I Love You

"I have to tell you something, baby." He gave me a kiss before saying. "Although you have numerous talents, singing is definitely not one of them."

I giggled as he tickled my sides. As the next song came on, he arched a brow in silent question.

I smiled sweetly at him. "I chose music from your time period."

"Oh, you've done it now!" He tickled me so fiercely that tears began to roll down my cheeks.

He gripped me tightly as we both calmed down, and I felt comfort from hearing his heartbeat. I drew his face close to mine after a period of stillness.

"Happy birthday," I wished between delicate kisses exchanged. They suddenly became passionate after my words.

When he groaned into my mouth, I clutched onto his hair. His hands travelled down my body and I sighed when his kisses slowly made their way down my neck to my chest.

He traced his fingers over my bra and inquired, "Is this a part of my present?"

I blinked. "Yes. You prefer red, I believe."

I considered the red and white polka-dots to be festive. On succeeding holidays, I would undoubtedly bring them out to cheer us up.

He hummed. "I do." My breath caught as his lips slid across my flesh. "But I prefer what's underneath even more."

I caressed his face. "That is also yours."

"I like hearing that you are all mine." He carefully moved down, starting with my tummy.

"What?" My heart sped up when he began yanking my underwear off.

"Say it. That you are all mine. Tell me again."

When he came to rest between my thighs, I groaned and bit my lip. "I belong to you."

My hips buckled when he slid a finger inside me. His hot breath hit my sensitive skin, making me shiver in the best way possible. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to hold back a whimper when his tongue joined in on the assault.

"You taste so good, baby."

Although it felt wonderful, I soon began feeling guilty. "Your birthday is today. Isn't this what I should be doing to you?"

He laughed. "This is a preview of the magnificent present. But we have the entire day."

That was accurate. I had no plans to argue.

He abruptly stopped, and I raised my head in shock. He gave the phone a frown before turning to face me.

"With music playing in my head, I can't lick your pussy as well as I want to. I should only hear you screaming my name, don't you think?"

You can bet that I turned off the music immediately.

.

As Nicholas had requested, we stayed in bed all day, getting out just to eat. It was only evening when I brought up the tiny cake.

"Come on, make a wish," I told him as we sat facing each other on the bed.

He blew out the candle while keeping his eyes closed. The words I wanted to say to him were on the tip of my tongue when he opened his eyes.

He dragged me back down to the bed after we had done sharing bits of chocolate cake and licking the icing off of each other's lips. We lay there facing each other for a moment, and I felt like I was about to pass out from suppressing my emotions.

"I have one more gift for you."

He grinned and linked our fingers together, waiting.

I inhaled deeply, met his eyes, and prayed that I wouldn't experience heartbreak any time soon.

'Please let him love me back. Please let him love me back.' I chanted in my head.

"I love you."

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest as soon as the words left my mouth out of worry that I had made a huge mistake. He admitted to me how frequently he had brushed off women because they demanded more of him than he was prepared to give.

Had he been advising me not to grow feelings for him?

Have I just made a serious mistake?

He exhaled and closed his eyes. "Willow." His voice was practically a whisper.

That was confusing. Was he attempting to find an easy way to let me down?

Every second that went by made it harder for me to breathe. My insides felt as though they were being crushed.

I needed to cry.

His silence tortured me as the seconds seemed to last for hours. I squeezed my eyes closed, wishing I could take back my words. I wished I didn't have to deal with the pain of breaking my own heart.

He let go of my hand, bringing my body to him with his arms as I let out a whimper.

Knowing my feelings were one-sided, would I be able to carry on as we had been? At this point, would he even want to keep me? Was I ready to be all alone again?

In the brief time we had known each other, I had grown reliant on his frequent company and care. I wasn't sure if I could let go of it.

He murmured in my ear, "You were standing in the library with total wonder in your eyes."

What?

I remained still. I stopped breathing.

He pulled his head out of the crook of my neck and kissed my nose. His breath washed over my face but I didn't dare open my eyes.

"You had no idea that you were being watched. The look of pure happiness on your face... your strength... despite everything you had been through in your life."

Confusion gripped me. I had no idea what I was talking about.

"Why are you sharing this with me?" My voice trembled under my uncertainty.

"Willow, open your eyes."

I complied with his request even though my eyes were blurry from tears. He removed the rolling tears from my cheeks.

"That's when I realised I loved you," he murmured.

I took a deep breath, and as his words began to sink in, my entire world began to spin. I nearly didn't want to trust them. But he had bright, joyful eyes. Sincere.

"All I've been doing is waiting for you to love me too."

I sobbed until I choked, crying out of relief rather than sadness. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him my most passionate kiss. Nicholas and chocolate, two of my favourite flavours, paired with the knowledge that he returned my love. It fulfiled every one of my wants.

'He loves me. He loves me!'

I felt light and free of weight. I might have drifted away if his arms hadn't been holding my body in place.

When was the last time someone other than Lory loved me?

I murmured against his lips, "Tell me again."

His chuckle sounded melodic. "I love you."

His three simple words were like a balm that eased every minor hurt, pain, and discomfort my heart had ever experienced.

I have no idea how long we kissed, snuggled, moaned, and touched each other. Time had no importance in our happy bubble.

A small voice in my head kept rising louder and louder, despite my desire to remain frozen in this ideal moment indefinitely. The nagging questions needed to be answered despite my happiness.

"Nicholas?"

He hummed as he continued to kiss my neck. I ran my fingers through his hair, my nails scraping his scalp. He made a sound I was unfamiliar with.

Could men purr?

I refrained from laughing because I really wanted to ask him a question.

I got right to it by saying, "Nicholas," to get his attention. "Why me? How could you know you loved me right away without really knowing me?

His piercing eyes bore into mine as he raised his head. "Look at what happened. I knew Rosemary all my life. I now understand that the depth of your feelings for someone do not depend on how long you have known them. You quickly knocked me out. In that instant, I felt more affection for you than I ever did for anybody else."

As he continued, his fingertips delicately touched my cheekbones.

"You ask how I realised I was in love with you?"

I nodded.

"In truth, I didn't fully understand it until much later. I knew before you had arrived that I wanted you in my life. I knew when you got here I couldn't let you slip away."

"And that was why you made that contract? So that I wouldn't leave?"

He gave me a deep kiss. "When I realised you were the one for me, I didn't want to squander even another second of my life. I thought that once you were here and you were bound by a contract, one day you'd feel the same way about me as I did you." He sighed. "I wanted to give you everything you had never experienced and knew you wanted. I was afraid I might lose you if I didn't take charge of the matter."

His eyes pleaded with me to understand what he was saying.

"Even if it took money at first, I had to figure out a way to keep you, and I hoped ultimately you would love me for me."

I gasped. It hurt me when I understood he thought I was in it for the money.

"Nicholas, it wasn't the money that made me say yes. Do you honestly believe that was the reason why?"

His eyes were clouded with confusion, and the more I thought about it, the more I chastised myself. What else should he have assumed, exactly?

He questioned, "Why did you say yes?

I touched his cheek with my hand. "Because of how you made me feel when I was around you. It was thrilling and unlike anything I had ever experienced. I felt more confident because I knew that you needed and wanted me. You made me feel alive." My finger dragged across his lips. "It didn't hurt that you were the most gorgeous person I'd ever seen either," I added.