The Confrontation Part 7
Beth trembled as she closed her eyes and rested her head on the door of Mick's apartment. She wasn't sure what had her more flustered, the events of the day or having Mick so intimately pressed against her. His hand still rested on the door next to her head, his face buried in the curve of her neck and his body seemingly molded to her back. Every time he exhaled, she could feel his warm breath as it seemingly caressed her. The nearness of his body played havoc with whatever control she had left. She wanted so badly to just turn and throw her arms around his neck and drown in him. The thought excited her beyond reason.
"Please…….," she heard him plead once more, his voice betraying his emotions. Perhaps he was as shaken as she. Could she dare hope that he wouldn't change his mind? That he wouldn't come to his senses once more and attempt to cut ties with her yet again?
Taking a tremulous breath, she slowly turned around and looked into Mick's eyes. She could see everything then, could read every answer to every question she had about what he hoped for the future of this relationship. If eyes were truly the windows to the soul, Mick had thrown open the shutters and had allowed Beth to see into every dark corner, every hidden recess. Closing her own eyes then, she rested her head against his shoulder and relaxed into his embrace, basking then in the realization that he wanted this as much as she did. It felt like arriving at a destination that you hadn't even realized you'd been searching for. Being there…..with him….. enveloped in the circle of his arms……..she felt truly at peace……she felt……at home.
She raised her head then and looked upon the features of the man she knew she would love forever, and perhaps always had loved. Placing her hand almost reverently on the side of his face, her thumb tenderly caressed his cheek. She could feel some of the tenseness in his body ease as he read her as surely as she did he. There were moments in life when no words were needed. When conversation existed purely on an instinctual level. This was one of those moments. Nothing either could have said aloud couldn't be communicated through look, through touch, through just being close.
A small smile tugged at Beth's mouth as she saw a look of wonder fill Mick's eyes. She knew what he was thinking. Ever since the night that his wife had turned him, since the moment he believed he had become a monster, he had always felt that he was no longer lovable. That somehow he no longer deserved love, believing that he would spend eternity inside a self-imposed purgatory. The marvel now reflected in his eyes was tinged with hope that maybe a better future did finally lay before him. She also knew that there would be days ahead when he would once again doubt his worthiness. Little did he know, but she was now determined to make sure that his every day from now on would be filled with love and hope. She couldn't promise him eternity, but she silently promised whatever time she had left in this life would be in dedication to making that happen.
Beth shuddered as she felt Mick's hands travel slowly up the plane of her back, his touch seemed to burn, and in response, she felt herself arching toward him. His nostrils flared slightly when he saw and felt her reaction, and a shallow blue glow ignited in his eyes. It was her turn to stare in awe as the look on his face turned from reverential to something akin to pure unadulterated need and want. She had always sensed the barely controlled passions of this man, but was still pleasantly caught off guard to see that fervor rise so quickly to the surface.
Winding her hands into his silky hair, Beth pulled him closer to her. She brushed her own lips so lightly against his…….once…..twice, before she was rewarded with an almost unearthly growl before he crushed her to him devouring her mouth almost as if his very existence depended on keeping her close.
Too soon though, he tore himself away, his head coming to rest on her shoulder. Beth could feel his ragged breaths, the tremors that shook his body. She didn't need to look to know how close to the surface the inner vampire was. How even now, he struggled to control the so-called beast within him. She wouldn't have believed it, but she loved him all the more for his wanting to protect her, even from himself.
She eased his head from where it rested, attempting to make him to look at her. He tried to turn his face away, but she would have none of it. Finally he succumbed to her coaxing and reluctantly looked at her. The shame and misery that she saw there nearly broke her heart, reminding her so much of the moment when he had confessed his deepest, darkest secret to her. Smiling sadly, she took his face in her hands and looked into his now icy blue eyes. She feared that any words she would speak would fall on now deaf ears, so she attempted to show him, the only way she knew how, that she accepted who and what he was.
Sweetly, carefully she kissed his lips. Pulling back, she saw the concern and disbelief still etched on his amazingly handsome features. She continued in her reassurances as she skimmed her mouth along the line of his jaw and cheek, nuzzling her face against the side of his neck as she closed her eyes and just let the moment take her. She breathed him in and somehow willed him to understand her, to recognize that she accepted him wholly and completely. Winding her arms around his strong, muscular back, she leaned into him and allowed her body to melt into his, matching his strength to her softness, his determination to her acceptance.
She could feel his tentative acquiescence and held on all the more fiercer, her hands grasping the shirt that he wore, almost daring him to tear her away. Eyes tightly closed, her face buried in the hollow of his neck, she prayed that he would finally give in, that he would finally and willingly accept what was not just offered but what was promised.
She felt his body relax and could feel his powerful arms embrace her and hold on for dear life. An inner battle had been waged, and love, acceptance and a brighter future had won this day. The two stood there, locked in each other's embrace for minutes uncounted. Both unwilling to let go. Both content to just….be.
Some time later, Beth reluctantly pulled back, but just enough so that she could look into Mick's once more dark blue/gray eyes. Smiling, she once again placed her hand on his face, and said, "We'll make it work."
She watched Mick intently as she waited for his reaction to her pronouncement. Her heart leapt when she saw his eyes fill with acceptance and joy. Her smile widened further when he coiled his arms around her even tighter and lifted her off her feet. As she basked in this new future, she was delighted further when she could have sworn she heard him laugh.
A short epilogue to follow………..