Beautiful

by Lenise Lee

  6

  Nearly an hour passed before the deceived woman received a return call.

  The caller was no one she had expected to hear from. In spite of all the time that had drained away since she and Shawn had last spoken, at the sight of his name reaching out for her once more, Miyah’s heart still pattered boldly behind her breasts. After finally having her eyes pried open to the certainty of Will’s treachery, could she bring herself to openly admit how foolish she had been to allow her burgeoning bond with Shawn fall to the wayside?

  Miyah had sensed the dread of her mistake the very same night that she parted ways with Shawn. She had felt her spirit breaking the instant he walked away from her in the parking lot. All at once, the haunting scene replayed in her mind – the last evening she had seen him face to face…the last sweet touch of his fingers running over her cheek…the last heart-melting swirl of blue and gray dancing over her lips and eyes…the first and last kiss goodbye.

  Embarrassment prevented Miyah from accepting this last chance at reconnecting with the man who had re-ignited her buried passions. He was the same man whom she had abandoned to chase after a dream life that had been trampled long ago. On the first ring, Miyah pressed her eyes closed to block out the spiraling emotions that were rushing back to her. On the third, she tried to shake off the urgent need to hear Shawn’s husky and comforting voice. On the fifth and final chime, Miyah felt more alone and isolated than when she first left her entire life behind to follow William to the other side of the country.

  In a long-overdue flash of epiphany, Miyah’s fading strength returned to her bones. Although she had willingly cornered herself into this pinhole position, no one man wielded the power to snatch away her joy so easily. There was too much natural radiance living in her heart for any one person to ever be able to smother her inner glow so effortlessly. The enlightened woman suddenly realized that she was broken, but not defeated.

  Immediately, Miyah straightened her prone body from her bed and went to work washing away the tearstains from her face and eyes. While she dressed and fixed her hair, a supernatural calm wrapped her in a renewed peace. Miyah abandoned her fretful thoughts about the identity of the woman on the other side of the phone line or how she fit into the complicated secret life Will had built for himself. The mystery woman would eventually reap the reward she was sowing by helping a cheating man to crush his faithful lover’s heart. It wouldn’t be long until she, too, would feel the sting of William’s clumsy infidelity. For now, Miyah’s sole focus was on planning how to rebuild the life that the man who had betrayed her had almost torn down to its foundations.

  The urgent ding-dong of the doorbell snapped Miyah’s thoughts in tune with the world around her. She wiped away the leftover tears she refused to let fall and then went downstairs to see who the visitor was. A peek through the peephole sparked a raging conflict in her spirit. Once she opened this door, there would be no holding back the flood waiting to escape from her lonely heart. The hope of reuniting with Shawn had lingered in her mind since the night he disappeared from her sight and she vanished from his life. But, had his feelings for her changed or dwindled? Now that Miyah was ready to pour her true affections out to him, would he scornfully reject her?

  Her hands were shaking with an equal mix of hesitation and feverish anticipation at hearing his voice and connecting with his mesmerizing gaze again. Would his words and eyes be filled with love or loathing? Until she pulled back the door, Miyah would never truly know if Shawn’s arrival was the blessing she needed to experience at this very moment or another crushing blow to be dreaded.

  “Miyah.” The instant she pulled the door open, a worried brogue filled her red-hot ears. Shawn rushed toward her and his massive body filled up the frame of her doorway. Frantic halos of blue washed her with a look of excited adoration. “Are you all right, love?”

  Miyah’s bottom lip trembled. Even after all this time, and especially after her cruel treatment of his earnest confession, Shawn’s face still beamed with love in her presence.

  “Shawn,” she whispered out her joy, while choking back a small sniffle.

  A kind smile graced her weeping eyes. Shawn opened his mighty arms to her.

  “Come here, sweetheart.”

  Thick fingertips folded around each of her shoulders and drew the shaken woman forward. With her face pressed into the sharp valley between the chiseled pecs sitting beneath his buttoned shirt, Shawn’s tight embrace melted away layers of hurt and strain from Miyah’s weary mind.

  “I missed you.” Her tiny voice breathed the tender longing into the center of his chest.

  Shawn caressed her hair with long, broad strokes of his big palms.

  “I missed you, too,” he said, while pressing his lips to her brow.

  After a quiet moment, Miyah pulled away and stared into his glowing irises. His eyes were filled to the rim with a mirrored reflection of the bliss consuming her heart. Even though their reunion was long overdue and she wanted to return to being completely blanketed by his warmth, Miyah needed to make a full admission to Shawn.

  “Shawn, you were right.”

  “It doesn’t matter, Miyah, that’s not why I’m here.”

  His hands reached out to cup her face, but she pulled them away and clasped his oversized hands within her petite palms. She could see in his eyes that he wanted to excuse away her regretful deeds before she even spoken them aloud.

  “No…I have to say this.” Shawn nodded and waited for her to speak. “Will was the first man I had ever been with and, because of that reason, I let him take advantage of the devotion I wanted to give him.” Miyah lifted her fingers and ran them across Shawn’s thin copper-shaded beard. “You never once took advantage of how fragile-minded I was over these past few months. You gave yourself to me freely, even knowing that I would reject you.” Her fingertips cherished every stroke against his skin. “You were the one who loved me, even when I didn’t love myself. I was wrong to ever let you think I didn’t care for you, Shawn, and I hope it’s not too late to fix that mistake.”

  Shawn turned his face and kissed the center of her palm. Butterflies fluttered in her belly as his rosy mouth caressed her skin. After he was done kissing Miya’s hand, Shawn cupped it closer to his face with his heavy palm.

  “I’m the one who made the mistake.” His blue-rimmed gaze burned into Miyah’s honey-shaded irises. “I should have never walked away without saying this to you, and I couldn’t let another day go by without you knowing exactly how I feel…even if you don’t feel the same.”

  Shawn leaned in closer, circled his brawny forearms around her waist, and pressed his stomach flat against hers. The sensual warmth of his lips hovering over Miyah’s earlobe sent an erotic shiver to the points of her breasts.

  “I love you, Miyah.” His hushed words shook her insides once more and flooded her core. “I loved you since the very first minute you walked into my life.” Shawn kissed her forehead. “I love you exactly as you are…I never want you to change. You’re beautiful to me…perfect…right now and always.

  Pushing herself up on her tiptoes, Miyah folded her slim wrists around Shawn’s neck.

  “I was afraid to say this before,” she said with a look of forever swimming in her eyes. “I didn’t want to see the love in your eyes. I didn’t want to accept how much you stirred up my passion…and my heart. I thought I owed Will my devotion, but I don’t. You’re my best friend and the only man I want to share the rest of my life with…I love you, too, Shawn…I always have.”

  Already in harmony with his lady, Shawn anticipated Miya’s impulse and brought his mouth closer to hers. The young couple sank their lips into deep and fiery kisses. No more tears would be spilled today, only whispers of love and promises of a beautiful romance that would continue to flourish with each passing year.

  Later, once Shawn was alone in his home with the woman who possessed his every thought and inspired his every passion, he slipped inside Miyah gently and loved her tenderly.
At their unified climax, a euphoric explosion dripped from her creamy pink walls and burst from the throbbing tip of his engorged manhood, sealing the lovers together forever.

  7

  While Miyah straddled between his longs legs on the floor of their baby’s nursery, her doting husband massaged her swelling tummy with delicate care. All around the young couple, newly assembled miniature furniture, tiny outfits, and packs of diapers were impatiently awaiting the arrival of the growing bundle being nurtured inside Miya’s womb.

  “I wonder if you’ll have your mum’s pretty eyes,” Shawn said to his unborn child.

  “Or your dad’s fire red hair,” Miyah added, while cuddling up tighter in Shawn’s protective hold.

  As the newlywed woman’s gaze roamed around the colorful room, she quietly reflected on how her life had made such a dramatic turn toward good fortune. As it turned out, walking away from William wasn’t as difficult as Miyah had always imagined it would be. Perhaps real love had never existed in the house she left on the same morning that Shawn came seeking her out. Since then, eight months had ushered in a miraculous and refreshing transformation to Miyah’s world. With the faithful dedication of a man who truly adored her, there seemed to be no limits to the wonderful possibilities awaiting her budding family.

  “I just hope our little one gets here soon,” Shawn’s Irish lilt whispered to Miyah through the dark strands laying on her ear.

  “Why’s that?” A mischievous grin lifted her full lips.

  “So we can start working on number two.”

  A flirty giggle escaped Miyah’s mouth as Shawn ran his finger down the back of her neck. After he pushed her curls around her other shoulder, the amorous man used the tip of his thin nose to tease the supple flesh at the curve of Miyah’s neck. Shawn breathed in his wife’s essence as he rained tiny kisses along the length of her delicate throat.

  While Shawn and Miyah Dougherty held one another in an everlasting embrace, rays of sunshine poured through the nursery window and mingled with the radiant inner glow that the loving couple would share from now until forever.

  THE END//LL♥