Page 79 of Back to Me

Pressing his lips to the skin below my belly button, he kisses it and smiles. “Good morning.” His voice is like velvet, and I press my naked thighs together, relishing the reaction it rises out of me.

“Good morning,” I sing back.

Resting his chin on my stomach, Graham drags his finger along my skin, goosebumps rising to the surface. He gives me a teasing smile as his finger circles my breast.

“Are you excited for our first gallery showing tonight?” he asks.

“Yes. Are you?” Raking my fingers through his chocolate brown hair, I push the top of his hair to the side, away from his eyes so I can see them better.

Scrunching his nose, he says, “Deliriously excited.”

I sigh as his tongue slides across the skin of my stomach. Gripping the ends of his hair, I tilt my head back against the pillow, feeling the love I have for this man burn through me.

Nearly six months after the night with Julian, it’s still hard for me to process everything that had happened to us. Obviously, at the hands of Julian, it seemed as if every aspect of my and Graham’s relationship had been manipulated and used in a way to benefit Julian’s quest seeking revenge. Accepting that as reality was a tough pill to swallow and digest.

It wasn’t until Graham had found the letter still buried between the cushions of our couch.

I stared at it as he held it between his long, strong fingers and remembered the words he had so carefully written out. He had written those beautiful words before he even knew about his boss leading a double life. He wrote those words before he knew I had been battling with the unpredictable actions of my stalker. He had written them only knowing what he felt was true, buried deep into his bones.

Since then, I realized all I needed was a little reminder what made me fall in love with Graham all those years ago. All I needed was him.

Wrapping his lips around my nipple, he shifts his body on top of mine, pushing his weight onto his hands at my sides.

Swiftly and with minimal effort, he slides himself between my legs, pushing himself into me. Tilting my head back farther into the pillows, he fills me completely before pulling back out again. Then repeats the same movements.

Every nerve under the surface of my skin tingles as his body shifts above me. Pushing harder and faster, I wrap my legs around his waist, giving him more freedom to move. Pulling back enough to look into my eyes, they stare into mine.

“I love you,” he whispers. “Always.”

Raising my hand, I caress his cheek with my fingertips. “I love you,” I whisper back. He closes his eyes briefly as he continually moves above me. When he reopens them, he picks up the pace, and I can feel myself reaching the edge.

My stomach warms, and I shatter beneath Graham as he pushes into me one more time. Burying his face into my neck, he continues making love to me until he reaches his own release. His body shakes against me, and I dig my nails into his back, allowing him to finish inside me.

Taking a minute to catch our breaths, we don’t move for several minutes, allowing ourselves to just feel one another. Graham slides his body off me, lying at my side, but keeps his head resting against my stomach.

With my fingers running through his hair, I fall asleep to the rhythm of his head rising and falling with each breath I take.

I wake up a few hours later. Propping myself up onto my elbows, I notice Graham isn’t lying beside me anymore. Knowing he’s probably down in the gallery preparing for tonight, I crawl out of bed and take a quick shower. After my shower, I throw on a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt before jogging down the stairs to help Graham. But I stop mid-step, halfway down the stairs.

Resting against an easel in the middle of the room is my portrait. My breath stills and my throat seizes up. I haven’t seen it since the day Graham had safely packed it away in a crate. As my eyes dance across the myriad of colors that make up my face, I cry, remembering how I felt the first time I had seen it.

I feel as if this is the first time my eyes had laid on it. I take the last few steps down the stairs when Graham walks out from behind the front desk.

An engagement ring is pinched between his fingers as he walks toward me, the gold band reflecting the shimmering lights above. My breath catches. Stopping two feet in front of me, he lowers onto one knee. He clears his throat, and I can tell he’s nervous. My heart melts, watching him as he holds out the ring with a shaky hand.

“Graham, what—" I start to say, but boring his eyes into mine he stops me.

“This didn’t exactly work out the way I wanted it to the first time around, so bear with me,” he chuckles, and my heart twists with a dull pain, remembering why it didn’t work out before.

“I’ve loved you my whole life, Sara.” He pauses, swallowing and calming his nerves before he continues. I grin, as he echoes my own words from the first night we spent together. “I loved you before I even knew you. You crashed into my life, showing me it’s possible to live the life you want for yourself. You showed me you don’t have to carry anyone else’s burdens but your own. But Sara, I want to carry your burdens as well as mine. I want to carry them together. You’re my best friend, always.” Kneeling in front of him, I stare into his eyes. He reaches out with his finger, catching a tear as it falls.

“And I promise,” he whispers, continuing. “For the rest of my life, I will never turn my back to you. You will forever and always be the better part of me. The part I never want to let go.”

A sob escapes my chest, remembering how I read those exact words written in the letter.

Grabbing my hand, he slides the ring onto my finger and whispers, “P.S. Will you marry me?”

Pulling his face to mine, I kiss his lips. Placing his hand on the small of my back, he presses my body against his. His mouth is warm, and my chest explodes. Everything between us falls into place, and I let out a sigh.

“Yes. A thousand times, yes.”