Page 81 of Omar

"This right here." He put his hand over mine on his chest. "This ain't temporary. This ain't me getting you out of a situation and then walking away. You understand?"

"Yeah." My voice cracked. "I understand."

He lifted my shirt over my head. His hands moved down my sides, along my ribs, settling on my waist. He pulled me onto his lap, my knees on either side of his hips, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

We undressed each other slowly. His hands on my bra clasp, easing it off. My fingers at his belt, pulling it through the loops. He laid me back on the bed and slid my jeans down my legs. I lifted my hips to help. He took my underwear off last, pulling them down carefully, his lips following the path of the fabric down my thigh to my knee.

He knelt between my legs and looked at me lying there. His eyes moved over my body and there was something in his face I'd never seen before. Reverence, maybe. Or wonder. Like he still couldn't believe I was here in his bed and free and choosing to be with him.

"Stop staring," I whispered.

"Never." He leaned down and kissed my stomach, then lower, his mouth moving down until his lips were between my thighs.

His tongue found my clit and I gasped, my hand going to the back of his head. He licked me slowly, taking his time, his tongue moving in long strokes that made my back arch off the bed. He wasn't rushing. He wasn't performing. He was giving me something and I was letting him.

"Oh shit," I breathed. "Right there."

He stayed right there. His tongue working in circles, his hands gripping my thighs, holding me open for him. My body was getting wetter, my hips moving against his mouth. He slid a finger inside me while his tongue kept working and I made a sound that surprised both of us.

"More," I gasped.

He added a second finger, curling them upward while his mouth stayed on my clit. The combination was devastating. My hands gripped the sheets, my legs shaking on either side of his head.

"Omar, I'm gonna..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

"Let go, baby. I got you."

I came on his mouth with my back arching off the bed, my hand gripping his hair, tears running down the sides of my face into my ears. The orgasm hit me so hard my whole body shook and I couldn't stop crying. The tears came from somewhere deep and exhausted. Three years of tension releasing at once, three years of faking it for a man I despised, and now this man between my legs was giving me something real and my body didn't know what to do with it except shake and cry.

Omar came up from between my thighs, his face wet. He saw the tears and stopped.

"You okay?" he asked, his hand on my face. "Did I hurt you?"

"No." I shook my head, more tears coming. "You didn't hurt me. I'm just... I'm okay. I promise. Keep going."

He wiped my tears with his thumb. "You sure?"

"Omar Baptiste, if you stop right now I will never forgive you."

He almost smiled. He kissed me and I could taste myself on his lips. He stood up long enough to push his jeans and boxers off, then his body settled over mine, his weight on his forearms, his hips between my legs. I reached down and guided him inside me.

He pushed in slowly. I was still sensitive from coming on his mouth and the feeling of him filling me made fresh tears slide down my temples. He stopped halfway.

"Keep going," I told him. "Please keep going."

He pushed the rest of the way in and I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him deeper. He started moving slowly, long deep strokes, his eyes on mine. Our breath mixed between us. I kept my eyes open too because I wanted to see him. I wanted to see the face of a man who was making love to me because he wanted to, because I wanted him to, because we chose each other.

"You're crying," he said softly.

"Yeah."

"You want me to stop?"

"If you ask me that one more time I swear..."

He kissed the tears off my cheeks. His hips kept moving, slow and steady, hitting deep on every stroke. I ran my hands down his back, feeling the muscles working underneath his skin.

"I missed you," I said. "Every single day for fourteen years."