Page 75 of Clueless
I could see it all in her eyes when she reached for me.Her wearing a long white dress.The sound of her sweet voice reciting wedding vows.Her tears when she welcomed our babies into the world.Her front and center at my concerts.Long nights in our bed, loving on each other.Acreage in the country, where our kids could play.A wraparound porch where we could watch the sunsets.
I was going to give her that life.And I was going to be the man she could trust with her heart.The man who would never leave her.Who would show her, every day, what a good father looked like.
I’d already peeled her clothes off slowly, kissing every inch of the soft skin I’d been seeing in my dreams every night.Worshipping, paying homage, to the goddess God gave me.
I entered her so slowly, capturing her eyes with mine.Wanting her to feel my love for her in every deep thrust and stroke.I’d made love to her before, but never like this.Never with absolute certainty that she was my forever.
Her soft moans cut through the quiet, filling me with a sense of perfection I’d never known before.Without her, the silence in this room, night after night, was unnerving, filling me with dread and fear.I thought I’d lost her.Would never get her back.And I didn’t know how to live with that.
“This,” she whispered, “is where I was meant to be.Right here, with you.”
I closed my eyes, letting her words heal all those emotional cuts and bruises I’d inflicted on myself.I beat up on myself for so long, for all the mistakes I’d made.Believing I could never be anything, that I would always be a source of shame to my family.But I’d started seeing myself through Grace’s eyes, and it changed everything.
Now I could finally be the musician, the man, the husband, the father, the friend, the son, the brother… I’d always wanted to be.
“You.Are.Everything.”I slowed my pace, punctuating every word with my body.“And I’m going to give you everything.Be your everything.”
“You already are,” she said, as a tear glided down her cheek.
I leaned in close, cradling her head in my hands, as I kissed her with an intensity that defied words.She stroked my back, leaving her imprint everywhere she touched.
We didn’t even have a discussion about protection tonight.She would never have to protect herself from me again.I was all in.Whatever happened, I would be there for her, giving her the strong shoulder she’d never known she needed.
“Taz…”
She didn’t have to tell me she was close.I could feel it in the way her body tensed before she trembled.Her breath stuttered right before my name fell from her lips, sounding like the hottest lyrics I’d ever written.
I couldn’t hold back any longer and I didn’t even try, knowing I could give myself to her every night, and it would never be enough.
The rush of filling her, without fear or hesitation, shifted something in me.I laced her fingers through mine and allowed our shared pulses to taper off before I said, “Best feeling ever.”
She smiled.“I agree.”
“Grace Harlow, I’m going to make you my wife.”
Her eyes dimmed slightly, before she said, “Let’s see how your daughter feels about that.”
ChapterTwenty-Three
Grace
Since Mav was still on the road, I offered to go to Codie’s first ultrasound appointment with her.I could tell she was nervous, so I sat at the edge of her bed while we waited for her doctor to come in, trying to distract her with mindless chatter about Mama’s shenanigans.
“Good morning, Mrs.Stone.”The middle-aged technician entered the room with a warm smile, putting me at ease.“How are you today?”
Codie, who was calm and collected, squeezed my hand.“A bit nervous, actually.”
“To be expected,” she said, settling on the rolling stool.
“This is my sister, Grace,” Codie said to the technician.“She’s here for moral support, since my husband is out of town.”
She smiled at me as she applied a gel, which she warned would be cold, to Codie’s stomach.“That’s nice.”
I wasn’t used to seeing my big sister so nervous, and it was making me edgy.If God forbid, there was something wrong with the baby, she would need the kind of comfort only Mav could provide, and he didn’t even know about her pregnancy yet.She was adamant about sharing the news with him in person, and didn’t feel comfortable driving or flying out to see him, since her morning sickness had been brutal.
She settled in on her rolling stool as I tried to peek at her screen.Not that I would know what I was looking at.I was clueless when it came to medical procedures.
Her face remained neutral as she scanned the screen, making me wonder if she was a poker player.If she was, she’d clean up in Vegas.
