Chapter 22

Livie

After I finished up at the office, I decided to swing by my apartment and grab a few more of my things to bring to James’s. Not James’s. Our place. Because we’re married. I kept having to remind myself this wasn’t a dream. The interview with Detective Shepherd was relatively painless. He asked about a hundred different questions, trying to get me to say something he wanted to hear. Apparently, the truth wasn’t it.

I would need to set aside some time soon to finish packing up what I still had, and then talk to James about what we should do with the apartment. I just signed the lease, and I certainly couldn’t buy out of it. Maybe Beth could sublease. I made a mental note to talk to her about that later in the week. By the time I was home, James had already gone to sleep. His next rotation started in the morning, so I didn’t want to disturb him. I set my bags in the closet and planned to unpack them in the morning.

Slipping out of our room, I wandered to the kitchen for a late dinner. A sticky note on the fridge read Japanese takeout in the fridge for you… love you, baby. That husband of mine was a good man. I grabbed the container from the fridge, poured a glass of wine, and padded to the living room. Armed with a throw blanket, I curled up on the couch, switching on the tv while I ate dinner. A new true crime docudrama was out, and I was grateful for some alone time to watch it. As the second episode was starting, I finished up my meal, and my eyelids grew heavy. I have no idea how long I was sleeping there when I felt James’s strong arms around me. Somehow, he scooped me off the couch and was carrying me to our bed.

“This is my favorite place in the world.” I whispered to him as I nuzzled into his neck. He gently laid me on the bed before climbing in and curling up behind me. I could feel his arousal pressing into me, and desire pooled low and heavy in me. Softly kissing my neck as he pulled me in tighter, I moaned, “I want you right now.” I rolled over to face him as he slid his body over mine. The dress I wore to work this morning was still on, and his nibble fingers deftly unhooked each button that ran down the front. His hand slid in the front of my dress, and under my bra so he could rub my nipple between his thumb and forefinger. James knew every spot to drive me wild, trailing his mouth across my collarbone, grazing his teeth against my skin. I pushed down his sweatpants, desperate to feel him inside me. As soon as he sprung free, I grabbed him and positioned him at my entrance. He was inside me with one swift thrust, driving hard into me over and over until I found my release, followed shortly by his.

We lay in our bed; him nuzzling against my neck. “Promise you’ll never leave me, Liv.” His words were so quiet I almost didn’t hear him. I felt his arms tighten around me.

“I’m certain we agreed till death, husband. Forever is baked right into those vows.” I tried to bring some brevity with my words, but the air was thick with unspoken worries.

We drifted off to sleep, James still wrapped around me. He was gone to the hospital by the time I was up in the morning. The panic behind his words was still lingering, though.

The rest of the week went by without incident. Each day after work, I grabbed a few more things from my apartment and moved them to the house. I had plans on Friday to have dinner with Beth and we would talk about her taking over the lease. James was swamped at the hospital most of the week, so he had been home to sleep and shower and not much else. In some ways, that was perfect, because it allowed me time to adjust to this new life. Everything happened so fast. I was afraid of losing me in James before I even experienced the world.

Friday night rolled around, and I met Beth at the apartment, armed with pizza, two bottles of wine and a bag full of all our favorite junk foods. James was hosting poker night at the house, so I was grateful to meet up with Beth. It felt like a lifetime had passed since our last night in this apartment.

“It’s been too long!” Beth squealed as she plopped down on the couch next to me. “How’s married life, Mrs. Wilson?” She said my name with such flair, I had to laugh.

“James is…” I let out a deep sigh. “Incredible. He is incredible. I’m so happy, B.” I leaned back into the couch, letting my eyes close, and considered how my life had evolved over the last few months. “How are things with Trav?” We hadn’t talked much about her new relationship.

“They’re really good. I keep reminding myself to take it slow, because he’s not exactly known for long-term commitments, but Liv, I’m struggling! He just makes me feel so…all twisted up inside.” A huge grin broke out on her face.

“Twisted up? That doesn’t sound good, B. Are you sure you’re ok?” James makes me feel safe, and confident, so her words were worrisome.

“I don’t know how to explain it, but yes, its very good!” She grabbed my hand. “I know you’re worried, but please don’t. He’s good. It’s good.” I wasn’t entirely sold, but she had been so supportive about James so I needed to show her the same.

We spent the rest of the night watching Audrey Hepburn movies, drinking wine and swooning over romance lost to another age. After Beth dozed off on the couch, I went and crawled into my old bed and quickly drifted to sleep myself.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of knocking on the front door. I stumbled out of bed just in time for Beth to open it. A huge grin spread across my face as James walked in with a bag. “Best breakfast tacos in town.” Beth didn’t waste any time grabbing the bag from her brother, and plopping on the couch to devour breakfast. “I need to talk to Livie for a few minutes. We’ll be right back.” James winked at me as he grabbed my hand and pulled me into my bedroom. “Don’t be too loud, please!” Beth yelled from the living room.

‘What are you doing?” He gently pushed me on my bed, saying, “Shh. We only have a few minutes.” Before I could respond, he leaned over me, spreading my legs apart. “James, Beth is in the next room!” He held up one finger to his mouth, motioning for me to be quiet, as he slipped a finger into the waistband of my shorts and slipped them down. Kneeling over me, he leaned down and began kissing the skin just above my panty line, then hooked his fingers to pull them off. My heart was pounding, and my mouth was dry in anticipation of what was coming.

“I don’t have as much time as I’d like, but I can think about anything but this.” Gently spreading my legs further apart, he softly drug his tongue through my folds and put the slightest pressure when he reached my sweet spot. I was dripping wet, and my body was screaming for more. He continued licking, sucking and nibbling in all the perfect places at an almost unbearable pace. I didn’t know how much more I could handle without a release, but I also did not want this to end. James brought me to climax, and laid with me while I came back down to earth.

“I have never come that hard. I think I’m dead. You killed me.” My words came out in spurts like I had just run a marathon, but that’s a marathon I would run over and over. He leaned over to kiss me, and I could feel the grin on his face. “I gotta go meet Chris, but I needed to take care of that first.” We stood up, and I pulled my clothes back on before walking him to the door. “Bye little sister!” He said as we walked past the couch where Beth was. “Bye, baby.” He leaned down for one more kiss before leaving.

I sat down next to Beth, still grinning from ear to ear. “Did he seriously come over here for a quickie?” I grabbed a breakfast taco from the bag and took a bite before responding. “He just wanted to check on me.”

“More like he wanted to check out parts of you.” She burst into laughter, and I grabbed a couch pillow and smacked her with it as I fell into a fit of giggles with her.