Page 82 of The Absence of You
Her concern slips away, and she gets up from where she was seated on the opposite sofa. She crosses the room and sits on my lap, straddling me.
“Of course it did.” Lia cups my face with her soft hands and places a tender kiss on my mouth. She pulls back and smiles, “You’re free.” Her eyes are bright, and her simple words are full of promise.
I tug her towards me, peppering kisses all over her face and neck as she giggles. A wave of emotion hits me with force; it takes me a minute to recognise it as happiness, and it’s fucking addictive.
Chapter Sixty-Two
GRAYSON
Dahlia sits cross-legged, chewing on a pen, an open pad of paper in front of her. She said she was doing an English assignment, but she hadn’t made a single mark on the paper in the last hour, she’d just been lost in her thoughts.
Joseph and Dee had caught a train to visit Rosie first thing this morning. Not long after they left, their solicitor had been in touch to tell them the results of the paternity test were back. Joseph and Lia had wanted to be together when they opened them but, in the end, neither of them wanted to wait any longer than they had to, so Joseph agreed to call her once they were with Rosie, and they’d open them over a video call instead.
Mr. Lamont had sent them both the same email and it was sitting unopened her inbox as the minutes crawled by.
Just as I’m about to go to find us some lunch, her phone begins to ring with an incoming video call. She throws her notebook to the side and snatches it up to answer it. I take a seat next to her as Rosie’s voice filters out from the handset.
“Hi sweetheart. Hi Grayson.”
“Hi Mum.” I lean in. Rosie and Joseph are seated next to each other as Dee stands behind them. Joseph grips his phone in his hand. Unsurprisingly, he looks nervous.
“Dahlia. Before we open it, I just want to say something. This week, getting to know you, it’s been an honour. I already think of you as my daughter-”
“Me too.” Dahlia jumps in before he can say anything else. “I know what I want the results to say, but if they don’t, it won’t change anything for me.” The relief on Rosie’s face is obvious. Maybe she’s still feeling guilty for keeping the two of them apart as long as she did, in much the same way I’m still holding guilt for the ways I hurt her daughter too. We share a look, and I give her a tiny nod, hoping to reassure her that I’ll take care of our girl if the news isn’t what we’re hoping for.
I take hold of Dahlia’s phone while she opens her emails on her laptop. Her hands are trembling, and it takes her a couple of tries to bring up the right one. She finally gets it open, but as she scans the document, trying to find the right section, I notice the pure joy etched on Rosie and Joseph’s faces. They must have been quicker than us, and I don’t need to hear the next words out of Joseph’s mouth to know it’s good news. The best, in fact.
DAHLIA
“I never doubted it for a second. You’re mine, sweetheart. My beautiful Dahlia, I’m your father.” My dad’s voice - yes, my dad’s voice saying those words to me - unleashes a waterfall of emotion I didn’t know I was keeping in. Grayson prises the laptop from my hands and holds me as my tears start to fall, my shoulders shaking as I sob. I’m sure he’s aware they’re tears of joy, but he holds me nonetheless. He holds the phone steady for me. My parents are hugging, but they eventually break apart and my dad returns his attention to me. He doesn’t even try to hide his glistening eyes from me. “I know I said it wouldn’t matter what the results said, but I’m so thankful you’re mine.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” I tell him sincerely. “The last couple of weeks I’ve tried to stop myself thinking of you as my dad. But it’s been impossible. And now it’s been confirmed, it doesn’t feel like there was ever a different possibility.”
Cuddled into Grayson, we all chat for a while longer, tears and laughter making us lose track of time.
When we eventually end the call, I lift my face from Grayson’s shoulder, his t-shirt is damp with my tears, and I know I must look like a blotchy mess right now. I stand up.
“I’m going to have a shower and wash this.” I point to my face. Grayson’s eyes soften as he tenderly strokes my cheek.
“You look perfect, but I’ll go and make us some dinner while you get cleaned up.” My stomach growls as it’s reminded we haven’t eaten for hours. But I have a better idea.
“Or…we order takeout and you could come and help me get cleaned up while we wait for it to be delivered.” I bite down on my lip hopefully.
“Well, you do look like you’ll need some help with that.” I swat him across the chest at his teasing.
“Enough, my hair has never been cleaner.” Grayson has just rinsed my hair for a second time and to say I’m feeling pretty frustrated would be an understatement. He spins me around in the small shower cubicle and, giving me a wink, he drops a kiss on my nose. He knows exactly what he’s been doing to me, and he might be trying to act like he’s completely unaffected, but it’s impossible to miss his rock-hard dick which is currently bobbing between us. It’s safe to say he’s enjoying the shower experience as much as I am. I must have the patience of a saint to keep my hands off him as he soaped me up and then cleaned every inch of me with soft caresses as the warm water cascaded over us. “It’s my turn now.”
I reach behind him and pour some shower crème into my hands. Running them across his hard chest, I watch as bubbles foam and then run down his body towards his v-cut muscles. If there was more space in here I’d drop down to my knees right now, lick across his weeping crown and make him suffer the same way I have for the last ten minutes. But I’ll have to make do with the space we’ve got. I run my hands across his chest and round his back until my breasts are pressed up against him and his cock is trapped between us. I make a show about soaping up his back while rubbing myself against him hard. He groans hard, and I know it’s having the desired effect. He nips at my ear lobe and the sensation hits me everywhere. I whimper and instinctively rub my pebbled nipples on his chest, desperate for more friction. He growls into my neck. “Lia, you’re exhausted, and I’m trying to be a fucking gentleman here.” This guy. Like he’s not spent the last ten minutes edging me.
“You said I’d never have to beg.” I pout. It’s all the encouragement he needs as he hooks his arms under my thighs and lifts me up enough to be able to wrap them around his lean waist. He backs me up so I’m pinned between him and the shower wall. The cold tiles make me yelp, but he just cocks an eyebrow and presses forward with his pelvis.
“Shall I stop?” He wouldn’t dare. I reach between us and cup his balls gently, I roll them in my hands and his eyes roll back into his head with pleasure.
“Still want to stop?”
“Hell no.” With that, all the teasing stops. With one hard stroke he buries himself inside me, right up to the hilt, and it’s everything I needed. He stills for a second or two while I adjust to the fullness, and then he unleashes everything he has on me. He rams into me over and over, and I feel every hard ridge of his perfect cock, massaging my inner walls as he hits my g-spot every time. My eyes shutter for a second, but when he whispers my name, they spring open. Only he’s not looking at me, he’s looking down at where our bodies meet. I marvel at the way I stretch around him as he slides in and out, and I can see why he’s so transfixed. The sight is mesmerising. After a few seconds, he slows and pushes his arm under both of my legs, so he can free up a hand and he tenderly strokes where we join. “Fuck Lia. Look at us.” He touches my clit lightly and that combined with his words, causes my orgasm to barrel over me. I tighten around his length, and it triggers Grayson’s climax. His cock grows bigger before it pulses ropes of hot cum inside me. He slowly pulls out, and the tremble in his thighs matches mine as I slide off him and find my feet. He was right when he said I was exhausted, but I will never be too tired for this.
Grayson gets out of the shower first and has a warm towel waiting for me to step into. We get dry in a comfortable silence as I let the events of the last few days finally sink in. Grayson being free of his father at last. Confirming Joseph is my dad. Grayson and I finding our way back to each other. I smile to myself. Each one is life changing in a different way and for the first time in a very long time, I’m excited for the future.
