AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“If he did,” Cornell continued, “do you have any idea what I would’ve done?” The rage was still boiling in his veins, tightening his body, threatening to seep out through his pores.
Ali turned and placed the short glass on her nightstand, her shoulders rising and falling with a heavy sigh.
Cornell hung his head, dropping his glass next to hers as he folded an arm across her chest. “I would’ve killed him,” he whispered into her ear, his mouth twisting as if he hated saying the thought as much as Ali hated hearing it. The seriousness of his tone made Cornell flinch, and he could feel the sudden stillness of Ali’s body as she held her breath. “If he laid a finger on you, Ali, I swear to god, I would’ve killed him.”
“He didn’t,” Ali said, turning around in his arms, eyes pleading.
Cornell cupped her cheek fervently, the move reeking of a mix of desperation, anger, and protectiveness so foreign and startling it made him uncomfortable in his own skin. They had been through so much in their year-long relationship—secrets and hiding, pain and heartbreak—but never once had Cornell let his mind wander to anything darker.
The idea of Ali hurt—of someone hurting her, frightening her—brought Cornell to an entirely new level of distressful torment.
“He didn’t,” she whispered again, holding his hand against her face. Ali turned her head, kissing his palm. “I’m fine.”
Gently, Cornell pressed his hand so she was looking at him again. He framed her face with his other hand. “Are you?”
She’s going to tell me yes, that she’s fine, remind me it was no fucking big deal.
But Cornell knew in his gut that if Beth hadn’t called him, if Ali had stayed in that room for one more minute, Ali wouldn’t just be witnessing Graham’s frustrations over being kicked out. She would have been the receiver of his violence.
Ali nodded stoically.
His eyes darted all along her face looking for the slightest inclination that it was a front, that she was just trying to calm him down, make him feel better.
“Jesus, Ali.” Quickly, Cornell pulled her against his chest, cradling himself over her, wanting to make sure that every little piece of her was still there. He found reassurance in the way she felt against his body—warm, small, and soft, where she hit against his chest, the curve of the top of her head beneath his chin. All of it the same, untouched.
“I’m fine,” Ali mumbled into his shirt, her wet hair dampening it. “But I’m thankful you came when you did.”
Cornell felt a pull of the fabric as she bunched it into her fist, and his chest tightened in pain and relaxed all at the same moment. In so many words, and with the tiniest action, Ali told Cornell all he needed to know.
She was fucking scared.
Cornell curved his back, dropping his head further down. “Do you have any idea what you mean to me?” he whispered into the pocket of her neck, finding reassurance there as well. A sweet, soft comfort in the gentle slope that despite its small size, seemed to fit him perfectly. Cornell nuzzled closer, breathing her in as his lips grazed the delicate gold chain Ali hadn’t taken off since he had given it to her.
Ali nodded again, her hands leaving his shirt to turn his head so she could find Cornell’s lips.
It was a soft, airy kiss at first, another reassurance as she whispered, “I know,” against his mouth. Both of their breaths were laced with the taste of whiskey, but his also with anger, hers with fear, and suddenly the air between them wasn’t enough.
When Ali kissed him again, Cornell kissed harder.
When his tongue slid out, hers tangled with it.
When Cornell groaned into her mouth, she swallowed it down, taking his anger and turning it into something soft and beautiful, releasing the sweetest moan back into his mouth.
His hands slid down her body, lifting her.
“You don’t have to show me the way you did back in my office,” Ali whispered, squeezing her legs tighter around his waist as she pulled her mouth just out of reach of his, their noses still touching. “Show me here how much I mean to you.”
Cornell began to breathe harder, the heaves of his chest matching his racing pulse when Ali reached between them, tugging the pajama shirt over her head. One hand drifted to her bare back, fingers running up the delicate valley of her spine as his other continued to support her with a firm grip.
There was just the smallest amount of darkening to her eyes. “I want you to know,” she spoke softly, her thumb brushing across his parted lip. “I’ll never feel safer than I do right here.” Ali nudged her face forward, dusting her mouth over his, and Cornell mewled at both her comment and action, finding the words missing when he needed them.
I’ll love and protect you forever.
Furiously and unapologetically, Cornell captured her mouth with his. If he couldn’t tell her, explain how frightening and powerful it was to know that without question, he would do anything for her, Cornell could show Ali with every part of him that she was more important than life itself.
* * *
“Petunias, maybe. Or zinnia.”
