A tear slips down his cheek, and I wipe it away with my thumb.
“You’re a good man,” I continue softly. “A good person. All the way through. And you deserve good things, Liam. You deserve a life that isn’t weighed down by your parents’ mistakes. You deserve to breathe. To start over. To have everything you dreamed of without guilt dragging you backward.”
“This is your chance,” I whisper. “Right now. To build the life you wanted. To be the player I always believed you could be. To step into something better than what you came from.”
“I don’t want any of that without you and Laddie,” he says, and his voice is hoarse.
I understand what he wants. He’s been very clear and persistent about it. And I have my own guilt to overcome, too, don’t I? I was the one who walked away, who took away his opportunity to watch Laddie grow. He missed almost six years of our son’s life because I made a decision for him.
“I’m sorry for what I did,” I say. “More than you know, I’m sorry. You should have had the right to make your own choice about what you wanted. I just… I wanted you to get out. I wanted you to go be your brilliant self, and I didn’t wantmychoice to impactyourfuture.”
“I know,” he says, and his beautiful green eyes are bright and soulful as he looks at me.
“This is all so messed up,” I say. “I don’t even know where we’re supposed to go from here.”
“It’s not,” he says quietly, like he’s afraid of breaking the moment. His hands tighten at my hips, fingers curling into the thin cotton of my pajama pants, and heat rolls low in my belly. “It’s not messed up anymore, Em. Yeah, we’ve got stuff to sort out… but that future you talked about? It isn’t just yours. It’s ours. We don’t have to do any of this alone. I don’twantto do it alone. Not anymore. Not without you.”
I don’t even notice I’m crying until the tears drip down my lips.
And I’m smiling through them, like some kind of emotional disaster.
“I want a life with you,” he whispers, pulling me against him, his lips brushing my cheek. “I want you. So badly. Please, Emma… I want a life with you.”
He keeps saying it, like he’s afraid everything will disappear if he stops.
And with every repetition, my heart softens.
Drops its guard.
Reaches for him.
My hips move without me thinking, my body answering his.
His hands slip under the waistband of my pajama bottoms, fingertips finding the flesh of my hips, coaxing, urging.
A shiver races through me, hot and electric.
My fingers tangle in his hair, sliding down to the back of his neck, pulling him closer as his mouth trails soft, aching kisses along my jaw.
“I want you so badly,” he murmurs.
“I’m yours.”
The words slip out of me unexpectedly.
Liam freezes for one breath, looking up at me. I’m still crying, but it’s not from sadness anymore, it’s something else entirely. Relief. Want. Hope.
I nod, and that’s all it takes.
He surges up and kisses me hard and desperately, and then softer until we’re breathing the same shaky breath, our bodies pressed so close there’s no room left for doubt.
I can’t wait, not after everything we’ve been holding back.
I lift my hips, kissing him through the whole clumsy scramble of trying to get my pajama bottoms off. The fabric stretches and bunches awkwardly, and we both giggle under our breath.
We break apart just long enough to strip, and then I am straddling him again. He pulls a blanket over us, clearly worried that Laddie might wake up and wander out.
And then I slide down onto him, taking him inside me in a long, slow stretch that knocks the air from both our lungs. He fills me as I ride him. Our moans lost among hungry mouths, teeth, and hands.
