FOREVER [Niall Horan] ✔

Chapter 40.

"She was soft as an angel but oh, she could love with the fury of a demon." -N. R. Hart

Niall's POV

I stare at Ana as she focuses on the canvas in front of her, stroking the brush on it after analysing everything. She's sitting on the floor with her painting flat against the tile, her hair covering her face like a curtain while I'm on the couch just above her, working on my laptop.

She's wearing a pair of tight biker shorts and my loose, white T-shirt and as she leans down, I see her perky boobs from the top and realise that she isn't wearing any bra. Gosh! I just want to play with them and kiss them and suck on them until she comes apart under me. I silently groan and squirm a little to get rid of the uncomfortableness.

The moment is broken when I hear her loud sigh. She is trying to tuck her hair behind her ear with the back of her hand since her hand is covered in red paint but fails. I stifle a small laugh and lean down to pull her black hair tie from her wrist. She smiles wide at me when I ask her to turn around so that I can put her hair up in a ponytail. I collect all her hair and take one round of the elastic around her hair but it looks a bit loose.

"Do two rounds, Niall," She says and I do as directed but end up pulling her hair along with the tie. "Ow!"

"I'm- I'm sorry." I release a small breath. "It's not happening," I whine as I try to figure it out.

"Just pull the elastic, twist it and then, put the hair through the loop. It's easy." She shrugs as if it is nothing.

"It's not like I do it every day." It takes me a couple of tries to actually pull the hair through the loop. It looks messy but at least it is better than nothing. I let out a puff of air after I succeeded in tying her hair into a ponytail.

"Thank you, baby," She says and I leave a kiss on the top of her head before going back to my work.

It has been over a week since I came back from the hospital and I've been better but Ana doesn't allow me to go to the office even though I have plenty of work, just because she thinks that I need to stay in and rest. She even got her work over to mine so that she can take care of me along with doing her regular work.

She definitely loves me.

"I love you," I confess after a few minutes. "Very much."

She turns to look up at me with furrowed eyebrows and a small smile on her lips. "I love you, too." She, then, kisses my knee since it is the closest to her lips and I broadly smile at her.

After another hour of silently working, Ana keeps her half complete and already beautiful painting against the wall. She keeps all her material in the corner and pulls out the newspaper sheets that she laid on the floor so that she doesn't ruin the tile before throwing it in the trash. She returns to the living room and releases a long and loud yawn, laughing at herself after. "Let's go to bed, Niall."

"You go to bed," I say and go back to my work, staring at my laptop screen. "I'll come in a few minutes, baby."

"C'mon, your few minutes are too many and I don't wanna go to bed without you," She whines and a small smile tug at my lips to know that she wants me just as much as I want her.

"Come here." She walks over and sits beside me. She rests her head on my shoulder and tucks herself on my side, nuzzling her face deep in my neck after getting comfortable on the couch. She just stays there as I work and send various emails to my team back in Birmingham.

It takes me an hour to finally finish today's work. I shut down my laptop and keep it on the coffee table, trying my best not to wake Ana up, who is clinging onto my arm. After keeping the laptop safe on the table, I free my hand from her hold and sneak it underneath her knees and one under her neck. I gently lift her bridal style and carry her to my room. I lay her down and duck under the duvet soon after, wrap my arm around her waist and pull her closer, her back against my bare chest.