Eternally North

by Tillie Cole

  Fuck-a-duck, he was after me too? My God!

  Tudor saw my face pale and hugged me tight. “The police were always ringing, telling me where he had been spotted, and I could see you were getting suspicious and I knew you were thinking the worst, but how could I explain my past without risking what we had? I needed you, but I just couldn’t tell you anything.

  “His picture had been circulated to local businesses and private eyes. The sightings indicated that he had made his way to Calgary, that he was here somewhere, and I decided not to tell you even then as I didn't want to scare you – I needed to protect you, protect my family. I knew though, I knew deep down that I'd lose you. Who would willingly stay in this fucked up situation?

  “When you broke up with me, I felt like he'd won. He took you away, the only thing to ever make me truly happy. That paparazzi picture must have clued him in to where we were.

  “The police have been looking for him for the past week, he was lying low. I thanked the Lord every day that you were in England and he couldn't get to you.”

  He brushed kisses onto my neck. “I was outside taking the Christmas lights down this morning when I heard Bee scream. He had gotten in through her window, which was usually always locked, but she’d opened it to let in some fresh air, and he’d seized his opportunity. When I reached the room, he was already hitting her, tearing clothes off her body while she tried to push him away. I flipped at seeing him again, attacking my sister… again! You turned up just after the police came and dragged me off him. If they’d let me I think I would have killed him, Tash. I fucking hate him!”

  He sucked in a ragged breath at his admission, and I simply nodded and held him. He took my hand and played with my fingers before he grabbed them tightly in his grip.

  “He mentioned you, said that he'd gone for you this morning but you weren't home.”

  His eyes squeezed shut, tears spilling from their corners. “Jesus, Tash, what if you had been there? What if–?"

  I cut him off by putting my hands on his face. I leaned in and kissed him passionately, showing him without words what he meant to me. He didn't break away. He instantly responded and pushed me back and down onto the sofa, never leaving my lips. I could feel and taste the dried blood on his mouth but I didn’t care.

  He groaned and lifted his head and smiled down at me, the first genuine smile since I had found him alone in that room. I moaned in complaint at the interruption of our reunion kiss. "Just checking you’re real," he murmured and then crashed his lips to mine once more. He stroked my head with his hand as he moved to lay soft caresses on my cheeks, my closed eyes, my neck and my nose.

  This was home; this was where we were meant to be, with each other, honest and open. He pulled back his head, cupped my face, looked me deep in the eyes with a serious expression and whispered, "I love you, Sunshine. I actually can't believe how much I fucking love you."

  My heart melted. I was utterly speechless at the strength and conviction of his words. I gripped him as tightly as possible to compose myself. I was shaking from the soul-shattering adoration I was feeling towards this man.

  I pressed my hand to his cheek. "I love you, too, babe.”

  “You do?” he sighed, as though he doubted my returned affections.

  “Mmm-hmm. All the way to the moon and back."

  He pulled a playfully shocked expression. "That much?"

  I shrugged. "No, probably more." It was the truth.

  I lifted his head closer to mine, I wanted him as near to me as possible. "Thank you for telling me everything. You don't know how much it means to me that you trust me enough to tell me all that you have been through. I will never tell another soul."

  He pressed his forehead against mine once again. “Thank you for not running far away from me when I did."

  "Never, you would only catch up with me anyhow. I’m not exactly what you’d call a sprinter." I whispered, jokingly.

  He shifted, rolling me on top of him. He was quite content to just lie there looking at me, but after a while he pulled a frown.

  "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, worried, smoothing the creases on his face with the back of my hand

  He glanced away, his face torn with sadness. "I'll never forgive myself for endangering you like that. I-I just couldn't not have you in my life. Please say you forgive me?"

  I kissed his eye where a huge bruise was forming. "There is nothing to forgive. Crazy-evil Dad is going to be locked away for a long time, meaning we get to start afresh, yes?"

  He pulled a timid Tudor-smirk and nodded. "If you'll have me?"

  I scrunched up my face in mock contemplation. "Ah, what the hell. I'm a sucker for muscles and tattoos!"

  He laughed out loud and tilted his head, gazing at me in unguarded affection. "God, I love you."

  Now that's something I'm not going to get tired of hearing!

  CHAPTER 26

  No Rain, No Rainbow

  Tudor cleaned himself up and calmed down considerably once his father’s blood was no longer polluting his skin. When we returned upstairs, the police were there to take his statement. Tink was in the living room with Tate, who looked like he’d been put through the wringer, to say the least.

  We all waited tensely in the living room whilst Tudor spent an hour with the police. As he came back into the room, I made my way to him as he took a swig of the hip flask Henry had produced.

  He shrugged. “Just to settle the nerves.”

  “Ah, okay!” I answered in return and winked.

  He took my hand in full view of everyone else, and I felt loved, publicly loved. Despite everything else that had happened that day, I adored that we could now be open with the rest of the world. Something within him had changed – calmness had settled on his usually guarded countenance and it made me so happy to see.

  Henry gestured that it was time for them to head to the hospital, and I turned to my big guy. “Call me when you are done, let me know how Boleyn is doing,” I said, going in to kiss him on the cheek, but he pulled back, effectively making me kiss the air. “What?” I asked confused.

  “You’re coming with me,” he stated, as if there would be no other option.

  I flashed a look at Tink who put up no resistance – he was anxious to get Tate home to our condo. I don’t think Tate was really of the disposition for coping well with what had happened and had as yet been unable to untangle himself from the security of Tink’s hold.

  “No, Tudor, honestly it’s fine. Just call me when you get back. You need to go and be with your family. I fully understand.”

  He nodded in agreement. “I do need to see my family, and my girlfriend is coming too, to support me.”

  He leaned in and whispered for my ears only, “Tash, I don’t do well in hospitals, my mom was always there because of him. Henry and I received our fair share of broken bones too, and Bee… Bee had to go there, that night… I’ll explain everything to you another time but I have issues with those places and I need you to be with me. You make me… I don’t know… calm.”

  I stroked his cheek with my hand and he pulled it to his mouth and laid feather-light kisses on my palm. “Plus, I want us there together, out in the open, for everyone and their mothers to see.”

  I pecked him quickly but shook my head and told him, “Babes, you’re strong on your own – just look at today, how you saved your family. I shouldn’t be there at the hospital, it’s time for just you guys to be there for Boleyn – just family. I love how you want me to be with you, but I think tonight is much too soon for everyone else. It’s a bit inappropriate.”

  I headed to the door. “I’ll see you later, go with your brother, you’ll be okay, I promise. I’ll see you tonight when you get back.”

  He growled under his breath, dismissing my words, lunged forward and picked me up before tossing me over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift, smacking my arse with his cupped hand. “For the last time, you are coming with me! Tink, take Tate home and don’t expect this one back tonight.�
��

  I squealed. “Tudor put me down!”

  He ignored me and began walking out of the door. I could hear Samantha giggling, a nice sound considering she had understandably spent the majority of the day in floods of tears. Tudor continued out to the car and plopped me in the back seat of a huge red Dodge Ram. Henry and Samantha climbed into the front seats and off we went to the hospital.

  I sat in the large seat, frozen and stunned, mouth gaping in shock, with Tudor holding my hand as though he hadn’t just gone all caveman and carried me to the car – all we were missing was a club to the head and an obligatory grunt.

  Henry looked at me through the rear view mirror and grinned. “You had better get used to being joined at his hip now, Tash. He no longer has to keep you hidden. Believe it or not, he was keeping you at arm’s length before – now, he has no barriers.”

  I groaned dramatically and rolled my head back to rest against the seat, but, deep down inside, I broke out in a happy grin. Tudor eyed me from his side of the truck, hiding his amusement at my pleased expression, causing him to smirk.

  Yes, it was lop-sided with an extra dollop of dimple. What can I say? I’m a sucker for dimples!

  Boleyn was being kept in hospital overnight to assess her mental state, and although she was heavily sedated her injuries were minor. Thankfully, it seemed Tudor got to her quickly enough that their dad didn’t cause too much damage, at least not physically. Pamela was staying the night with Boleyn and only she could stay. So after a few hours of keeping her company we said our goodbyes and headed home.

  I had been apprehensive about going to the hospital with Tudor, but the small smile that arrived on Pamela’s lips when we walked in hand in hand made me feel less intrusive. Tudor had sat me on his lap even though there were plenty of seats around his sister’s bed, and he placed absent kisses on my hands and neck for the remainder of the visit, making the ogling nurses green with envy.

  Pamela pulled me in for a hug when we left and whispered, “Thank you, Natasha. He deserves to be happy, he deserves you.”

  I cast a startled look at her, and she winked as Tudor took my hand and led me away out of the hospital.

  We arrived back at the North residence around midnight, and I was cream-crackered. It had been the longest and most emotionally draining day of my life. Tudor led me into his large bedroom, complete with the biggest sleigh bed I had ever seen, and began to undress me, grazing over my bare skin with his fingers. I was fighting to keep my eyes open and he knew it.

  He huffed out a laugh and said quietly in my ear, “You are very cute when you’re sleepy, Ms. Munro.”

  If I had been more with it, then I would’ve replied with a witty come back. As it was, I couldn’t even be arsed to think, so just crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue. That’ll show him cute!

  He leaned forward and took my tongue between his teeth before lifting me up and softly laying me on the bed – hang on, how did I get naked?

  I crept under the covers as Tudor headed to his bathroom.

  Oh my God, this bed is amazing!

  I snuggled into the pillows and inhaled. I took in the musky scent of Tudor from his sheets and let my eyes fall shut.

  The bed dipped, and I was immediately encased in a set of huge, bare arms and pulled into an equally naked muscly chest. I felt kisses being feathered down my neck, and I arched to help Tudor take full advantage. He made his way back to my ear and whispered, “I love you, Sunshine.”

  I pushed myself back impossibly close causing him to moan and bite my earlobe, his breathing turning ragged.

  “Tudor?”

  His arm left my chest and dusted its way down to my stomach. “Mmm-hmm?”

  “Do you think everything between us has gone too fast? It seems that we have got to this serious place in our relationship very quickly. Have you thought about that too?”

  His hand stilled on his journey down south. “I know it seems fast, but if we feel this way about each other, why should we go slowly? Turn around, gorgeous.”

  I shifted onto my belly and placed my head next to his, sharing his pillow and staring straight into those emerald eyes that only hours ago were dulled by pain. I could see them sparkle when he looked at me, and no silver-tongued, flowery sentiment could express how he felt about me more than what I saw in his gaze right then.

  He ran his hand through my long hair, which had fanned out around us both. “I don’t want to scare you with how strongly I feel, but I need you to know anyway.”

  He searched every part of my face and ran his thumb over my bottom lip, his thoughts seeming somewhere else. “We weren’t allowed anything of our own when we were growing up, you know, possessions, things we wanted. I never had anything that was truly mine, and anything I treasured my father would destroy to display his power over us all. All my relationships in the past have turned to shit, and quite honestly I didn’t even care to be in them. I thought I would always be alone, it was safer that way.

  “I have always had this fear that if I loved anything it would be taken away; even as an adult it seemed like I’d been conditioned to accept that it was just my lot in life, so I never let myself really feel for anyone or anything… until you.”

  I bit my lip to stop myself grinning like the Cheshire Cat. This was not the time for a celebratory Beyoncé booty-pop, but his admission had me fighting the urge to jump up and sing, ‘oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh- no-no’. I made do with a little bum-shuffle on the memory foam mattress instead.

  “I am well aware that most people are intimidated by me and my attitude. I know I come across abrupt, cold-hearted and moody, and I could care less – in fact, it’s worked out well. Everyone would keep their distance, fewer people to get hurt. At least most people stayed clear of me. You however,” he laughed and hitched my leg over his; “… you just spun into my life like a smart-mouthed whirling dervish and tipped me upside down.

  “When I saw you enter the restaurant, decked out in that tiny dress with all that long, dark hair and those fuck-me red lips, I nearly fell off my seat. Here comes this stunningly beautiful girl, dancing through the door, obviously a little drunk, and not giving a shit. It was… refreshing.”

  I buried my head in the pillow to hide my red face; he grabbed my cheek and made me face him. “I had heard of you from my sister, who was more than obsessed with her new British teacher, and when you saw Bee that night I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the sheer horror on your face. All my family dropped their mouths at that. I guess I had played the part of the tortured soul at bit too much over the years, and it wasn’t something they were used to me doing: laughing.

  “Anyway, when you cussed me out for being rude to you, well,” he rolled on top of me and kissed the tip of my nose, “… I was lost to you right then. You were tiny compared to me, but fought back like a pitbull. After that, our meetings were just a comedy of errors, but through our twisted little rendezvous I got to know you; and you, me… the real me.”

  I fluttered my eyelashes in agreement and brought him down for a kiss. He pulled back, flushed and breathless. “Quite frankly, I’ve never been one to care what other people say about me, and I’m pretty sure you don’t either. If people want to criticise us for getting into this too quickly, I say fuck them. If we want this, what the hell are we waiting for? This works for you and me, screw everyone else. Are you in?”

  He seemed a little worried for a moment before he saw it in my eyes that I couldn’t agree more. “Aye. I say fuck ‘em too!” I agreed in my strongest Geordie accent.

  He bellowed out a laugh and moved over me, placing his thick arms over my head and resting his forehead against mine. With a sigh he said, “I missed you, gorgeous.”

  I put my arms around his neck. “I missed you, too. I’m sorry my phone was off when you tried to reach me, but I saw that bloody press release at the airport and needed to just get away from it all. It kind of destroyed me.”

  His eyes were pained. “Sunshine, please don’t
apologise. You had every right; you were trying to move on. I was too, but it wasn’t working out so well on my end. I won’t lose you again. I want you forever if you’ll have me.”

  He lowered his hips and moved himself between my legs, silently asking for my permission to make love to me. I nodded, and he pushed forward, his head seeking comfort in the crook of my shoulder and neck, groaning as I arched at his welcome intrusion.

  He reared up clenching his jaw, breathing harshly through his nostrils. “I have to have this forever. It feels so right… God…” I wrapped my arms around him tighter and replied, panting, “It will be forever, babes, I promise. This is one girl that isn’t going anywhere, and no-one on earth can take me from you. I made you mine, remember? Plus, I’m a stubborn cow and will kick the shit out of anyone who tries. These fake nails are not just for show: they’re my bitch-fighting claws, and I sharpen them regularly!”

  He tried to smile but instead bit his lip at the incredibly intense feeling of us joined together and picked up the speed of his thrusts. Comforted by my reassuring words, he reached for my hands, clasping them tightly in his and rolled us over, placing me on top, tipping us both over the edge quicker than you can say ‘Holy Orgasms!’

  We laid in bed, sated, my limp body sprawled over his, happy to just be together in the quietness of the night. His hand moved to my hair and he ran his fingers through it, unknotting the tatty strands. I felt like purring. In fact, I think I actually did. I was a thoroughly petted pussy. Ahem.

  I was dozing off when I heard, “It was love at first sight for me, you know. Right from the beginning, I was crazy about you, I realise that now,” he whispered, so low I almost didn’t catch it.

  I lifted my head to his chest and folded my arms, staring at him with my mouth open. “I-I… I don’t know what to say,” I said softly, unable to respond any further.