Page 143 of Matlock
“I don’t fucking deserve you; I know that. But I can’t live without you Simon. I can’t fucking lose you.”
“You’re not going to lose me,” I whispered as I crawled across his lap until I was straddling him. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Tony reached out, his hands cradling my face, his thumbs brushing away my tears.
“I was so fucking angry at you,” he admitted. “For being willing to sacrifice yourself. For being willing to go to prison, willing to throw your life away for someone else.” He laid his forehead against mine. “But that’s what Julia did for me. She gave her life for me. I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for her. I wouldn’t be here with you.”
And then he kissed me.
Slow. Sensual. Deliberate.
Not the desperate, frantic kisses we’d shared before. Not the possessive, claiming kisses that left me breathless and aching.
This was different.
This was love.
His lips moved against mine with a tenderness that made my chest ache, his hands cradling my face like he was afraid I might disappear. I melted into him, my hands gripping his waist, my body pressing against his.
This is real. This is happening. He’s here. He’s mine.
When he finally pulled back, he stared into my eyes, his breath warm against my lips.
“I love you,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
My breath hitched as a small gasp slipped across my lips.
“I love you, Simon,” Tony repeated, his eyes opening to meet mine. “I’ve loved you for six years. And I’m done hiding it. I’m done being a coward. I’m done pretending like you’re not the most important thing in my life.”
Six years.
For six years I’d waited to hear those words from his lips. Six years of hoping and praying he might feel even a smidge of what I felt for him.
I couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t think.
Couldn’t do anything but stare at him as the words sank in.
“Tony,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
“I love you,” he said again, his hands still cradling my face. “And I’m never letting you go.”
The tears came harder now, and I couldn’t stop them. Couldn’t hold them back.
He loves me. He actually loves me.
I kissed him again, my hands tangling in his hair, my body pressing against his like I could merge us into one person. But even as I kissed him, even as I felt the truth of his words in every touch, every breath, a small voice in the back of my mind whispered:
What happens now?
I pulled back slightly, my hands still tangled in his hair, my eyes searching his face.
“What does this mean?” I asked, my voice trembling. “What happens now?”
Tony’s expression softened, his hands sliding down to rest on my waist.
“It means no more secrets,” he said simply. “It means everyone knows you’re mine. And I’m yours.”
