised between her legs as Alex started to piece it together.
“Kiss me, Alex-“ She’d barely breathed out the words before he’d torn the sheet from her, wriggling down between her legs as he finally grasped what she wanted from him.
“Oh!” She gasped as he pushed her thighs apart and swept his tongue around her sex, pressing a sloppy kiss there.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered against her inner thigh, grazing his teeth there gently. “I’m sorry I didn’t do more back then. I’m sorry I didn’t remember you till-“
He was cut off as she shoved his head down more roughly than he was used to.
“It’s okay. I wasn’t yours to save then. But you can make it up to me now…” She guided his mouth to exactly where she wanted it, letting out a moan as he sucked obediently on her clit.
“Yes, ma’am…”
She giggled as he hooked his hands around her thighs, holding her fast against him. His tongue dipped inside her and she arched her back, fingers threading through his hair.
“I wanted you to kiss me,” she moaned out, Alex faltering for only a split second before he resumed his task with delight. “I thought about you after that night…”
“-Thought about me like this?” He garbled out against her slickened flesh.
“Yes!” She moaned as he slipped a single finger into her, fluttering his tongue over her sensitive nub till her hand tightened in his hair. “It… it wouldn’t have changed anything,” she whined out. “This is how we were always meant to be.”
He tensed like he was going to stop, like he was going to speak, and she wrapped her thighs around his head.
“Don’t stop!” She panted. “Please. We’re perfect…” Her words grew shriller as she spoke, her body coiling tighter as he drew her closer to the edge with his mouth.
“I’m-,” she mewled helplessly, her hand suddenly clasping his, drawing it close against her abdomen. She tightened around his finger suddenly as she came, and he lapped her firmly through the moaning and panting until she softened with a sated exhale.
He gave her a moment to relax before he slunk up her body, pecking her lips gently as he settled himself between her thighs.
“Fuck. You’re sensational,” he breathed against her mouth.
“I know,” she replied with a giggle, and he was struck with the difference between the wife he knew now and someone else’s wife he’d met all those years ago. They were both beautiful and sassy and artificially blonde, but his Norma knew she was sensational, she knew she was something to be cherished, and if he let himself, he could fall down a rabbit hole over all the years he’d wasted while someone else took her for granted.
“I’m sorry I didn’t remember you till you hung up that mistletoe in the foyer.” He’d thought of the woman at the Christmas party often but he’d never made the connection with Norma till he’d seen her on a ladder the week before, hanging mistletoe, jogging some long-forgotten memory that made him ashamed of himself. He’d been unable to bring it up all week as Norma bustled around with Christmas plans, too busy to notice his self-pity. “I’m sorry I didn’t-“
“Shhh!” She cut him off with a finger over his lips, shaking her head up at him. “Please don’t,” she whispered, clearly not willing to entertain a reality different to their own. They had lived their lives. They were together now. That was all that mattered.
There was a creak downstairs and they both froze, their bodies tensing.
“Is that a guest?” He murmured, starting to shift himself off her. Despite the bypass, the advertising had worked and they were three-quarters full for Christmas, Norma relishing in setting up tiny Christmas trees in each room, offering hot chocolate every evening, even buying and wrapping tiny gifts for any children staying over Christmas. He wondered what anyone could need at this late hour.
She checked the watch on the inside of her wrist, clearing her throat and springing up, striding nude over to the bathroom to grab her thin robe, wrapping it around herself. He balked at the sight of her body barely covered, letting out a scandalised laugh.
“Wait, no-no-no. I’ll go.”
There was another creak from the porch and he jumped up, ignoring her attempts to stop him.
“Alex, it’s ok.”
He pulled his boxers on, oblivious to her protests, starting towards the bedroom door.
“I’ll handle it, baby-“
“Alex! Stop! It’s not a guest,” she admitted finally, halting him in his tracks. “It’s Emma. With your Christmas present.”
“Oh.”
Despite his big age, he preened at the notion, letting himself grin as he stepped aside without another word, wondering what kind of Christmas present needed to be delivered at nearly midnight on Christmas Eve. He knew Dylan had taken an interest in cars recently – He’d been spending his Sunday afternoons helping him fix up a Volkswagen Touran he’d found for pennies online, inferring from it that him and Emma might be about to start a family. Unless Emma was standing on the porch with a positive pregnancy test, he couldn’t imagine what Norma was about to return with.
Five minutes later, after listening to a muted conversation from downstairs, Alex was beginning to work up some anxiety about the whole situation. He’d got Norma a delicate emerald necklace and a La Creuset pan set she’d subtly mentioned several times, but it suddenly didn’t seem enough compared to the midnight mystery gift she was currently obtaining from below.
The front door slammed, her footsteps started up the stairs and he heard her voice. Was she talking to Emma? Should he cover up? She was speaking very softly, almost using a baby voice.
“Now, if he doesn’t love you straight away, you just wait. He was the same with me. He can be very prickly, ok?”
Norma appeared in the doorway to their bedroom, pushing open the door and shooting him a nervous look.
“You might hate me…” She started.
“I could never hate you-“
She tugged on a leash and a dopey-looking German shepherd trotted up to stand by her side.
There was a long pause.
“You got a dog!” He said eventually, trying to conjure enthusiasm he didn’t feel.
“I got you a dog,” she corrected him.
There was another long pause as Alex gazed at the dog who sat obediently next to Norma’s legs, panting with his tongue out, his dark eyes fixed on Alex.
“Wow… Thanks,” Alex said dutifully, heaving in a long sigh.
“You hate him,” Norma accused, her whole body sagging. The dog at her side seemed to sense her disappointment, nuzzling his face against her knee.
“Nooo!” Alex lied smoothly. “I always wanted a dog!” He had never wanted a dog in his whole life but this was his wife, the woman he’d met all those years ago, the woman he couldn’t imagine saying no to.
“Don’t lie, Alex!” She implored, crossing towards the bed with the dog obediently trotting next to her. She sat next to him. “Will you let me explain?”
He nodded and the German shepherd jumped up next to her, curling up sweetly in the corner of the bed, still keeping a wary eye on Alex who kept an equally wary eye on the dog.
“I found him at the shelter. He was supposed to be a police dog. He trained with canine defence but he didn’t pass the tests.” Norma held out a hand and the dog licked it happily. “He was too friendly - Too much of a happy guy,” she said with a laugh as he lapped at her palm.
She tugged herself away, turning to meet Alex’s curious, guarded gaze. He was clearly holding back, plastering a smile on his face while she introduced their new family member.
“He’s gonna protect me!” She exclaimed and he finally began to follow her train of thought.
“Oh. Okay,” he muttered, holding his hand out to the dog, expecting him to jump up, pleased when he merely sniffed his hand and stayed sat near Norma.
“He’ll warm up to you,” Norma murmured as the large dog curled up again against her feet, letting out a happy sigh.
“Have I fucked up?” She breathed after a silence filled with dog-heavy breathing.
“No! Of course not!”
“No, no,” she murmured with a shake of her head, starting to turn away. “I should have checked with you before doing something like-“
“Stop.” He reached for her arm, tugging her back, sensing movement in his peripheral.
“I just thought it would be a nice surprise. I didn’t think what a big life-“
“Norma,” he said sharply, yanking her to him, a gasp forced out of her mouth as he rolled himself on top of her, opening his mouth to speak again, to assure her he loved his gift.
The bark was louder than he ever could have expected, making him jump, flopping back against the bed as the dog instantly forced his way between them. Alex, caught off guard, merely retreated, hands held up, a shocked laugh bubbling out of him as the dog protected Norma with a gusto that would rival his own.
“I don’t think he likes me!” He choked out in shock as her canine bodyguard glared at him from across the bed.
“Romeo! No!” She snapped, pushing his nose away from her, her stern tone dissolving into giggles as he nuzzled her. “He’s quite protective…”
“I can see that,” Alex muttered dryly. “His name’s Romeo?”
“Yeah!” She peeked out around Romeo’s flank, her eyes glittering. “Wanna get a cat called Juliet?”
“I absolutely do not,” he confirmed and she laughed in defeat, pushing the dog off and rising from the bed. Romeo jumped down instantly and trotted after her as she headed for the doorway.
“Be right back,” she said, biting her lip coyly at Alex before he listened to her footsteps padding down the stairs, Romeo by her side the whole time.
She returned with a nervous look several minutes later, holding her hands up like he was gonna be mad at her.
“Ok, so I think maybe I didn’t think the whole dog-as-a-gift thing through- Oh!“
She was cut off as he sprung from the bed, wrapping her up in his arms, grabbing fistfuls of the robe at her back.
“Are you kidding me?” He muttered against her neck. “He’s perfect. Thank you!”
“But he hates you!” She protested as he started walking them back towards the closed door, dropping kisses against the side of her throat, her arms hesitantly raising to wrap around his neck. “I’m so sorry, Alex. I really wanted to get you something special and I- Ah!” He found the spot just under her ear that made her gasp and sucked on it, cutting off her panicked rambling.
“Do you have any idea how much I love you?” He whispered into her ear and he felt her body soften at his words. Her back hit the cold plaster and paint of the wall behind her, Alex swallowing her small grunt by crushing his lips against hers.
“I love you too,” she murmured into his mouth. He tore his lips away to shake his head.
“Do you have any idea how much I worry about you?” He said sincerely and she pulled back, their eyes meeting, both panting.
“You worry about me?”
His hands on her ass stilled; The foot she’d been rubbing against the back of his knee paused.
“Every second of every day. Since I met you.”
She sucked in a soft intake of breath.
“How can you not know that, Norma? You’re my world. And I know life hasn’t always been kind to you and it scares me.”
She dropped her gaze, biting her lip, both of them knowing the horrors he was referring to.
“I love you, Norma. I’m gonna protect you for the rest of our lives. And I know you can take care of yourself but it doesn’t stop me worrying about you when I’m not here, and I’m not gonna apologise for worrying about my wife.”
He ducked his face to kiss her neck again, earning himself a soft moan, his hands tightening in the fabric around her back.
“Maybe he doesn’t love me yet, but you getting a big dog who’s gonna protect you when I’m not here is the best gift you could have given me.”
“Really?” She breathed out.
“Mmhm,” he assured her with a nod, pecking her jaw. “You being safe is the only gift I want, baby.”
His hands dropped to either side of her thighs, starting to drag the thin cotton up slowly, surprised when she reached between them, shoving his boxers down a few inches, his erection springing free. In a heartbeat, she pulled her robe open, both of them breathing heavily as they paused, glancing down at their naked bodies.
He rested his forehead against hers, taking a deep breath.
“Do you want to slow down?” He asked, his tone strained and earnest, groaning as she wrapped her fingers around his length, pumping slowly.
“No, thank you,” she replied sweetly. She dropped her tone, still slightly uneasy at voicing anything sexual, even feeling as safe as she did with Alex. “I’m still… wet from earlier…” She muttered shyly.
“Goddamn, baby,” he whispered, pulling her thigh up around his hip, sliding his hard length between her slippery folds.
“Pick me up,” she breathed out and he hooked his hands under her thighs instantly. “Take me,” she added and he groaned, lifting her off her feet, her legs wrapping around him instinctively.
“Don’t say things like that,” he murmured, his voice low and dark, ignoring her smirk as she reached between them, fumbling for a few seconds to line him up with her entrance.
“Take me, Alex-“ She moaned seductively, cut off as he thrust up into her, slamming her back against the wall, forcing a short, sharp scream from her mouth.
“You ok, honey?” He panted, frozen with his ever-present concern for his wife before she whined and wriggled against him.
“So good,” she muttered, dropping her head to his shoulder. “Please…”
He didn’t need her to beg, holding her tight as he shifted his hips back and forth steadily, enjoying the way she clung to his neck, moaning in his ear.
She whined, her thigh muscles tightening under his hands as she moved with him.
“Can you…?” She started and he nodded, anticipating her needs, pressing her closer to the wall.
“Grind?” He finished for her, starting to circle his hips in tight movements as she tried to nod, her mouth falling open. Her nails dug into his shoulders and she moaned.
“Harder,” she demanded and he increased the intensity of his thrusts, every movement driving her up against the wall, pressing his pelvis into her clit just right.
“Oh my God!” She shrieked and Alex hesitated at a tiny clatter from downstairs.
“Shhh, baby,” he whispered, his breath hot and heavy against her cheek, his fingers digging in hard to the underside of her thighs as he fucked her against the wall. “Romeo’s gonna think I’m killing you in here.” He carried on grinding himself against her consistently, his rhythm steady, feeling her begin to tighten around him. “Can you come quietly?”
“Uh, ah! No!” She whimpered desperately as she came undone with a thousand perfect lightning bolts that had her convulsing and clutching onto him so hard he winced. She opened her mouth to scream, and he ducked forwards, covering her mouth with his own. He might not have loved Romeo yet but he didn’t want to unnerve the creature unduly, using his open mouth to muffle Norma’s helpless sounds as she came, swallowing the shrill moans of her climax.
She finally sagged against him and he staggered back towards the bed, moving slowly with her dead weight in his arms, slipping out of her as he deposited her gently.
“You got another one in you?” He muttered as he raised her thighs up, sliding his length back inside her with a smooth jerk. She flopped back against the mussed sheets, shaking her head with a satisfied smile. She appreciated her final husband’s fondness for coaxing as many orgasms out of her as she could handle but she also appreciated his affinity for communication, and his willingness to take her at her word when she told him she’d had enough.
“Not tonight, Alex,” she panted, still shuddering slightly from the pleasure he’d already given her. “But it feels good,” she assured him, smiling breathlessly. She reached for his hand, their fingers entwining while his other hand pulled her thigh up against his chest. “You can go harder,” she encouraged him quietly and he grunted from the exertion, pounding into her a little harder, her breasts bouncing with every thrust. “Take me…” She breathed out, calculated, and he watched her face as her head tipped back, her expression changing.
“You’re sure you can’t…?” He groaned out, his hand slipping down her thigh to find her clit with the laser precision of a man who prized his wife’s pleasure above all else. Her back arched and her face screwed up with concentration, grabbing at the sheets either side of her hips.
“Maybe…” She admitted, and he slowed his thrusts slightly, holding off, waiting for her, his fingertips circling her clit in tiny, fast circles. “Ok… yes,” she confessed in a barely audible whisper, Alex feeling no shame as she slapped his hand away and took over, rubbing her clit in her own precise way.
“Come on, honey. Give me what I want,” he muttered through gritted teeth and she moaned at his demands.
For a few moments, there was silence, only the wet sounds of her fingers moving and their bodies colliding echoing around their bedroom, Alex choosing to stay quiet as Norma dedicated herself to her task. He felt a sudden contraction around him.
“I’m… I’m gonna…” She choked out, her whole body going stiff as she focused on her pleasure. “Wait, wait…” She pleaded desperately, like he had any intention of finishing without her, her body suddenly curling up, her stomach muscles tightening.
She came with a frantic sob, her hand reaching out blindly, her nails raking down his chest as he followed her over the edge, hissing in pleasure and pain. He gave a last thrust and a broken moan, just as she collapsed back against the sheets, chuckling with an exhausted, almost delirious giggle.
He pulled out and she sighed, her eyes still closed, shifting slightly towards the pillows.
“Oh no you don’t,” he chastised quietly, tugging her back towards him, grasping her wrists, pulling her dead weight up. “Go pee.”
“No…” She whined tiredly, trying to flop back, groaning as Alex ignored her, pulling her to her feet. She sagged, pouting up at him.
“I may not know everything about the female body but I know enough to know you’re gonna be pissed at me if I don’t make you pee before you go to sleep.”
She actually stamped her foot and he grinned, brushing the hair away from her face.
“I’m glad I could make you come again. You’re so beautiful like that, honey.”
Her cheeks flushed crimson and she turned away, still unused to someone admiring her and complimenting her so brazenly about sex. Her whole life, it had felt like a dirty topic, something to be avoided, something negative, so having someone who loved being so open with her still felt unusual.
“You’re welcome,” she said and he chuckled. “It felt… really good,” she added shyly. His thumb and forefinger found her chin, tilting her face up to his, his eyes shining with pride. He kissed her, sweetly, deeply, with love.
“Go clean up, honey. I’ll make us cocoa, ok?”
Her eyes lit up.
“Can I have marshmallows, please?”
He kissed her again.
“You can have anything you want, baby.”
By the time he returned with two steaming cups of cocoa, made as silently as possible so as not to disturb the sleeping guard dog on a frankly elaborate dog bed in the living room, Norma was passed out, clutching a pillow to her chest. He watched her for a moment, wondering how he couldn’t have instantly recognised such a beauty, even from a drunken night, even from all those years ago.
For a split second, he allowed himself to picture how their lives could have been if he’d just had the courage to do the right thing back as a young officer, over a decade ago. Then she shifted, whispering his name and he pushed aside any lingering self-loathing, depositing the mugs on his bedside table, clicking the light off and slipping into bed with her. Nothing could change the past – He could only make her present perfect, protecting her and loving her as best he could now. With a dopey German shepherd’s help, of course.
“Alex?” She muttered as he gently extricated the pillow from her hands, tossing it behind him, Norma murmuring with a frown at the disruption.
“I’m here.”
“Where are my marshmallows?” She slurred as he draped her floppy limbs across him, reaching for the blanket to cover her shivering body.
“Shhh…” He whispered into her hair, settling down against the pillows with Norma snuggled against him.
“Cocoa-?“ She frowned and he suppressed a chuckle.
“I’ll make you cocoa with your pastelitos de guayaba in the morning…”
She gasped happily, her body instantly relaxing against his, already excited for the Cuban pastries he’d promised her for breakfast on Christmas morning.
“Noche buena, mi corazón,” he mumbled against the top of her head.
“Sexy,” she mumbled and he breathed out a soft laugh.
“I love you,” he whispered in Spanish over and over, knowing how much she liked hearing it.
“I love you too,” she replied in English, knowing how much he liked hearing it too, knowing she’d be saying it forever.