She wanted me to remember or to make herself forget. Either way, I was happy just to be able to touch her.

She pulled down my zipper and slid her hand inside my boxers to pull my c**k free. I was rock hard and struggling to not pin her down and prove to her how much I wanted her and only her, but I was enjoying this side of Emma. I wanted to see how far she would go.

I ran a finger up her arm, leaving a trail of goose bumps in my wake. She knocked my hand away, and I had to suppress a smirk. Her fingers wrapped around my dick, and she squeezed as I throbbed against her palm. She was playing a very dangerous game that I had already mastered.

“Emma, please…” There was a warning in my words, but she ignored it, pressing her finger against my lips as she sank down to her knees. Her eyes stayed locked on mine as her tongue ran over the head of my cock, and she slid it past her lips.

“Aaah…” I groaned as I wrapped my fingers in her hair, fisting it. She pulled back, dragging her teeth over my shaft. “Fuck, Emma.” My head fell back against the wall as she swirled her tongue over my head and let my c**k slip deep into her throat. “I want you.”

She bit down lightly and my fist tightened in her hair as I struggled against my every instinct to make her pay for that little move and shove her mouth down hard on my cock. She looked up at me with hooded eyes as she opened her mouth, and I knew I needed to let her take control. I loosened my grip, and her tongue ran over me again. I couldn’t hold back the moan that resonated from the back of my throat. She rose to her feet and looked me in the eye, the uncertainty carefully masked behind her desire to claim me as hers.

She walked off toward the bedroom, and I took a deep breath and followed her.

She stood at the foot of the bed as I entered. “In here, I’m in charge.” She cleared her throat, unsure if she was convincing as a dom. “You don’t touch me unless I tell you it’s okay.” She was repeating my own words. I walked toward her, and she took a small step back. She grabbed hold of my belt and pulled it from my jeans. “Take your clothes off.”

Chapter Twenty-two

I pulled my shirt over my head as her eyes danced over the tattoo that ran up my arm and across my chest. I shoved my jeans down and kicked them off my feet. Her eyes fell to my boxers and back to my eyes. I shoved my boxers down over my hips and grabbed my c**k in my hand.

“I didn’t tell you to touch yourself.” I watched the muscles in her throat move as she swallowed hard. I reluctantly released my hand, gripping it at my side. As amusing as this little game was, I wanted to be inside of her, and I was growing impatient.

“Lie down.” She motioned toward the bed.

I crawled to the center of the bed and propped up on my elbows as I watched her. She pulled her shirt over her head, her ni**les hard and begging to be sucked. She shoved her jeans and underwear down with one motion, and as she stepped out of them, I noticed my belt still clutched tightly in her hand. Her body was shaking with anger and fear. She slowly crawled over me, and I lay flat on my back, curious to see what it was she had in mind.

“Put your hands above your head.” I didn’t move. “Now!” she said with more confidence. I lifted my hands over my head, and she smiled as she looped the belt around my wrists and through a slat in the headboard. I tugged at the restraint as she raked her nails down my chest, causing me to flex under her touch. Her pu**y hovered right above my cock, and I lifted my hips to rub against her as I ran my tongue over my lips. Her eyes fell closed for a moment, getting lost in the pleasure.

“No,” she said quietly. “Don’t move.” She brought her open palm down hard on my chest, and I clenched my jaw, swallowing back the urge to break this f**king headboard and beat her ass until she was dripping wet. I let my head fall back on the pillow as her fingers wrapped around my cock, and she positioned my head against her pu**y. She slowly lowered herself down on top of me until I filled her completely. She began to ride me nice and slow, and her hands ran over her tits, pinching her ni**les as her teeth dug into her lip. I groaned as I watched her use my body to please herself. I tugged against the belt as she placed her fingers against my lips. I kissed them, running my tongue out to taste her skin.

Her eyes fell closed as she continued to ride my dick, her fingers sliding down to my shoulders. She gripped me tightly, and the biting pain of her nails nearly pushed me over the edge. Her hips stilled as she looked down at her fingers, wet with blood.

“I-I’m sorry.” She looked terrified.

“Don’t stop.” I thrust my hips up hard. She began to ride me, matching my movements. I growled as her pu**y tightened around me, and I came as she cried out, lost in her own pleasure.

Her body collapsed on top of mine as she reached over my head and undid the belt. As soon as my hands were free, I wrapped my arms around her.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.” Her fingers traced the tiny half-moon wounds.

“I’ve obviously hurt you a lot worse. I deserve whatever you give me.” I squeezed her as I kissed the top of her head. Anything was better than her running away from me again, and pain and pleasure where interchangeable to me.

I would take Emma any way I could have her. I had hurt her and broken her trust. Earning it back would not be easy, but I looked forward to every minute I got to spend with her, making it right.

“Emma.” I waited for her to look up at me. “Tell me about you.” She sighed as she curled back into my chest. Those memories of her past had never surfaced because I had never cared to ask.

“What do you want to know?” He body grew rigid.

“Everything.”

“I’m an only child. I grew up in Michigan. I came to live with my aunt a few years ago when…”

“What?” I rubbed my hand over her back.

“When my parents died in a car accident.”

Every muscle in my body tightened, and I had to force myself not to squeeze her too tightly.

“A car accident?” She slowly nodded her head. “Fuck, Emma. You must have been so scared when I…” The words caught in my throat.

“It wasn’t your fault. It was an accident.”

“I could have killed us both.” My heart began to pound in my chest as the realization of how much I had hurt her washed over me. I could see the fight that night clearly now. I could see the hurt in her eyes as I told her how I knew Allison and her aunt.

“You remember…”

I nodded as I tightened my arms around her, and the warm wetness of her tears dampened my chest. “That’s why you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you, William. We were fighting before the crash.”

I placed my fingers under her chin and tilted her head up so I could look her in the eye.

“What happened to us?” I needed to hear it from her. I wanted the past to be exposed so I could stop hiding who I was. I could only hold back from taking her the way I wanted to for so long. Today was a test that I barely passed.

“It was nothing.” She tried to hide her face, but I kept my finger under her chin, forcing her to face the truth with me.

“I want to know. I want you to tell me.” I could see the worry in her eyes, but this wasn’t negotiable. I narrowed my eyes as she took a deep breath. “Tell me.”

“You asked me to marry you. I told you no.”

“You said no.” I repeated as the memory of her rejection played fresh in my mind.

“I was scared you would regret it if you lost your job. You love teaching. I could never live with myself if you lost that.”

“I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t love you more. You’re more important than some job. How could you think otherwise?”

She was silent as she thought over her reasons and doubts. I took her hand in mine and held it against my chest so she could feel how rapidly my heart was beating.

“Emma, I don’t know what happened between us, and I don’t care. My heart races out of control every time you come near me. I’m terrified that you will walk out of that door and it will stop. I can’t live without you. I don’t care if I never remember my life. I want to start a new one…with you.”

“Yes, let’s do it. Let’s get married.”

My lips crushed against hers, claiming her, owning her. Our turbulent love nearly killed us both, but she was giving me a second chance to make her mine, and I wouldn’t let her slip out of my grasp this time.

Chapter Twenty-three

“Are you ready?” I asked as I laced my fingers with Emma’s. She took several deep breaths before responding.

“Yes,” she whispered as Stephen stepped closer to us, a stack of papers in his hands. He smiled at me knowingly, and I smirked.

“Emma,” he greeted her, inclining his head toward her.

“Good to see you again,” she laughed with excitement. Stephen’s gaze fell to me, and I nodded. I knew he was concerned, but I knew exactly what I was doing. I couldn’t live without Emma, and this was the only option.

“We are here today to participate in a most joyous occasion, to celebrate one of life’s greatest moments, by acknowledging the wedding of William and Emma.” His eyes locked on mine. “William, do you take Emma to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, honor her, and protect her? Share the good times and achievements as well as the hard times and disappointments? Keep her in sickness and in sorrow and be faithful to her forevermore?”

I looked down into Emma’s bright green eyes and smiled. “I do.”

Emma looked to Stephen, but I kept my eyes locked on her as he began to speak.

“Emma, do you take William to be your lawfully wedded husband? Do you promise to love him, honor him, and protect him? Share the good times and achievements as well as the hard times and disappointments? Keep him in sickness and in sorrow and be faithful to him forevermore?”

“I do.” The pressure left my chest as she promised to be mine for the rest of her life. I looked to Stephen who nodded, and my gaze fell back on Emma.

“I give you this ring in token and pledge as a symbol of all that we share, with my constant faith and abiding love.” I slid her ring onto her finger, marking her as mine.

“Now that you have joined yourself in matrimony, may you strive always to meet this commitment with the same spirit you now exhibit. We all bear witness to this ceremony you have just performed, and you may now call yourselves by those old and respected names: husband and wife. May God bless this union. You may kiss the bride.”

I wrapped my arms around Emma’s waist as I pulled her body against mine. My mouth found hers hungrily as I kissed my new bride.

“I love you,” she whispered against my lips. I couldn’t help but smile.

“I love you, Emma Honor. Now you are mine forever.”

THE END