The End

Chapter 42: War with Circumstance

One of the hardest nights of his life had turned to morning. There was a small strip of daylight budding on the horizon. Barely big enough to see. The kind you only saw when you had stayed up all night. As if the sky was predicting the morning before the sun actually started to rise.

He'd rarely been in Ellen's house, and when he had, it certainly hadn't been like this. There was something intoxicating about the quiet. Or maybe it was the bottle of wine they had finished. It could have been the fact that he had been awake for nearly 24 hours. Perhaps he was high on freedom. Or drunk on the way she looked in the light of early morning.

Whatever it was, it seeped through him in a soft daze. A contentment that seemed to silence the fears of tomorrow. In this moment they were in between tomorrow's uncertainty and yesterday's turmoil.

Patrick froze at the bottom of the stairs, "I can sleep down here," his voice soft and quiet.

Ellen eyed him suspiciously, "We've been having an affair for 20 years but now you're going to sleep down here?" there was a lightness in her voice, almost as if she was laughing at him.

"Where are the kids," his voice still low, "I want them to like me..."

A smile parted Ellen's lips, "the kids are with Chris tonight."

"Right," he said suddenly feeling like it had been a stupid question. Patrick nearly immediately closing the space between them. She giggled, trying to make it up the stairs between his eager kisses.

Ellen guided him to her room. For a passing second, she was thankful that he'd been here before, that there wasn't an ounce of awkwardness. The one benefit to the painfully slow journey. He'd earned his way here. It felt only like a room that was about to be theirs.

She stood in front of him, eyes locked, breath heavy, the kind of fire burning between them that people only dreamed about. His hands traced her every curve with certainty. He knew the way she worked, could predict the way she would move, her body's reaction to him.

They had come together in every way but this way. The way that mattered most. Today, they had chosen each other. Thus unlocking the next chapter of their lives. His kiss trailed her neck and collar bone. Her silk slip melted to the floor and with it her inhibitions. She tugged at his clothes impatiently but slowed her pace when they settled to the floor next to hers. The morning light starting to glisten on their skin.

He lifted her into her bed and hovered over her. The way he had a thousand times before. Only this time, it wasn't laced with the fear of the sand running out.

Her hands rested on his shoulders as she pulled him closer. The quiet intensifying the emotions of what this meant. Feelings they had waited a lifetime for. His eyes memorizing the way she looked in this light. Not because he was afraid of it passing but because it was a moment he'd remember for the rest of his life. A moment he'd use to explain love to his children, to the rest of the world if it demanded it of them.

Patrick closed the small bit of space between them. His lips connecting with hers. He was sure he'd kissed her a million times, but somehow this felt new. There was a freedom in the way their tongues danced. The way his hand skimmed her side softly before it landed in the warmth between her legs. She exhaled as his fingers dove into her with a slow and steady rhythm. Her hips falling open as his thumb brushed her clit.

She didn't break his gaze. Her eyes dark with desire. Warmth building quickly in her core. She pulled at his hips but he held back. A smile pulling at his lips. He quickened the pace of his fingers and let his thumb swirl circles around her clit. It was more than she could handle. She squirmed and arched against him. A soft moan escaping her lips. This is what it was like to be his.

When he was satisfied with the way she had succumb to the pleasure. He separated her legs and pressed his length into her. Slow at first but building rhythm with every thrust. He hardened inside of her as she started to tighten around him.

She pushed his shoulder until she had him on his back. She crashed down on him, pushing him further and further into her with every push of her hips. He bit his lip as he watched her move on top of him. Her movements quickening as she watched him start to crumble beneath her. Her lips tangling with his as electricity burst into flames between them. This is what it was like to be hers.

He stared into her eyes as he lay next to her. The morning sunlight reflecting off her skin. The warmth of her body still pressed against his. She was without a doubt, the love of his life.

A calm contentment overtaking their heavy eyes. Their war with circumstance, timing, obligation, was finally over. Years of desire, finally allowed to exist all at once. Love had won.