Woods
My welcome-home for Della hadn't gone off in the way I had planned. I hadn't meant to take her in the foyer against the damn wall like a madman. But she'd been saying things that made me lose it. She wanted to be fucked and my body wanted to give her what she was asking for.
That hadn't been the plan. But I'd needed it. I had needed to hear her say she was mine. The thought of Tripp riding that damn bike while sitting between her legs ate me alive. I hated it. I wanted to remind her who belonged between her legs. Only me.
The idea that she believed I could be with anyone else still blew my mind. If she didn't know how completely I loved her, then that was my fault. I had failed her. I would fix that.
After I dressed her I brought her into the dining room. Jimmy had brought the staff over and set up a table complete with a linen tablecloth, candlelight, and roses. He had also brought the meal. It was Della's favorite special that we offered at the club. I watched as she took in the room. I had an Erick Baker playlist playing low over the sound system. She shifted her gaze over to mine and smiled at me shyly.
"This is beautiful."
"You were coming home. I wanted it to be special." I didn't mean to fuck you against the wall before you could even completely get in the house. Although I didn't say it aloud, her blush made me think she knew what I was thinking.
She turned and then stopped. She had seen the picture. The one Bethy had taken of us at the beach one afternoon. We had been lost in each other and hadn't noticed that Bethy was taking our picture. I had been sitting on the sand and Della had been straddling me, facing me. Our gazes were locked, and even in the photograph you could see the way we felt. There was no question as to how much I adored her in that moment.
"You had it framed," Della said, staring at it. I walked over and turned the dimmer on the lights up so she could see it better.
"Yeah, I did."
"I love that picture," she said, glancing back at me.
"Me too."
She turned around and looked at me. "That girl in the photo was scared. Of her past and her future. She was scared to love you. That's not me. I'm not scared anymore. My past is what made me who I am. My future . . . as long as I get to spend it with you, then I can't wait to live it. I'm going to be okay, Woods. I'm not going to . . . snap. I have a lot to tell you."
I already knew but I wanted to hear her tell me. I wanted to know her thoughts. I knew she'd met with both her birth parents, and I wanted to hear all about that.
I walked over to her and reached out and took her hand. "I always knew you would be okay. I was with you. I would never leave you. I was here to be strong when you were weak."
"And I love you for that. But I want to be the strong one sometimes. I don't always want to be the weak one."
"I just want you. In whatever way I can have you. But I'm glad you're happy. I'm glad you feel strong. I want you to be happy with yourself. Because you make my life amazing."
She sniffled and then smiled. "We need to eat. I'm fighting the urge to force you to make love to me again or cry because that was so sweet."
I tugged her hand and brought her to my side. "Baby, if you want me inside you again you just crook your finger. This food can wait," I told her before pressing a kiss to her lips.
"I want you inside me again," she said.
I was at least getting her to my bedroom this time. I had plans in there.