Falling

39 | Guilty (Dante's POV)

 I used to hate mornings, and still really do.

I've had to be up for work early for the majority of my life. They consisted of getting angry at the alarm clock, showering angrily, and even ditching breakfast to save time and get to the office. All of them are unmemorable, except for now. And hopefully a very long time.

I felt Amelia stir not long ago, waking me up in the process. The both of us are a tangled mess, limbs between limbs and as close as possible. She's small in my arms, and extremely warm. It does a weird thing to my chest.

And when I think about last night my chest tightens even more. I never thought I'd see the day when Amelia Rhodes would tell me she loves me. But she did, she told me. Right after I said the same.

Loving her didn't just hit me one day, it ran me over like a truck. All the questions I had of why I felt like I did when I was around her, why I was so angry when she dove into her complete past. All of it made me feel like a horrible human being and now I know why. Because I was unintentionally hurting the one I love.

I open my eyes and look down at her curled-up form.

"Good morning," I said into her hair. My throat is scratchy from sleep. She moves in my arms, and I lay flat on my back. Her body covers my chest and she tucks her head back under my chin. I grin into the feeling.

Wrapping my arms tightly around my woman, I remember what day it is.

"How are you feeling about today," I asked her. I don't want to start the morning off on the wrong note, especially after last night. But I do want to make sure she's mentally okay. Even though I know the answer is most likely no.

"Nervous but hopeful," she says.

I tell her there's no way he's winning or getting away with it all. My mother is an incredible lawyer and an aggressive one. She knows how important this case is to many victims including Amelia, she won't back down.

Amelia is tracing her finger on my chest, distracted but not.

"She also sent over a link last night. It's a live stream to the courtroom. We won't have to wait for the press, it will be live." I assure her. Seeing the verdict on the news from anything other than the direct jury would be unfair. Especially in a case like this that involved children, the fucker was going to draw a lot of eyes. But there was only one set of eyes that really mattered to me.

I roll my hand up the soft skin of her arm until I reach her face. She's absolutely breathtaking and I still can't believe how far we've come. I'm such a grumpy asshole, I'm glad she took the shot on me.

I want to kiss her but I don't want to scare her away with morning breath just yet. We'd get there.

"Let's brush our teeth so I can kiss you." I unravel our bodies and stand. I stretch my arms up over my head, giving Amelia a show behind me. Wearing just sweatpants to bed last night, she hasn't been able to keep her eyes off of me.

I love it.

I tell her to invite Tatum over if she wishes and that the trial starts soon anyway. I reach the bathroom door and turn to lean against it. She's still lying in bed with a satisfied smile on her face and wandering eyes. Her eyes trace my stomach and down my legs, sending shrill heat toward my cock.

Not the time or place.

Last night was full of emotional confessions and love. We spent the majority of the night talking and kissing like lovesick teenagers, but no sex. It didn't feel right to have sex after all that; besides, we were tired. She had a big day today and she knew that the night before, so Instead of a long night of ravishing her, which I still plan to do, we just slept. I held her close because I could now because we'd gotten to this point.