Deserve

by C. C. Snow

  He grimaces and waggles his head. “She hated being in the spotlight, just like you. She hid it well, but she loathed the media. It put a lot of pressure on our marriage because it was a large part of my life. Toward the end, we hardly spent any time together. She stopped going on the campaign trail. I’m not going to excuse my behavior, but it got so damn lonely on the road. One night I was weak and gave in to my urges. I was wracked with guilt the next day and told your mom.”

  For the first time in my adult life, I see my father as a flawed human being instead of the caricature of a cold, Machiavellian politician. “How did she react?”

  His laugh is edged with bitterness. “She told me as long as I kept it discreet, she didn’t care what I did. I never expected indifference from her. Despite all our problems, I always hoped we would mend our marriage. I continued the affair more out of spite than anything else.”

  A wave of pity washes over me. I couldn’t imagine what he must have felt when he found out his wife no longer cared. I’ve always idolized my mom and it’s difficult to hear about her contribution to the breakdown of the marriage.

  “Why did you marry Gail?” I ask. I always assumed it was because Gail came from one of the premier political families in the state, but I had already misinterpreted so much about my father.

  He runs his hand through his hair in a familiar gesture, but I no longer feel the pulse of disgust at our commonality.

  “I married her because I didn’t want what I had with your mom. Your mom and I had a very tempestuous marriage and it was emotionally draining. I wanted a helpmate with my career at that point. I didn’t want the volatility of being in love. I know you and Gail don’t get along, but she’s been good to me.”

  “I can understand that,” I say, each word emerging slowly. I’ll never be close with Gail, but she’s not the villainess in the story.

  Living in a gray world is going to take some adjustment.

  “Son, I should have said this to you years ago, but I’ve always been proud of you.”

  At the first words of praise I’ve gotten from my father since I was a child, I feel a tightening in my chest. “Thanks.”

  “The reason I keep pushing you to go into another profession is because I worry about the danger to you.”

  “Dad,” I say, noting the look of pleasure on his face at my calling him that. It seems an appropriate step to bridge our divide. “You get hate mail every day and have people threatening to kill you,” I point out.

  His eyes widen and a beat later, he chuckles. “Touché.”

  I grin, feeling light and hopeful. I’m under no illusion that my relationship with my father is going to be perfect, but I know it’ll get better. My beautiful angel is right; I have been blind.

  “Does that smile have anything to do with Maggie?”

  Even after the serious talk I just had with him, it still feels strange to discuss my life with my father. “Yes.”

  A small smile plays on his lips. “I’m glad. I always thought she would be the perfect girl for you.”

  “You did not!”

  He laughs. “I really did. From the first, she brought out the best in you. When I met the Jackson siblings at your graduation, I saw how happy and carefree you were with them. And you were always so considerate of little Maggie. Every time you looked at her, you were smiling. I always hoped you would end up with her.”

  I stare at my father in awe. How could he have seen all that years ago?

  He must have read the question on my face. “Your old man may be blind to his own faults, but he’s pretty sharp where others are concerned. Especially when it comes to his son.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I feel like I’m stuck in a male version of a Bette Midler movie, but I have to admit, it feels pretty damn nice.

  ***

  “I’m glad you cleared the air with your dad,” she says sleepily.

  I kiss her shoulder, smiling at how I’ve tired her out. “Me too, angel.”

  “Although I thought Gail was going to faint when you kissed her on the cheek when we left,” she says with a giggle.

  “We may never be friends, but I think she genuinely cares about my dad.” I look down at the magical woman who has made so many positive changes in my life and say, “Thank you.”

  “For what? I didn’t do anything.” She wiggles, pressing her sweet little derriere against me and stirring the insatiable beast.

  “For being you. You just need to be you.”

  She rolls over to face me, her green eyes shining with an inner glow. “I feel the same. I love you.”

  “I love you angel.” Hunger gnawing at me again, I bring her right leg over my hip and slide my hand between her legs. She’s soft and wet from our lovemaking. Eyes flaring with renewed heat, she makes a sound of part astonishment and part arousal.

  The corners of my mouth lift up. Everything she does makes me feel so damn happy and light. Keeping my gaze locked on hers, I place my cock at her opening and glide into her. Her body is always open and welcoming and I feel like I’ve come home.

  The emotions swamping me almost have me closing my eyes, but I want to see every nuance of her expression. I can’t go as deep as I would like, but it feels incredibly intimate to be face-to-face as we make love.

  She sees right into my soul. The bad. The good. I am utterly exposed, but instead of feeling vulnerable, I feel empowered.

  Love is not about power. It is about trust. It’s about giving without wanting to receive. It’s about wanting to be a better person for your partner.

  I finally understand what she meant. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to be worthy of her.

  I lightly pet her pussy lips, enjoying how she tightens around me when I hit a sensitive spot. Her hips start to grind against me, but I refuse to rush. I want to savor every little sweet moment with her.

  When her eyelids start to droop, I say, “No, keep your eyes on me, angel.” I start to thrust lightly. I note every little change in her expression as our bodies move in sync. The way her breath catches when I hit deep. The way her eyes glaze over when I tilt my pelvis to rub her clit.

  It feels like I can stay in her forever, but when she whispers, “Please,” I can’t deny her. Grabbing her ass, I rock harder into her and when I feel that gush of heat signaling her orgasm, I hold myself deep and pour my release into her.

  “I love you,” I murmur.

  “I love you.” She softens her body until I can’t tell where we start and where we end.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Maggie

  “What are you doing, young lady?”

  I shriek and spin around to glare at Sean. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

  Standing with his hands on his hips, he stares pointedly at the box in my hand.

  “Um…” I stick the box behind my back.

  Chuckling, he walks over to me, looking scrumptious in a snug t-shirt and low-slung sweats.

  Distracted by the way his chest stretches the cotton, I don’t react quickly enough when he reaches behind me, plucks the box out of my hands, and holds it over his head.

  “Hey!” I jump up and try to swipe it out of his hand. “Give that back to me!”

  “It’s not yours.”

  I grin and point out, “It’s got my name on it!”

  “It’s not officially yours until tomorrow morning. You know the rules. No opening presents until Christmas day.”

  “I wasn’t going to open it.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Woman, you have shaken every present under the tree. You’ve used your stethoscope to try to figure out the contents. I’m surprised you haven’t x-rayed them.”

  “I would if I had access to one,” I say cheekily.

  Shaking his head, he places the box back under the tree. The pile of presents is huge. There are a few for him and Cael, who will be coming over tomorrow morning to spend the day with us, but the bulk of the presents are for me. Every time I complained about his extravagance, the stash grew bigger.
I learned to bite my tongue.

  He glances at the clock and shakes his head. “It’s almost midnight. Cael’s going to be over early and we promised to visit Mac. That kid is going to run us ragged. Let’s go to bed.”

  He tugs me toward the stairs and I look longingly over my shoulder at the pile of presents. Curiosity is chomping at me.

  “I’m never going to get any sleep, am I?” he says with exasperation. He stares at me speculatively and strides over to the pile of presents. Picking up a spherical object, he walks back to me. Holding out the wrapped ball, he asks, “If I let you open up one present, will you promise not to sneak out of bed in the middle of the night to shake these boxes?”

  Eyes glued on the present, I nod my head. I recalled trying to figure out what this was, but I was utterly stumped. It was approximately the size of a baseball, but it didn’t feel like one. I have a feeling it’s one of Sean’s more creative wrapping jobs.

  With a sigh, Sean pats my backside and says, “Upstairs.” The man is obsessed with my ass and my freckles. Actually, he seems to be obsessed with all of me.

  As I am with all of him.

  Feeling incredibly happy, I rush to our bedroom and jump onto the covers. Sean tosses the present to me. From the corner of my eye, I see him shuck off his sweats and shirt and I stop to stare at him appreciatively. Gorgeous.

  My belly dips with desire as he slides naked under the sheet and duvet. Propping a pillow at his back, he leans against the headboard.

  “Open it,” he says, tapping a finger on the present.

  Turning my attention to the task at hand, I rip off the paper and frown. “You got me a rubber band ball?”

  He widens his eyes in mock innocence. “You did say I needed to stay within a budget.”

  Giggling, I say, “This is definitely that!” I could never be disappointed by anything he gives me, even office supplies. “I hope you got me a box of paper clips to go with this.”

  “Of course. There might also be something inside the ball,” he says nonchalantly.

  I squeal and start to peel the rubber bands off, but it is slow going. “You are evil!” I complain.

  “If you think this is a pain, just consider how long it took me to wrap it.”

  Halting, I look at him, feeling an overwhelming rush of love. He does so many things to make me feel special. Carefully, I place the half-unwrapped ball on the nightstand and straddle him, placing my core right on his cock.

  “Aren’t you going to open your present?”

  “I am. I want the same present you had for your birthday,” I say and heat fills his blue eyes. Smiling wickedly, I roll my hips, eliciting a groan from him. He’s already hard and thick against me.

  He places his hands on my butt cheeks and kneads. “You can have anything you want, angel.”

  I lean down until our noses meet. “All I want is you, Sean.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you so much,” I say, angling my head to kiss him.

  Then I’m too pleasantly occupied to care about presents. Pleasantly sated and exhausted, I fall asleep in his arms.

  In the morning, a tickling sensation on my nose wakes me. When I open my eyes, I see the rubber band ball in front of my face.

  “Okay, sleepyhead. Time to open your present. Cael’s going to be here soon,” Sean says, twirling the ball in his hand.

  Smiling, I sit up and start to unwrap. As the sphere gets smaller and smaller, my pulse increases.

  Finally, something falls into my lap and I gasp. Fingers shaking, I pick up the beautiful antique ring and look at Sean. Fear and hope war in me.

  He picks up my left hand and massages my fingers. His eyes have never been bluer. “Angel, I know this is very sudden, but I know you’re it for me.”

  I swallow, glancing from his face to the ring. “What are you saying? Sean, this is too fast…” I want to leap headfirst, but the practical side of me is warning me we’ve only been together for two months.

  “Sh...I know.” He smiles and takes the ring from me. “You still have school and your residency. I don’t want to rush you into anything, but I want this…” He holds up the ring. “On your finger. I want the world to know you belong to me. When the time is right, we can talk about the next steps. Will you wear it?”

  Unhesitatingly, I fling myself into his arms. “Yes! Yes!”

  Taking my hand, he slides it onto my finger. It’s a perfect fit. I wiggle my fingers to admire the sparkle. The oval, flawless sapphire, surrounded by a circle of diamonds, is set in a gold band. There’s something old-fashioned about it that appeals to the romantic in me. It looks like something a fairytale prince would give his fairytale princess.

  “It’s beautiful,” I say, touching the stones lovingly.

  He raises my hand to kiss the ring. “It has been in my mother’s family for centuries. I think she would be happy to see you wear it.”

  “I’m proud to wear it,” I say, aware of how much this means to him.

  “Love you, angel.”

  I put my cheek next to his heart. “I love you, Sean.” I have a feeling the right time won’t be too far in the future for us.

  I send a message winging up to the heavens.

  Mom, I finally found everything I deserve.

  The End

  Note from Author

  Thank you for reading my book.

  And now for my pathetic plea…

  If you enjoyed reading Maggie and Sean’s story, please tell your friends and review my book on Amazon and Goodreads.

  This new independent author will be very appreciative of your support. I’d rather spend more time with my heroes and heroines in my head than market my books. I know. What a stubborn brat!

  I live in California. I am a voracious reader of all genres. Put an instruction pamphlet in front of me and I’ll read it. But I love, love, love romance, especially romance with a lot of heat.

  To find out more about my writing, you can check out my blog at:

  www.ccsnowblog@wordpress.com.

  Contact me directly at cc.snow.writer@gmail.com.

  You can find all of my work on my Amazon author page: Author.to/CCSnow.

  You can find me on Goodreads at: www.goodreads.com/cc_snow.