Chapter 14:

He was propped up on his elbow, letting his eyes wonder on the semi covered body that was still sound asleep on his left-hand side. Her hair was splashed over the pillow, having been growing it up lately, the colour of her hair a bright contrast against the white pillowcase and white coloured duvet. He watched her as she shifted slightly now turning to face him, her hair covering her face. He smiled softly, feeling his heart swell in his chest, as he recalled the events that occurred the previous night. They had finally come together and made love. A thought ran through his mind as he remembered how she had freaked out that morning after they had made love on what was supposed to be his wedding night, but then he pushed it aside knowing how she was the one that had been so willingly inviting. She had been the one asking to leave her own party so they could go home, clearly having making love on her mind. Reaching out, he pushed a strand of hair that was covering her face and pushed it behind her ear, letting his thumb caress the area that had been covered. He felt her smile against his touch, and Owen beamed as he watched her flatter her eyes open. The room was bright with the sunlight that had seeped through, and Claire seemed like she was having a hard time letting her eyes open and adjust to the sudden flash of white.

'Good morning' she chuckled still blinking her eyes.

'Good morning' Owen chuckled back 'Feeling lazy this morning are we?' he teased.

'Had a late night' she replied as she shifted closer to him. Owen wrapped one arm around her and pulled her into him, before he let his head drop and capture her lips in a soft delicate kiss, 'I didn't know you could be so delicate' she chuckled.

'Heyy…I'm offended' he teased and Claire laughed hard.

'Yeah right' she laughed before she let herself roll on her back, her hands holding the white covered puffed quilt. She pushed some hair behind her ear and then glanced in his direction to find him smiling at her, 'What?' she asked mimicking his position.

'So this is how it is waking up beside you?' he asked, and Claire smiled 'I just wondered how it would have been that morning five years ago' he told her with a shrug.

'Sorry' she apologized sliding a hand against his chest.

'Hey it's okay…it's…behind us now. We're here today and that is all that matters now' he told her 'I just couldn't help but wonder that's all' he explained.

'Yeah…I know what you mean. I often found myself wondering the same thing. I just…I just feel like I have made a mess of everything sometimes' she told him 'For someone who is Head of design in the company and have to take a lot of decisions, I feel like in my personal life, I have made so many bad decisions, and I have…hurt so many people along the way' she told him, and now she let herself fall back on her back running a hand through her hair.

Owen could see that she was getting sincerely upset, and that was definitely not what he wanted this morning 'Hey hey…everyone knows you didn't mean to hurt anyone' Owen told her.

'Yeah but I still did' she replied with a shrug 'I hurt you, my ex-husband, Madison, Jessica…all for my own selfish reasons' Claire told him, and with that she got up and was about to get out of bed but Owen grabbed her hand and Claire stopped. She looked up trying to hold back the tears that suddenly threatened to spill, failing to do so as a tear slipped down her cheek and Claire wiped it away, not wanting Owen to see her crying. Damn it this is not how she wanted this morning to go.

Owen shifted behind her, not even caring or bothering to cover himself as he wrapped his arms around her chest, letting his chin rest on her shoulder, kissing her cheek in the process.

'Claire…can you listen to me please?' he asked her but she didn't say anything so he just went on 'We all hurt someone we don't mean to okay, I know I did…I hurt Jess probably more than you did but it wasn't by choice. My heart didn't decide to hurt her on purpose. I just fell in love with you, I had no choice in that' he told her with a shrug and Claire smiled through her tears 'And I know I hurt you too. We all hurt…it's just part of life, nothing we can do about it, except maybe learn from it and move on and try not to take the same decisions again if the situation arises' Owen told her.

'Did you just say you love me?' she asked him wiping her tears away now, almost completely ignoring everything that he said after those words, as she turned to look at him, trying her best to ignore the rest of his naked body on display and stare in his green eyes.

'I did. I love you Claire…I always have. Since that moment you stopped to help me out with my car' he admitted.

'Love at first sight' she whispered.

'It was' he admitted 'I mean can you blame me? Here I am struggling with my car, in the rain, and this gorgeous red head stops to help me. How can I not fall in love with you?' he asked her and Claire beamed at him.

'Well let me let you in on a little secret since we are at it' she told him, her mood obviously lighting up at the direction their conversation was now heading 'It was love at first sight for me too' she admitted.

'Seriously?' he asked surprised, narrowing his eyes.

'Yes seriously' she laughed 'I couldn't be with my husband after making love to you. Nothing he did…was enough…satisfying. You ruined me for any other men' she told him and Owen grabbed her at that and pulled her on top of him, as Claire screamed and laughed at his sudden movement, and when he suddenly turned them around again so that he was now on top of her, Claire laughed even harder and louder, until his lips started kissing the crook of neck and her laughter turned to moans.

'Already?' she whispered her arms snaking up along his back, her fingers moving into his hair, holding his head in place as her eyes struggled to remain open, her body completely responding to his actions.

'As if you don't want me to touch you right now' he teased his hand squeezing her thighs as it moved up to her hips.

'You're playing dirty' she reminded him before she captured his lips into a hot passionate kiss to which Owen only deepened as his hand moved between her legs.

'And you are enjoying every minute of it' he told her as he pushed his finger inside of her.

Claire hissed at the feeling of him fingering her, only encouraging Owen to continue 'At what time do we have to pick Madison up?' he asked speaking from between her breasts now.

'No hurry' she replied.

'Good' was all Owen said before taking a nipple in his mouth.

oooOOOooo

Claire was downstairs putting a spoon of coffee in each mug for both her and Owen while was talking on the phone. It seemed something had come up at work and they had called him to give them his opinion on the matter on how they could fix the issue.

Claire had eventually managed to slip out of bed and out of Owen's arms at some point, letting him know that she was going to take a shower, but she made the mistake of not locking the door, and Owen had taken the opportunity to join her, which made the shower take longer than necessarily.

She rolled her eyes at the thought, remembering just how touchy touchy he had been and how incredibly amazing it had felt to shower with him (or rather make love to him in the shower that is).

'I hope that smile is on my account' she heard Owen say from behind her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her neck. She let her head drop back, the side of her cheek nuzzling against his, his stubble sending a tingling feeling as she held him closer 'It is' she replied before she turned to kiss his lips 'I was just thinking about how amazing showering together is' Claire admitted.

'Mmm it was' Owen agreed before he leaned in and captured her lips again, pressing her body against the kitchen counter 'I think I missed a spot. Looks like I'm still dirty, I need to go and shower again' he told her as he took her hand in his and turned to make his way upstairs and take her with him, but Claire laughed and pulled him back.

'You're insatiable' she told him laughing.

'I am…for you my dear' he told her as he cupped her face with both hands and kissed her hard again, to which he felt her melt, the moan escaping her mouth confirming that. He undid the hair clipper holding her hair up in a messy updo, letting his fingers vanish into her beautiful locks, as he deepened the kiss. She knew that they were already a little bit late in picking up Madison even if she really didn't have a fixed time when she needed to pick her up, but she couldn't seem to stop kissing him. It had been too damn long since she had someone in her life who was going to be there to stay, and she knew that Owen was going to stay and it wasn't just because of Madison but because he wanted to be there with her, because he loves her.

She felt his hand undo her grey silky robe and that was her queue to stop this 'Mmm…Owen…we have to stop' she told him trying to slow down their kiss to a stop, her hands on his face.

'Why?' he asked her moving to her neck as one hand cupped her breast making her whimper.

'Because we need to go and pick up Madison' she reminded him 'And my body needs a break. I'm getting a bit soar' she admitted.

'I can make you feel all better' he tried and Claire just laughed shaking her head, as she moved her arms around his neck.

'Tonight' she told him and his eyes literally lit up like a six-year old given a new ball 'That is…if you are a good boy' she told him, messing a little bit with him.

'I'm being a good boy' he replied lifting his hands in surrender as he took a step back, her arms falling away from him now. He watched her laugh while she tied the robe around her again and pulled up her hair in a messy updo again, to which Owen realized he loved about her. When he used to go and see her at the office or when they used to go out with Madison sometimes, she always made sure to be properly made up not to mention how the majority of that time, her hair was much shorter so she didn't really need to pull it up. This though, felt more homey, and personal, like she was letting him see some sort of secret part of her. Claire caught him staring at her, staring but at the same time he looked like he was million miles away lost in his own thoughts. She wondered what he was thinking, finding herself checking herself out, to which he didn't even notice.

'What? What is it? Do I have something in my hair?' she asked him.

'Mm? What?' he asked snapping out of his thoughts.

'You looked like you are a million miles away. What's up?' she asked him 'Do I have something in my hair?' she asked him.

'Oh no…no' he replied shaking his head 'You look absolutely perfect' he told her.

'Then why were you looking at me like that?' she asked him.

'Like what?' he asked.

'I don't know…different. Like you were taking me in or something' she replied.

'It's just your hair…I like it a little bit longer…like when we first met. I never saw you with your hair up like that and in a robe. This just feels…personal, something not everybody sees. Can you understand what I'm trying to say?' he asked narrowing his eyes a bit for effect.

'Yeah, well you're not everybody else' she told him.

'No?' he asked closing the distance between them again, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her gently against his body again 'Then what am I?' he asked her, a grin on his face.

'Anything you want me to be' she replied settling her hands on his chest.

'My girlfriend?' he said, the statement coming out more as a question than a statement.

'I like the sound of that' she laughed.

'What's so funny?' he asked her.

'I'm feeling like a teenager again' she admitted 'Yesterday out for most of the night, drinking in a disco, followed by a lot of sex, and now you're calling me your girlfriend' she told him before she started laughing again.

'So I guess this makes me your boyfriend' he continued and Claire laughed harder, much to Owen's amusement. It was just nice seeing her laugh even if that was at his expense. He kissed her lips, letting the kiss grow a little as they kissed each other ever so slow, just enjoying being the two of them and being actually happy after what felt like forever.

'Okay…if we are not going to stop, we are never getting out of the house' Claire told him when they finally stopped kissing.

'Fine by me' Owen replied and Claire rolled her eyes at him, making Owen laugh 'Well okay, let okay it would be completely fine if Madison was here as well' he corrected himself.

Stepping away from each other and finally drinking the coffee, Claire made her way upstairs to get dressed while Owen followed. Getting comfortable on the bed, he watched her getting dressed as she wiggled herself into a pair of jeans and then pulled out a white shirt, tying a knot at the last button.

'So what are we doing after we pick her up?' she asked him.

'How about we take her to the aquarium and then maybe to the playground or something like that?' he asked.

'Yeah that sounds fun' Claire replied as she put her rose gold earrings on and put up her hair in a messy bun.

'We need to go over at my place first though. I still need to change' he reminded her.

'Oh yeah' she replied turning away from the mirror to actually look at him. He was still shirtless and with just his jeans on 'I completely forgot' she said and Owen shrugged 'Hey you know what? Why don't you move in?' she asked him. She didn't know where that actually came from, but she liked the idea. Having him around 24/7 felt nice and good, and like where he was supposed to be. She knew Madison would love it and it would make life much easier.

His eyebrow shot up at that request 'You want me to move in?' he asked her surprised as he practically bounced off the bed and was standing in front of her in a couple of seconds, as he pushed his hands into his pockets.

'Yeah. I mean Madison would love it, well and so do I for that matter, and it would make life much easier. I mean you are going to be here most of the time anyway, you won't need to keep going from one place to the other like that' she told him with a shrug before sliding her arms around his waist so she could feel closer to him and look up in his eyes.

'Not that I don't want to or that it is…not a tempting invitation, but…I want to date you' he told her and Claire pulled slightly away from him.

'You want to date me?' she asked him with a frown as if trying to understand, wrapping her arms in front of her chest.

'Yes' Owen replied enthusiastically unfolding her arms and taking her hands in his 'I want to be able to come and pick you up, take out to dinners or movies, or go and make out in the backseat of your car somewhere' he told her and her brows shot up at that making him laugh 'Well you said you're feeling like a teenager, so why not?' he asked her a huge smile on his face.

'Because we have a very comfortable bed right over there' she told him pointing at the bed behind Owen.

'Yes I know, but I just…want us to be able to have fun at the beginning of our relationship and not just…blend into the normal life' Owen explained.

'What about Madison?' she asked.

'I'm sure her nanny or maybe even Diane sometimes would love to help us out and take care of her when we want to go out. It's not like we are gonna go out on a date every single night. Sometimes it would be during the week and sometimes on the weekends. We'll just see what works' he told her.

She was looking at him, and Claire could tell that he really wanted to do this, and as much as she wanted him to move in, she was kind of liking where he was going with this. The idea of him picking her up for a date or making out in the backseat of a car made her feel giddy inside. She could feel her eyes sparkle as she looked up at him.

'Okay…and it's like we can't have the occasional sleepover every now and then' she told him 'Maybe starting tonight?' she asked hopeful.

'That would be perfect' he replied as he leaned in and kissed her lips before pulling her into a hug.