Chapter 58

EPOV

I sat with my back resting against the corner, where the backseat met the door, with my legs sprawled along the length of the seat and watched Sookie as she slept on top of me, while thinking about a little bit of everything as we made our way to our destination. When I’d met our driver he’d told me the trip would take nearly five hours saying we were headed to a small coastal town called San Gregorio, located just south of San Francisco, so after wearing each other out for nearly two hours, I’d convinced Sookie to give in to her obvious need for a nap when her near constant yawns were making her eyes water. She was going to need that nap if I had my way later on.

My fingers never stopped moving through her long blonde hair while she slept and hearing a soft sigh escape from her still swollen lips made my dick twitch yet again. She’d given me a spectacular blowjob, after I realized our latex of necessity was locked away in the trunk, leaving me happily sated, but it seemed she wasn’t satisfied with just one. Her hands and lips never left my body as she worked her magic and when she began stroking me just minutes after my orgasm ended, I stupidly asked, “What are you doing?” when it was quite apparent what she was doing.

“I’m bringing sexy back,” she grinned with a challenging look in her eye. I’m pretty sure she spouted off some nonsense about ‘relationship equality’ and ‘jars filled with orgasms’, but I was too lost in the sensation of her tongue tracing along every muscle of my chest and abs, making me glad for all of the hours I put in at the gym. She had a lot of ground to cover, but I was completely done for when she dropped to her knees onto the floorboard, naked as the day she was born, and stared back up at me purring out, “Watch me lover.” Looking into her baby blues while she swallowed me whole made it impossible to look anywhere else and when she started humming the tune to the Justin Timberlake song she’d just quoted, she had definitely succeeded in bringing sexy back. With my hands fisted into the same blonde hair I was now gently caressing, I came harder than I’d expected and after lovingly cleaning me of every last drop with her tongue, she sat like a proper, but naked, young lady next to my still dizzy self and said, “For our encore later on we’ll do his ‘Dick in a Box’ song,” pointing her finger at my dick and then back to the Nirvana between her crossed legs.

I laughed out loud at the time and just the thought of it brought another smile to my lips as I pondered over the complex woman in my arms. Sookie was like no other woman I’d ever met, and I’d met a lot of them, but she almost seemed too good to be true. Even on that very first day when she’d been able to get under my skin, making me mad enough to want to destroy everything in my path, I’d felt drawn to her. Her personality was so diverse, running the gamut from fiery to funny and everything in between, I didn’t think I could ever be bored with her. At times she was a proper lady, a hellcat, a foul-mouthed sailor, a chef, a fairy godmother, a goddess and a siren, having more sides than that condemned Kentucky Fried Chicken store she’d been complaining about earlier, and I wanted to learn all there was to know about every one of them. Staring down at her now I couldn’t help but wonder where she’d been my entire life.

Would I have known how unique and special she was had I met her years earlier?

I’d like to think so, but there was no way for me to really know. I’d been so jaded my whole life, had it not been for the fact we’d initially been forced to stay together, I doubted I would’ve given her the chance to show me who she really was and knowing her as I did now it would’ve been the biggest mistake of my life. The last two weeks had shown me I was merely existing before, but Sookie had given me a home where a house stood previously; a family where I’d only had relatives; she’d given me an actual life. I understood why she felt uncomfortable relying on me financially, but no amount of money could ever repay her for what she’d already given me.

Pulling my phone from the pocket of my jeans that had hastily been discarded on the floor, I slipped my wedding band off and rested my hand against her bare back while I took a picture of a still sleeping Sookie, adding to the collection of pictures I’d already amassed since I’d arrived in Bon Temps. There were plenty of posed pictures of us with Gran, or the transformation of the farmhouse, but most of them were candid shots of Sookie that she had no idea I’d taken. Even when she’d been dirty and sweaty, hauling debris away, or covered in paint, she’d been beautiful to me and I didn’t want to forget a single moment of it.

I couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across my face when I looked down at my latest picture. She’d be mortified if she saw it, but to me it was a masterpiece. Her golden skin practically glowed, accentuated by her minimal tan lines on her naked form, and from the angle of the camera the picture only gave a hint of the curve of her breast and the roundness of her perfect ass. Her face was angelic in sleep with the barest hint of a smile on her lips and the caption that would be placed underneath the picture, had it hung in a museum, stood out against her skin; my hand resting possessively on her back claiming her as mine, but the actual truth of the matter spelled out on my tattooed finger marking me as hers.

Sookie’s.

I’d hated it when I first woke up that day, asinine hearts and all, but now that it was no longer covered by the wedding band I wore, I found I actually liked it. What had started out as an agreed upon showmance had become the real deal. I was Sookie’s and where I’d been willing to carve the ink from my skin that morning just to be rid of it, now I’d be willing to carve her name into any part of my body she wanted if that was what it would take to keep her.

Maudlin bordering on psychotic, but true.

The sound of the driver’s voice over the intercom, announcing we were five minutes from our destination, put an end to my internal musings and an end to Sookie’s nap as she began to stir on top of me. I slipped both my phone and my wedding band back into my pants pocket and dropped them back onto the floorboard so I could run my hands along her naked skin one last time before we had to get dressed and she lifted her head to look up at me with a smile asking, “What time is it?”

I only knew from having glanced at the clock on my phone when I’d pulled it out earlier and answered, “Almost nine. Did you get enough sleep?” I asked, unable to keep my fingers from running through her hair again.

Her eyes dropped down to my naked chest and my cock stirred seeing her tongue dart out to lick her lips as she said, “Enough sleep? Yes. Enough of you? No.”

Every part of me cheered that Sleepy Sookie was gone and Horny Sookie was back, but knowing we were nearly there I said, “Unless you want to give our driver a show, we should probably get dressed.” Her lip pouted out begging to be licked, so that’s what I did before pulling back and my voice dropped an octave saying, “But don’t plan on wearing anything for very long.”

Her eyes danced as her pout was replaced with a smile and we quickly pulled our clothes back on as the car slowed before coming to a stop. We’d been so busy with each other that neither one of us had bothered looking out the window, so we were both surprised when the driver opened our door and we stepped out seeing a huge beachfront mansion in front of us. Sookie looked up at me questioningly, but all I could do was shrug my shoulders in response. Pam hadn’t said where we’d be staying, so I’d assumed it would be at a hotel, but it was clearly a house. We both looked over seeing the front door open and out walked an older African American man followed by a younger brunette behind him.

“Mr. and Mrs. Northman,” he said, “my name is Alfred Cumberland and this is my assistant, Maria Starr Cooper. I’ll be photographing you tomorrow for the GQ spread,” he finished with a smile and holding out his hand.

I shook it saying, “Nice to meet you.”

While the driver got our bags from the trunk we followed them into the house as Alfred explained, “Originally we were just going to do shots of you on the beach, but when we were scouting locations we came across this rental house and I couldn’t decide which I liked better so I thought why not do both?”

“Will it just be the two of you?” Sookie asked nervously. Since learning of it, she hadn’t mentioned the photo shoot without showing any amount of anxiety and now was no different.

Sensing her discomfort he smiled warmly and said, “Yes. I find having a large entourage on shoots takes away from the intimacy I’m trying to capture on film, so it will just be Maria Starr and myself present tomorrow.” Seeing her relaxed smile, he continued, “Miss Ravenscroft provided me with both of your sizes for the clothing you’ll be wearing tomorrow and the kitchen is fully stocked for your stay. There’s a rental car at your disposal parked in the garage, but there’s not much to see and do here in town. There’re only about 150 residents and one stop sign, so you’ll have to drive a bit if you want to get to a larger city.”

“No,” I interjected, “it’s perfect.” I’d become accustomed to Bon Temps’ small town atmosphere and had no desire to return to city life just yet. Even better, I’d have Sookie all to myself.

“Wonderful,” he replied. “Well, I’m sure you’re both tired from your long drive, so we’ll be leaving you now. There’s a welcome packet on the breakfast bar describing the features of the house and the town and I left my phone number as well. Maria Starr and I will return tomorrow morning at nine to get started.”

They both departed after saying their goodbyes and I carried our bags upstairs, making sure to grab a couple of condoms which I shoved into my pocket, while Sookie explored the kitchen. When I came back down I found her standing at the back wall, comprised of floor to ceiling windows, with the doors open leading to the balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Her hair was blowing in the slight breeze and the full moon was shining down from above making her blond hair and white dress stand out against the dark backdrop and I heard her whisper, “Wow.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tear my eyes away from her face to see what had her so captivated. I was captivated myself and admitted as much saying, “Wow indeed.”

She smiled without turning as I walked up and wrapped my arms around her from behind, burying my head against her neck and inhaling my drug of choice. She’d definitely become an addiction for me, but I had no desire to seek a cure and briefly wondered what would happen when we had to return to our normal routine on Monday. I’d gotten used to having Sookie with me 24/7 over the last week and was already beginning to mourn our inevitable time apart when the real world intruded into what had become our own little fairy tale. The thought alone was quickly darkening my mood until it matched the night’s sky, but Sookie’s inner light broke through the darkness when I felt her fingers lace into mine at her waist as she pressed her back against my body sighing out, “It’s really beautiful, isn’t it?”

“You’re really beautiful,” I countered, whispering into her ear. Her whole body shivered as goose bumps rose up on her skin and I savored their taste and texture licking a path from her ear, down her neck to her shoulder and back.

Her hands gripped mine tighter and my get-Sookie-naked-now train of thought was broken when she bent her head forward as she ran her fingers along my left hand ring finger asking, “Where’s your ring?”

Straightening my arm, I held my hand out in front of us with the tattooed script on display admitting, “I think I like this one better.”

“Why is that?” she asked. Even though I couldn’t see it, I could hear the smile she was wearing in her voice.

I shrugged more than just my shoulders, with the bulge of my jeans gliding up and down her lower back, distracting us both for a moment before admitting, “I just do.” Spinning her in my arms so she was facing me, I bent down and licked along her lower lip before she opened up and let me in. One hand automatically ran down her back until it was gripping her ass and pulling her forward against me while the other held her head in place as we kissed. Neither one of us seemed to be in a hurry to move things along now that we had the time to actually enjoy one another without the threat of anyone or anything cockblocking us.

Her hands snuck inside the back of my shirt tracing up my spine and along my shoulder blades, causing a shiver of my own to work its way through my body, before raking their way back down and slipping inside of my back pockets, mimicking my grip on her ass, and finding the condoms I’d stashed inside minutes earlier. Her lips formed a smile, pulling away from my own as she held them up in front of me with a sly grin and asked, “Do you even think you’ll need these?” I wasn’t sure what she was getting at, since I had every intention of needing them, until her free hand snaked in between us and cupped my balls, lightly running her fingertips teasingly across them, as she said, “I doubt there’s much left in there after those two rounds in the limo.”

My eyebrow rose up as I asked, “Is that a challenge lover?” quickly scooping her up into my arms, earning me a high pitched squeal, as I walked over and lay her down on a large cushioned ottoman of sorts on the balcony before caging her body with my own. My lips automatically sought out hers once more as her arms and legs wrapped around me, molding her body to mine, with her hips grinding against me looking for the friction I had yet to give her. Only the promise of getting her naked could make me tear my lips from hers as I again removed her dress, button by button, and was pleasantly surprised to find she hadn’t put her panties back on.

I was lost in the sight of her watching the way the moonlight glinted off of her bare skin where my tongue had left a wet trail shimmering with every breath she took. She really did look like an angel lying in front of me and I wondered what on earth I had done right in my life to have her here with me now. I couldn’t think of a single thing and knew there was no way I deserved someone like her, but I also knew I would fight to keep her.

Neither one of us had said a word, each silently appraising the other, so we both heard it at the same time and turned our heads towards the water at the unmistakable sound of a whale’s song in the distance. Sookie was the only person I’d ever told about the significance they held for me and when my eyes finally traveled back to hers I knew then she was the one I’d left those flowers for as a young boy. She filled the holes inside of me that no amount of drugs, alcohol, or loose women ever could and I finally knew without a doubt;

I was in love with her.

The realization hit me with the force of tsunami and a gentle caress to my soul, but her soft tug at my shirt brought me back to the moment and I quickly removed my clothes suddenly needing to be as close to her as physically possible. Sookie seemed to be needing the same thing because she had a condom in hand as soon as I’d kicked my jeans off and rolled it on me herself before pulling me down on top of her, maneuvering her hips until I was at her entrance. I wanted to tell her right then and there of my newfound insight, but held back worrying she might question whether or not I’d said it in the heat of the moment. I’d tell her after, but until then I’d just have to show her.

It had only been a few days since we’d last been together, but sliding back inside of her made me question why I’d ever left the warmth of her body to begin with. She fit me like a glove and the soft moans that left her lips were like music to my ears. I was left with a conundrum both wanting to hear her passionate cries and swallow them whole, so I had to spread out my kisses between her lips and neck so I could have the best of both worlds. Our leisurely rhythm began to pick up in pace with every thrust of our hips becoming more forceful than the last and her legs gripped me tighter while her nails dug into my back, urging me on as the sound of our flesh slapping against one another competed with the waves lapping at the shore. When her muscles clamped down around me as she shouted my name to the heavens above with her climax, it was the words that followed my name that stopped my heart for a split second and caused me to lose all control.

“I love you…”

I questioned, for a moment, whether or not I’d imagined it all, but my body didn’t care and pounded into her one final time before I let go and fell over Mt. Orgasm with her. We lay there, still joined together, trying to catch our breath and I welcomed the breeze blowing off the ocean, cooling our overheated bodies while wondering again whether or not I’d imagined hearing those three little words. Sookie’s expression gave me no clues, other than she was happy, and rather than ask her, I decided to just tell her.

Looking down into her eyes I softly admitted, “I love you Sookie.”

I felt equally relieved and terrified after confessing my newest secret to my only secret keeper, but my fear was short lived when a smile adorned her face as she answered my unasked question saying, “Just remember…I said it first.”