Page 102 of One Last Rainy Day
Whoosh. Whoosh.
“You have found love.” Delphine’s whisper trickles in.
It found me.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
“I love you,” I whisper in declaration just as thunder rattles the sliding glass doors, the confession dying with that warning as she looks over to me in question. “Hmm?”
Whoosh. Whoosh.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
I jerk my chin slightly as she turns back to the movie. I soak in her profile, taking note of the length of her lashes, the utter perfection of her nose, and the fullness of her lips. Legs draped over my lap, she sinks further into the couch as I watch in wait.
Eventually, it happens. Her chest begins to pump, emotions emanating from her, a whimper leaving her throat as tears form in her eyes. Turning back to the screen as the clueless asshole professes his love, I glance back to see Cecelia buying every second of it.
It’s so easy to see that love is her life force, her reason for being—what drives her. I didn’t need to witness her watching this to know it because she’s just as emotional with me. When I lose myself in her, when she lingers after every spoken sentiment and the way she looks up at me when I fuck herslow and deep. She’s a hundred percent fucking heart, and it leaks everywhere, no matter where she is or what situation she’s in. She’s incredibly brave in that respect.
For that, I admire her.
For that, I respect her.
For that, I fucking fear for her.
When her tears finally spill over, I lean over and snatch one with my lips. Her breath hitches, and her watery eyes zero in when I sweep the salt collected away with my tongue. Biting back the words that were never supposed to slip from my lips, I give her another truth.
“You’re beautiful, Cecelia.” It’s the first time I’ve said it without anything physical happening between us, and her eyes widen a little with the sentiment. This woman has completely consumed me in every way that matters, and she needs to know.
Instead, I press a promise into her as I take her lips in a kiss—a vow without words that I’ll protect her perfect heart as much as I can.
A vow without words but a promise just the same.
A promise I’ll do everything in my power to keep.
Looking into her eyes, I vow she’ll never know about the monsters she can’t see because I’ll slay them all before they have a chance to get to her.
Even if that monster is me.
Chapter Forty-One
THE SKY DELIVEREDtonight before the sun fully set. Endless stars litter the vast expanse above from where we lie on my hood, where Cecelia rests, cradled in my hold. My heart beats steadily as she gazes up with me, music filtering from the cabin of my Camaro. Crickets chirp around us in offering with the rest of the budding night noise as contentment blankets me in a way I never thought possible.
“Dom?”
“Yeah?”
“What do you want, you know, for the future?”
Too much to explain, but she means personally, and that answer is simple, despite the inkling she’s given me of something different. I have no way of navigating that inkling in the present, so I stick to what I do know. I’ve never been able to picture a personal future beyond the minute I exist in.
“It’s not a stupid question,” she prompts with mild scold. I opened this can of worms minutes ago by telling her what I remember about Maman and Papa, giving her pieces of the truth while skirting our parents’ merged pasts and how they factor into the puzzle.
This question I can answer truthfully. “Nothing.”
She audibly sighs. “I guess it’s a good thing you won’t be disappointed.”
I can’t help my chuckle. “Am I supposed to ask what you want now?”
