The Turning Point

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE - SUNSHINE

Heloyse

After the lights were turned off, we went up to the room. Will took off his clothes, remaining only in his boxer briefs. I did the same and slipped under the sheet, wearing only panties and a top. He turned off the bedside lamp and lay down next to me.
Despite the dimness, the room was not completely dark. The silver light coming from outside crossed the half-open curtains, projecting soft shadows on the walls.
Will wrapped me in his arms and remained silent.
"Will?" I murmured.
"What?"
"I don't want this to end."
"Neither do I."
"Then don't go. Don't leave my life."
"I won't."
"Do you promise?"
The silence lingered for a few seconds before he answered:
"I promise."
And it was at that moment that I overflowed.
I turned to him and touched my lips to his. When I opened my eyes, I found his open, watching me in the middle of the kiss.
"Why are your eyes open?" I asked, feeling my breath trembling.
"So I don't forget what your face looks like when you kiss me."
My chest tightened.
I couldn't contain myself. I climbed on top of him, and his warm hands slid down my back as our kisses deepened.
My name escaped his lips, hoarse and laden with desire.
It was the only thing he needed to say to leave me surrendered.
With an agile and unexpected movement, Will turned me over and took control of the situation, pinning me under his body. His hair formed a curtain around us as his mouth traced a path of perdition.
He held my wrists above my head with a firm hand, while the other ran over my body, awakening shivers that consumed me.
I gasped against his mouth and kissed him fiercely, as if I needed him to breathe. We could lose ourselves in each other for hours, days... and still, it wouldn't be enough.
Will slid his tongue down my neck, and a moan escaped my lips without me being able to contain it.
I was on the edge of the cliff, ready to launch myself into the abyss.
Then he ran his tongue over my collarbone, and at that moment, I knew he had me completely.
Vulnerable.
Disarmed.
Will released my wrists, and my nails dug into his back in a desperate gesture. He pulled the strap of my top, and I leaned slightly to help him take it off. The piece fell to the floor, forgotten.
His lips grazed my skin, descending slowly, tortuously.
Sublime.
With each kiss he left on my body, an addictive contrast formed between the softness of his lips and the roughness of his stubble, which scratched my skin in a game of pleasure and provocation.
My body vibrated, responding to every touch.
The sound of his breathing, the hoarse timbre of his voice, the warmth of his hands... everything in Will made me tremble.
He was different from everything I had ever known.
He was pure intensity.
He was chaos and fullness at the same time.
I had never felt anything like it.
It was an uncontrolled love.
Painful.
Those that we know, sooner or later, we'll drown in... but even so, we want to continue.
Will traced my body with kisses, from my breasts to my belly, descending to my thighs. He explored every part of me.
"Please, Will! Forget the foreplay... I need you."
He let out a low, breathless laugh.
And then, looking me in the eyes, Will filled me.
My lips parted in an involuntary moan.
He remained still for a moment, watching me. Then he began to move.
I closed my eyes, feeling the world disappear around us.
The way I loved him was different.
My God!
It was wild.
It was overwhelming.
"I love you, Will." That thought hit me hard, and I felt my eyes moisten.

***

The sun invaded the inside of the pickup truck and warmed our faces.
He had one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding mine. When our eyes met, the smile was inevitable. Now, he was a thirty-one-year-old man looking younger than when I met him.
"I have to go back to Boston."
His tight jaw showed how much my comment bothered him.
"Why?"
"Well, I have a house there, right? And I have people I'd like to see."
"What people?"
"There's Margot, Ashley, some friends. There are some employees. Anyway... I had a life before coming here. I need to sort some things out."
"Or do you want to see him?"
"Who? Michael? Of course not! Where did you get that from?"
"It's just that you didn't tell me you were planning to go back."
"I didn't think I should have said it before."
He looked away, let go of my hand, and didn't look back at me. And it was like that for long minutes.
"I'm sorry! I have no right to question your life."
"It's okay for you to want to know something about me, Will. The problem is you thinking I still want to see him, when just last night I made it very clear that I don't love him anymore."
"I know! Please, forgive me!"
I shook my head.
"What a beautiful place," I said, pointing to a large pasture with some houses ahead.
He stopped the car on the shoulder and got out. I saw him walk around the pickup and then stop under the shade of a tree. I opened the truck door and approached him.
"What's going on, Will?"
"Do you see that tree up there?" he asked, pointing to the pasture.
"I do!"
"It was right there that my father took his own life."
I looked at the place and felt a pain in my chest. Will stood still, looking at the place, certainly full of memories. His face as sad as a rainy afternoon. His distant eyes went far beyond that place.
"I'm so sorry!" was the only thing I could say.
His head shook slowly.
"Before, this road wasn't paved. Ahead, just to the right, is the place where I used to live. Things have changed around here. They cut down some trees, but not that one. Ironically, I don't know, it's in a pasture that's part of the O'Connor farm. It's the only place I don't care to build anything on. When I passed by here with Wallace, I used to look the other way. I was afraid to look and see my father, with that gun pointed at him," he took a deep breath, "I didn't see him do it, I just heard the shot. I was just a kid. Maybe I'll turn this area into a subdivision, just to get rid of it."
I moved even closer to him and took his hand. Then he pulled me closer, and with his other hand, he caressed my back, pressing me against his body. He pressed his forehead against mine and gave me a quick kiss.
"Do you want to know why I call you sunshine?"
"Yes."
"My life has always been too cloudy. It was waking up, facing the day, and sleeping. Most of the time, I didn't even sleep. There was no sun, no light, nothing to brighten my way. But when I saw you in that river... It was as if for the first time in all these years, my day had started well. It was a warm day. It was like opening the window of a dark room and letting the light in."
"Oh, Will..." I whispered.
I pressed my body against his and leaned on my tiptoes.
I felt his lips pressing against mine, as if it were something he needed to live. His breathing clearly showed that. While one of his hands slid down my back, the other held my neck.
The sensual way he kissed me took me to another place. Far beyond where I had ever been. It was like being everything to someone. It was like being enough.
"I think we better go. Cars are going to stop to watch the show," he said, holding my hand and leading me back to the pickup.
Minutes later, we were driving down the road and were quiet for a while.
"When are you planning to leave?"
"I've already talked to Cielo. I plan to go back to Boston, sort things out, then I'll come back to live here. I'm going to leave Thom's farm and buy or rent a house."
"That would be good. I mean, you living here. I just don't know if Thom will like the idea of you leaving his farm. To tell you the truth, I don't even know if I like it."
"I can't stay there for the rest of my life. I can't depend on what's theirs. I need to start over. I need to be independent. My own house, set something up here... Settle down."
"And spend some time with your boyfriend."
"I didn't even remember that."
"Oh, really? I think I'm going to have to refresh your memory, missy."
"I'm starting to think Mr. O'Connor is loving his relationship status."
"Never! The ladies wouldn't forgive me."
"Idiot!" I said, slapping his arm.
He laughed. His laughter filled the inside of the pickup, but I couldn't laugh. I just kept looking at that beautiful face, now happy. I loved him so much. Oh, how I loved him!