Normal With You

Chapter 54

He had made love to her deep into the night.

He couldn't remember the amount of times she had whispered his name nor the amount of times she had breathed her love for him along his lips as she kissed him. But he could still taste the sweetness of her bubblegum lip-ice as he ran his tongue gently over her lips, begging to be kissed as he needed and the taste of her skin as he nipped gently at the juncture between her neck and shoulder.

The past few months had gone by in a haze. He barely remembered anything else except the pain in his heart and he barely thought of anything else except forgetting it. He hated himself for using her as he had. He hated himself for not loving her body in the way she deserved. He had thought only of himself. Sex for him in those moments was just sex, he had forgotten to make love to her as he tried to silence the shouts in his mind.

He had forgotten just how much she loved it when he whispered sweet nothings in her ear, enjoying the way his voice brushed over the sensitive nerves causing her to shiver beneath him. He had forgotten the way she would gasp as he kissed her spine, slowly finding his way towards the back of her neck as he held her in his arms. He had forgotten the way she pulled at his hair or the way her fingers ran over his back as he helped her find her way to that peak of pleasure that she so desperately craved. He had even forgotten the way her heart would beat madly against his as he kissed her, pressing him even closer to her so that he could feel the softness of her breasts against his chest.

He watched her deep, even breaths in the early morning sunlight. Her mouth was opened slightly and her light breaths caused the dark-brown stand of hair that fell over her face to flutter over her nose. Her eyes wrinkled in irritation every time the little strand tickled her nose until he moved it gently away with the tip of his finger. He traced her swollen lips lightly, removing his hand when she began to stir. He could look at her until the ends of eternity and never tire of it.

He loved her.

He loved her in each and every sense of the word. 

Their relationship was not explosive and loud. Their relationship was like the slow ebbing of the waves upon the sand. It was gentle and timeless and with every new wave, it had brought along with it a little deposit of something to build up the beach. It wasn't the rough waves that tore down cliffs, but the gentle, loving waves that built up the missing pieces of their hearts.

Loving her was the most beautiful part of his life and he never, even for a second, wished it to end.

She shifted, turning her body towards him as she lifted the sheet just a little higher to cover her bared shoulders. The frosty morning had allowed for thousands of goosebumps to seek shelter along the skin of her shoulders and even her breath had turned cold as it brushed against his arm. He lifted the edges of their duvet from the middle of the bed, tucking it around her shoulder before he lay back down- noticing, only then, the reddened bruise along her neck. His lips lifted in memory of that moment...

She was lost in the feeling of him. He was everywhere. Even the air she breathed contained him as he found his way to her. His lips paid homage to her own before descending further and further down, kissing and nipping at the skin of her neck. He moved lower still, before she grasped his hair in her hand, keeping him rooted that spot on her neck...

"I can feel you staring at me." Her voice had sounded cracked and soft, still overcome with sleep before she tilted her head to look up at him. "Hi." Her fingers brushed over the hard muscles of his stomach as she curled into his warmth.

"I wasn't staring." He jolted as he felt her fingertips against his hip bone.

"I think you were." She teased, kissing the side of his arm before she shifted to rest fully against him, allowing him to feel every inch of her naked skin.

"You're killing me here, Little Bee." He kissed the side of her head, shifting uncomfortably as she lightly circled his belly button with the tip of her index finger.

Her smile held only a hint of naughtiness as she looked up at him before she brushed her lips quickly over the tender skin at the side of his neck. "Does that hurt?"

He shook his head, lightly prodding at the bruise on her own neck. "Does that hurt?"

"No," she sighed, still basking in complete euphoria of the night before. "I missed you."

He looked at her, running his hand gently over the small of her back, "I missed you too."

"Don't leave me again, Riaz." Her voice was soft and sad as she asked of him.

"I promise." He stilled her hand that had been wreaking havoc over his body before he pulled it up to his mouth, lightly kissing her palm before he placed it back on his stomach.

"Do you know why I love you?" she looked up at him once again, still finding herself awed at his bright green eyes.

"Why?"

"Because I'm happy when I wake up and I know that you're there." Her hand found its way to his chest, finding comfort in the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm. "You make me happy and you make me feel safe. And that's the most beautiful feeling in the world."

You make me feel safe.

Safe.

Something in him had changed as soon as she said those words. It was as if he had found something that he had never known had been lost as soon as he heard that one word.

Safe.

He made her feel safe.

He leaned down, capturing her lips beneath his own.

I make you feel safe.

"I'll always, always keep you safe Tasneem." His words were mere breaths against her lips as he kissed her once again but in his words, she found her peace.

And in his words, so did he.

I make you feel safe.

I'm not my father.

I'm not him because I keep you safe.

I'm not him

And as sunlight washed over them, softened by the thin white curtains beside them, his hand gripped hers tightly beneath his own as he reclaimed his love for her in the most spectacular of ways...