Chapter Two-Hundred and Thirty-Two

Claire snuggled into John's body, pulling his arms tighter around her chest as she felt his soft lips against her neck. "I want you." She whispered, biting her lip as he pulled away from her neck.

"You… you what?" He asked, letting her roll over and place her hands against his chest.

"I, I want you…" She repeated, afraid that he would get scared of fall into a flashback. "I'm ready to lose my virginity."

He hesitated, thinking long and hard about if it was okay because they were in love. "Claire, I want you too… but as your fiancée, and as your friend, I have to respect Thomas's wishes." He ran his fingers into her hair, his lips brushing over her forehead as he pulled her too him. "Believe me, Sweets, I want it… so bad. But I can't do this now."

She nodded in understanding, tucking her face under his throat and nipping at the soft skin of his neck. "Okay." She began sucking at his throat, turning the skin purple.

Phoebe stretched, rolling over in her bed to see that Clarissa was still sleeping beside her. "Mrs. Standish?" She whispered, nudging her awake. "Thank you, for staying with me."

Clarissa smiled, pulling the child close to her for the morning cuddles she missed so much. "You can call me mom if you want to."

"Why does John call you mom?" She asked, suddenly curious about John's unusual habits.

Clarissa chuckled, listening as John started to sing in the living room with Miss Wilder as she coached him to get his power back. "That's his way of accepting people as his family, it's also his way of kicking them out of his life… he doesn't call your birth parents mom and dad, he calls them by their names, Jacob and Beverly."

Phoebe nodded, relaxing against Clarissa's chest. "John said he'll stay with me when I'm in court."

Clarissa sighed, remembering how Jacob had pulled a shiv on his son and been close to killing him. "That's good."

Claire tightened John's tie, biting her lip in fear as she caught sight of the scar from his father's shiv. "Don't get hurt again…" She touched his cheek, noticing how soft his jaw was when it was freshly shaved.

He bowed his head to kiss her, lifting her off of the ground and twirling her in a circle. "I won't." He smiled, letting her hold his hips between her thighs as she looked into his eyes.