Six months later, Eve had almost fully recovered from her ordeal in Bermuda. Her doctors were astonished at how quickly and easily she had bounced back, fully expecting, in the best case scenario, for her recovery to take at least a year.
Julian sat on his bed, trying to read a newspaper. Not able to concentrate, he gave up, thinking how far he and Eve had come the past year, how much they had struggled through to get where they were today.
He remembered Eve’s rehab, how the days had turned into weeks, and weeks had turned into months. He had faithfully stayed with her during her painful recovery. Every morning he had brought Evan to her, letting her spend as much time with their son as she needed. When she would cry from the slow progress, he would hold her and comfort her. When she laughed when things went well, he would share her joy.
It had been a difficult road for Eve, not only having to relearn the basic skills of life, but also missing out on precious time with their son. The full-time nanny had been a big help to Julian, especially during the nights, when he had no idea how to stop the fussing baby from crying.
Then there were the diaper changes. He had watched the nanny carefully one day and hoped to surprise Eve. During a visit one evening, the boy needed changing, and Julian took it upon himself to show Eve what he had learned.
He smiled as he remembered her laughter when the diaper fell off as he held up their son for Eve, proudly displaying his achievement as a new father. She showed him how it was done, and he prayed that she wouldn’t be too mad at him for letting the nanny do that part.
Julian smiled as he sat on their bed, propped against a few pillows, waiting for Eve to return from Evan’s room. It was nearly 10 p.m. when he finally heard her coming toward their bedroom.
Entering their room, Eve closed the door behind her. Approaching the bed, she sat down and pulled the newspaper he was pretending to read down a few inches so she could see his face.
His eyes lifted, and he grinned at her. Her stunning beauty caused his heart to pound faster as he beheld her hair, up in pins, and her beautiful face…unlike any woman who had ever enraptured him.
“Do you,” she purred, “have time for your wife? Or is that paper too interesting to put down?”
He threw the paper on the nightstand and pulled her into his arms. “Nothing holds my interest like you do, my love.” He placed a gentle kiss on her sweet lips.
“Well,” she murmured against his lips, “in that case, what do you say that you and I get a little more personal?” She moved out of his arms and undressed.
Julian pulled her down on top of him the moment she climbed into bed and flung the covers over her. He caressed her cheek as she hovered above his face, her lips inches from his.
“I see you are one step ahead of me,” she pointed out, realizing he was already undressed.
“I am a man.” He grinned.
Laughing softly, Eve grazed her lips against his, moving to the corner of his mouth.
He turned his head to follow, trying to prevent her lips from leaving his.
Eve smiled and pulled back, looking into his eyes.
“Eve…” he groaned, his eyes filled with desire as he pulled her head down, his lips fusing to hers.
His mouth moved over hers while his hands spread across her back, pressing her closer. Running his tongue along her lips, he smiled when she stubbornly refused him access to the sweetness of her mouth. He nipped at her bottom lip gently, and still she refused.
One hand moved down her back and rested on her thigh, dragging her leg off of him, forcing her to straddle his waist, while the other held her firmly to his chest, his lips pressed against hers. Gliding his hand lightly along the back of her inner thigh, he paused, waiting for her to respond to his touch.
Nothing!
‘She is playing with me, and I am going to have to make her pay for it,’ he thought to himself, looking forward to making her squirm with desire.
He rolled her over onto her back and promptly placed his body on top of hers, engulfing her completely with his size and weight. With his arms, he eased up slightly to give her room to breathe.
His lips strayed from hers, roaming to her cheek and over to her ear. Softly he blew warm air into it and grinned wickedly when she shivered.
“Julian,” she protested.
This only encouraged him more. Lightly kissing the lobe of her ear, he continued to blow warm air against it, his tongue grazing it lightly.
She squirmed beneath him, trying to get away from him as he drove her mad with laughter and desire at the same time.
His tongue and lips continued to assault her ear while he held her fast beneath him, not allowing her to escape his merciless tickling.
Finally, when she was too weak to move anymore, he relented and lifted his head to look in her eyes. “Enough?” He raised his eyebrows with a mischievous laugh.
“Yes! No more!” she cried, her body shaking with laughter.
“Now, where were we?” He rolled over and once more pulled her up on top of him.
Smiling deeply, his eyes shining with love for her, he reached up and pulled the pins from her hair, tangling his fingers as the waves of black tumbled down around her face. She was a sensual woman, a woman who deserved to be loved more than he deserved to live.
“So beautiful…” he murmured as he drew her head down, kissing her with all the love and passion he possessed; and this time, she didn’t hesitate when he moved to deepen the kiss, his heart soaring as he explored every crevice of her mouth, tasting her sweetness that was for him and him alone.
She caught his tongue with her lips and suckled on it for a moment, before she pushed past his lips to indulge in the masculine feel and taste of his mouth. He was her man, and she thanked God that he had blessed her with this incredible gift - her husband, her lover, her friend.
Their kisses brought them to a new height of passion, straining to be closer, wanting to be a part of each other in the most intimate way, their bodies screaming to be joined as one.
His hand moved down her back, once again encouraging her to straddle his waist as he rolled her over onto her back, his free hand gliding along her side, down to her thigh. He rested his hand on her hip, lifting her slightly, allowing him to slide under her, pressing her closer to his need. He smiled as he watched her lips part with anticipation.
Eve bit her lip, her body trembling…on fire with need and desire. She responded to every touch of his hands, every kiss of his lips. Her mind reeled with drunken pleasure as he assaulted her senses, and then, when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, he shifted slightly, and they became one.
He moved slowly, gently, giving her his heart, his body, and his love.
Straining against him, her arms twined around his neck, she once again thrust her tongue between his parted lips, meeting his in a feverish dance of burning passion.
With one hand on her hip, lifting her lightly up against him, and the other bracing himself against the bed, he groaned with pleasure when she responded to his rhythmic movement. The sensation she was arousing in him threatened to utterly consume him, erasing everything from his consciousness but her, soft and tremulous beneath his hands.
Julian looked into her eyes, so deep and intense from the pleasure he was giving her. He held her gaze as her mouth dropped open in astonishment when the tremors began from deep within her. He cried her name against her open mouth as they experienced the ultimate pleasure together.
After having showered and prepared for bed, Eve lay in the crook of Julian’s arm, her head resting on his chest. “I have missed being with you like this,” she murmured sleepily.
Julian leaned his cheek against her head and hugged her close. “Me too, my love,” he sighed, content.
They lay there in bed, enjoying the peaceful silence, listening to Evan’s monitor. They were thankful that he was sleeping soundly, giving them this precious time together.
“I am so sorry that my father stole half a year from us,” Julian said after a moment, his voice filled with regret.
She raised her face to his and looked into his eyes. “We are together now, and he is gone. He can’t hurt us anymore.” She kissed him tenderly.
He returned her kiss and tucked the covers around them tighter. “You’re right; we are free of him. Thank God,” he whispered.
She nodded as she pressed closer to him, her arm lying across his chest under the covers. “I want to go to bed like this every night and wake up like this every morning.”
He smiled and hugged her closer still. “I plan to make that happen every day, my love.”
She smiled, nestled in his arms, the rhythmic movement of his chest lulling her to sleep.