Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 124135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 621(@200wpm)___ 497(@250wpm)___ 414(@300wpm)
I moved my hands to the shirt of my pajamas. I started unbuttoning it, but my fingers were already too weak. Cromwell stepped closer to me and gently took hold of my hands. He brought them to his lips and kissed each finger. My bottom lip trembled at the sight. At the action. Then he placed my hands on his waist as he leaned in and took my mouth. He kissed me softly, so softly it felt like our lips barely touched. And I felt his hands undoing my buttons.
I held on to his waist, feeling his skin go from cold to warm under my touch. I traced the swirls of quarter notes dancing on a curved bar. The shield that took pride of place on his torso, “Dad” written on a red ribbon underneath.
My heart clenched at the sight; then as my shirt fell to my elbows, I breathed in and out, knowing what he’d be seeing. I had nothing underneath my shirt, nothing but my skin and my scar and my true self.
I held my breath as Cromwell saw the result of years of fighting. I worried it would disgust him. I worried it would be too ugly. I worried that—
A quiet sob slipped from my throat when he leaned forward and pressed his lips over the raised skin. He kissed the scar from the tip to the bottom. Every inch that told the world I had a broken heart. My entire body shook.
Cromwell took my face in his hands. My shirt fell to the floor, leaving us both exposed. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered, those words, and his voice, like a symphony to my ears.
I smiled. It was the only response I could give. Words were absent, taken away by the gentle touch of his soft kiss. Cromwell kissed me as the rest of our clothes fell away. He kissed me as we crawled into the bed and he moved over me.
Cromwell kissed and kissed me, making me feel so cherished that I didn’t think I ever wanted this night to end. And as we made love, his eyes locked on mine and his kisses so sweet, he felt heaven-sent. Sent into my life exactly when I needed him. When the true fight would begin, when I would need an ally by my side.
I pushed the dark hair from his face, our breathing labored. My hands trailed down his cheek, only for him to catch my fingers and kiss them again. Like he was worshipping me. Like he was thanking me. For what, I didn’t know. But I wanted him to feel so cherished too.
We hadn’t been together long, but when your time is finite, love is felt stronger, faster, deeper. My eyes widened when that thought hit me. Because… “I’m falling in love with you,” I whispered, letting my soul take the lead and speak its truth unguarded. Cromwell stilled, and his blue eyes fixed on me. My hand lay on his cheek. I swallowed. “I’m falling in love with you, Cromwell Dean. So very deeply in love.”
Cromwell crushed his mouth to mine, my eyes closing as he told me without speaking how much he needed those words. I smiled against his lips when I felt his heart beating next to mine. It was a strong beat, one that my heart tried desperately to chase.
Cromwell pressed his forehead to mine. “I’m falling in love with you too,” he said, his deep voice broken and hoarse. Broken or not, my heart absorbed those words like a flower drinking in the rays of the sun. It expanded in my chest and beat with wild abandon.
“Cromwell…” I kissed him again. I kissed and kissed him as we built up speed and then broke apart into a million tiny pieces.
Cromwell moved beside me and pulled me to him. I watched him from my pillow and wondered how he had fallen so perfectly into my life. How I’d been so lucky. How God had heard my whispered prayers.
Cromwell took my hand. But when his grip tightened and his eyes closed, I knew he was going to speak.
“All he ever wanted for me was to play music. He knew that I loved it. Needed it…but I let him down.” Cromwell’s face crumpled. “And I shattered his heart.” I shifted closer, holding him tighter. Cromwell looked up at me. “Then he never came home.”
Chapter Nineteen
Cromwell
My voice hung in the air, the confession like feathers stuck to tar. I held on to Bonnie like she was my lifeline, keeping me from falling apart.
I swallowed. “My…dad.” Just the mention of that word caused ice to cut down my spine and my stomach to fall.
Bonnie didn’t say anything. She just let the silence keep me calm. I stared over her shoulder at the piano across the room. It made me think of the old wooden piano he’d gotten for me on my twelfth birthday.