1944 [n.h]

chapter twenty one

*Lillys pov*

My eyes deceived me. It couldn't have been him.

I stood still, glued to the spot for what seemed like a life time as I stared at him, my eyes scanning over every single inch of his beautiful body.

He was right there, every single bit of him.

Of course every single bit of him.

I was delirious.

I was in shock.

My chest was tight and I could feel my heart slamming against my chest with nerves. Everything else around me was a blur, except for Niall, he was there, crystal clear and he was looking at me. I couldn't believe it.

Then I fell forward, now stood inches away from him as he dropped the huge bags that were clutched in his hands. They landed on the floor with a loud thud, but I didn't even blink. I couldn't blink, I couldn't flinch, I could do a thing apart from stare at him.

It was as if he was a ghost, a figment of my imagination. He couldn't have been here. I stared at him and studied him, searching every inch of his face as if to figure out if he were real or not. He couldn't have been here.

I'd spent so long imagining him coming back, so many hours wasted dreaming of standing in front of him.

And now he was actually here, he was standing in front of me, breathing and staring back at me. This wasn't my imagination, nor was it my mind playing tricks on me. But nonetheless, it still didn't seem real.

My hands travelled up from my sides to his shoulders. I felt them in my palms, he was real, I could feel his bones and his skin. My hands, taking on a mind of their own snaked up his neck, I could feel his veins and his pulse, beating underneath my fingertips, and then to his cheeks, cupping them as I felt the blood pump through them, turning them a shade redder than they had previously been. I could feel him, I could touch him, I was touching him.

It was as if I were discovering him for the first time, discovering how soft his skin felt and how heavily he would breathe. I was rediscovering the hairs on the side of his face and the smell that reminded me of home.

He was here. This was Niall. He was standing in front of me and his hands were gripping my hips. Everything else seemed meaningless and obsolete, my entire surroundings ceased to exist and I focused solely on Niall.

He was alive. He was breathing. He'd come back for me.

"You're here." My voice was as tiny as a mouse's squeak, vulnerable and confused. An army of emotions hit me, my hands started to sweat and my body started to shake, my eyes watered and my lip quivered. I couldn't understand how I'd survived without him for so long because right now, the thought of him letting go made my insides tighten and churn.

"Came back to buy you that castle." He murmured, dark rings lay beneath his eyes as a tired smirk played on his beautiful lips. Oh my god, he was here. I stared up at him in disbelief, my hair falling in front of my eyes with the wind as his thumb caught it and tucked it back behind my ear, his fingertips lingering on the side of my face.

He remembered.

He remembered my stupid castle and my stupid future, and he had kept his promise, and now he was here, fulfilling that promise.

I couldn't believe he was here. I wanted to collapse down on to my knees and give myself to him completely, make him hold me in his arms as I cried for the rest of my life. He was actually here. He was here.

"You're here." I squeaked again. I was making myself out to be a completely illiterate fool. I hadn't seen him for what seemed like a lifetime and all I could manage out were two measly words? Pathetic.

I needed to say more, I had so much more I wanted to say. Words were flying around in my mind at the speed of light, hitting the sides of my head at full speed and bouncing back off. But I was frozen in a state of shock and all the words choking my throat, were trapped there. Nothing but the two words could escape my mouth.

"I'm here princess." He chuckled and pulled me closer to him. His laugh, it rang through me and sent shivers down my spine, it came hand in hand with the smile that had been haunting me endlessly. Then, it hit me. He really was here.

I lunged forward, attaching my legs to his waist and hooking my arms around his neck as Niall stumbled back, shocked before gripping my hips and holding me against him, a grin bracing his face as I cried pathetic tears. Nialls own face was wet with tears too as his forehead pressed against mine and I stared in to the deep ocean which were his eyes.

Then we kissed.

And for the first time in so long, I tasted love and I tasted happiness, merged together with freedom and endless wanting. No other kiss was like Nialls, none held such passion or such desperation.

Nobody else kissed me like Niall did, nobody else held as much caution or passion. Every single one of Niall's kisses reminded me of how much he loved me, and also hit me with a brick wall of my own adoration for him.

Niall held me tightly as if he clutched the world in his hands, his lips never moved from mine, they moved in sync, kissing me and kissing me hard. He tasted of home. He hit me like a crashing wave, turning up out of the blue. I couldn't understand. I didn't want to understand. I wanted to love.

I believe the kiss would have lasted for centuries if someone's fist hadn't wrapped itself around my shirt, pulling me from Niall and dragging me backwards as a groan escaped Nialls lips.

I was yanked back and away from Niall, yells and screams escaping my desperate mouth.