Remember Me.....

Welcome Back

The door closed behind them with a gentle click.  He looked down at her, his eyes burning into her soul. It had been a long drive home.  She'd slept most of the way, cuddled into the soft comfort of Tom's jumper.

Now and again, she'd stirred and opened her eyes like a deer in headlights, blinking. He'd smiled and reached across to hold her hand, touch her knee, or simply stroke her knuckles where her hands gripped the fleecy fabric she clung to. A brief confirmation she was ok, and she'd drifted back into sleep. 

As dusk fell, streetlamps illuminated her now serene face. He felt a lurch every time he looked at the woman he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.  He resolved to tell her every day from now on, just how wonderful she was. He never wanted her to have a single moment in her life where she had any doubt whatsoever how loved and cherished she was.

Home, safe in their own world, that started reassurance started now. Taking both her hands, he spoke.

"I'm so proud of you." He said softly. "You are strong and brave, clever, resourceful, single-minded, and above all?" He paused, and she smiled at him shyly, her heart racing.

"What's that?" She whispered.

"Quite simply the most beautiful woman, inside and out I ever have, and ever will, know." He leant down, stroking the hair away from her face, his fingers tracing over her skin.  "Eve, I want to make love to you so very, very much. If you'll let me. It's, it's been so long. I've missed you so much, darling."

"I - I know," she breathed, "I'm so sorry I put you through that. I had to be sure they were all taken in.  I had to convince them so I could humiliate them the way they humiliated me. I'm so sorry. I feel..." she looked down, and a tear slipped down her cheek.  Tom raised a hand and gently wiped it away. He smiled and held her chin with his fingers.

"You once said to me not to be afraid.  Now I'm telling you. Don't be afraid. Tell me what you feel, Princess, exactly what you feel." His voice was barely above a growl, her legs barely able to hold her up.

"I feel ashamed. I feel cheap and dirty and so very ashamed.  I will NEVER do ANYTHING like that again, I promise. Tom, I need to hear you say the words.  Please, Tom.  Tell me you forgive me?" she begged. Now the tears fell like a waterfall, and she couldn't look at him.  The wooden floor was spattered with her tears.

Tom lifted her chin, his heart breaking as he realised the full extent of the shame she felt.  She'd almost sold her soul for revenge. Cold, hard retribution. She'd won, she hadn't given in, but at what cost?  It wasn't in him to feel anything less than complete and utter love. Unconditional forgiveness went without question.

"Only because I know YOU, and until I actually say it, you won't believe it.  I forgive you, my darling.  With my heart, with my soul, with everything that I am." He paused.  "Eve, you have come through more than I could ever have survived. You have held on to your dignity, your moral compass, and your sense of self.   I am, quite simply in awe of you and am yours. Body and soul."

There was silence for a moment while they both absorbed the emotion. Then, slowly and carefully, he kissed her.  Pressing his lips to hers, he gently drew her to him. His hands, initially cupping her face softly, moved to her neck, then shoulders coming to rest on her back. His fingers spread out, and he could feel her breathing, soft and rapid.  He could taste the salt of her tears, mixed with the sweetness of her lips.  He heard her soft moan as she succumbed to the desire once again sparking between them.

They broke apart, and she looked up at him, breathless and flushed.  "You said you want to make love to me?"

He nodded, silently swallowing, his own breath coming in ragged gasps as he clung to the edge of the abyss.

"Then love me, Tom. Take me to bed and love me.  Never stop loving me."

He didn't answer.  He bent down and scooped her into his arms.  Kissing her again deeply, he carried her upstairs to his room, the room that he now knew would soon be theirs.

They didn't need a light; the moon was bright and clear.  Tom used one hand to throw back the quilt and then laid her gently on the bed.  He removed her shoes, his hands running gently over her ankles and up her calves.  She lay back and closed her eyes.

He unbuttoned her skirt and slid it off to reveal her stockings and underwear.  His hand grazed the top of her thigh between the lace of her stocking top and the crease of her hip.  She gasped slightly and bit her fingers in an effort to stay quiet. 

No need, Princess. We are alone now.  No one to stifle your cries.  I want to hear you, my darling. I will always want to hear you." he knelt over her, his legs astride her hips and removed her blouse.  Now, all she wore was the silk underwear from her past life.  Removing it, removing it all, would be the final goodbye.

Gently, he stroked her through the flimsy fabric, and she let out a fevered moan.  He smiled, glad she was no longer trying to hide her desire.  It inflamed his own, of that there was no doubt.  Still, her eyes were closed.  He bent forwards and softly kissed each lid in turn.

"I will start here and work my way down.  Every inch of you demands my undivided attention. I will not stop unless you ask, you want something else, or you simply want my lips on yours.  Your wishes, my princess, are my command." he whispered in her ear, his breath hot and his voice like velvet.

"Oh, Tom...." was all  she could say "Oh Tom.... please..."

He smiled and slowly, gently, removed the last of her old life.  He took a long and partially self-indulgent time to worship her.  In that time, she cried out, she writhed against him, she came undone time after time, but not once did she ask him to stop.  It was all she knew at that moment. She would never ask him to stop.

Finally, re-born, they lay together. Skin to skin, mouth pressed to mouth.  Now, the beginning of a new life.  Together, they saw in the dawn.  Together, they greeted it with the heat, the passion, the sounds, and the shared climax they so desperately needed. 

Spent and breathless, they lay in each other's arms.  Bliss didn't come close.  This was not just passion, not just desire and certainly not just sex. This was, it was fair to say, the meeting of two souls.  

Although as Tom would later say, accompanied by a cushion flying to hit him on the head, if he'd thought saving souls was always like that, he'd have entered the clergy a long time ago.

They slept, truly slept, until the sun was well into the sky.  Waking, she looked over at him, his eyes closed, his lips parted in a soft snore.  He had never looked more handsome. She had never loved him more.  It had all been worth it. 

She opened the envelope and extracted the contents. A photo. Grainy and old, a little dog-eared but still recognisable. A girl, a teenager, sitting on a fence waving. Her dark hair loose around her shoulders. She wore a light cotton shirt and jeans, she looked pretty. On the back, the date and a name. 1990. Ruby.

Eve smiled.

There was just one last thing to do in order to lock the door behind her.  She needed to say goodbye to her pa... no ... say goodbye to Anna and George.