Vivid (28 page)

I was wrong.

Grace wasn't just beautiful. She was the very definition of beauty.

Freckles dotted her nose, mascara was lightly smudged under her widened eyes. Those eyes. So many colors. Bright and complex. The colors swirled together and then I saw them. The small spots of golden brown. I wanted to count them like I'd imagined doing so many times before, but I didn't have time. Not now.

I reached forward, gripping her trembling shoulders. "It's you."

She didn't look frightened or angry. Just stunned into silence.

Didn't matter. She wouldn't need to speak for what I had in store for her.

"Grace," I whispered before pulling her against me and roughly – so effortlessly – colliding with her lips. I moved my hands to the sides of her slender neck, a neck that felt all too familiar. Tilting her face up with the pads of my thumbs under her jaw, I held her in place and kissed her like a starving man.

I had starved myself over the last couple of weeks. Frantic for her taste and now that I finally had it ...

A small moan vibrated in her chest and it spurred me on. I traced her lips with my tongue, begging her to open for me. She didn't disappoint. She
never
disappointed.

These lips were made for me. This body, for me.

This woman.

Made. For. Me.

Her arms came around my neck and she fell into the kiss. I buried a hand in her hair, the familiar smell of her shampoo wafting over me, and I kept her head where I wanted it, to deepen the kiss. Our tongues tangled, my chest burned with the need for air, and my head was floating.

I kept my eyes open, taking in every flutter of her eyelashes as she lost herself to me.

"Holy shit, that's hot."

Grace pulled away at the sound of Cindy's voice, swollen lips and wide eyes staring back at me.

"I–"

"I love you," I declared.

Another gasp from behind the desk.

"Merrick–"

"I love you, Grace. I don't care how many times I need to tell you. I'll say it even after you finally believe it."

Her eyes glistened and that adorable chin trembled.

"I
see
you, baby. And I want to see you forever. So, do what you have to. If you feel like there are things you need to get past. Get past them. But don't leave me out of it."

Her face was still in my hands when the first tear fell. I swiped it away with my thumb, relishing the privilege. Even when she cried, it was beauty she radiated.

"We both have our issues, Grace. But we're stronger together than we ever were apart. And I want you, because I know, right here," I stated, lightly pounding the spot over my heart, "that you're the one for me."

I bent down to kiss her tears, gliding over her jaw and finding that safe spot in her neck I discovered just a few weeks ago. She tilted her head to give me more room to work and I took advantage. Her hands came up to my shoulders, holding on tightly. Giving me the sign that she was in this with me now.

"Really?" she whispered, trembling in my arms.

"Mmhmm, and I've got news for you, love." I kissed her soft, flawless neck, inhaling deeply before pulling away to look at her. Those hazel eyes shimmered back at me and that curious grin was even better than I'd imagined. "I'm the one for you, too."

Grace

Three weeks of no Merrick was like a lifetime of no laughter. No happiness. Nothing.

It took everything I had to stay away from him, but I needed it. I needed to figure out what I wanted and how I was going to get it. Being afraid of something so completely out of my control, isn't worth the grief it causes, so I set out to change ... me.

I regretted every word that came out of my mouth the night I left Merrick in that hallway. But it set me on a path to fix the things I had only safely tucked away before. The wounds that kept opening at the first spike of fear; I worked on stitching them back up just right.

I wasn't there yet, but I was closer.

I already knew what I wanted and I had currently been working on how to get it.

Then Merrick showed up, his presence as powerful as it always was. Only now, he could see it for himself.

I knew it was him before Cindy even looked over my shoulder. I could feel it. Every pore and every vein flared to life. I only ever felt that with
him
.

Turning around to see him looking down at me, those striking blue eyes meeting mine for the first time; I don't remember a time when I felt more proud of
anyone
.

If there was one person on this earth that deserved true happiness, it was Merrick Thatcher. He worked so hard to get where he is and even though the road in front of him was filled with obstacles, he knew he could get through it.

That's the only thing that really mattered. That he would do it to honor the men that died for him. That he would do it for me.

"Tell me what it's like," I requested, as he drove us to my apartment in my car. He was actually driving. I couldn't get over how amazing that was.

He hadn't really given me an option to leave without him, all but dragging me into his appointment, admitting that he didn't trust me to wait for him.

He was right.

I was still anxious, but after processing everything he said to me in the middle of the hospital, where several people overheard, I couldn't say no.

Because I still loved him fiercely.

"It's ... painful," he chuckled. "Sometimes I go to bed and my eye aches more than it did in the beginning. It wasn't even a year spent being blind and already my brain has to reprocess everything I look at. It's exhausting."

I couldn't comprehend that, but I took his word for it.

"Is it clear?"

"Yes. I see everything clearly. The only issue is depth perception, but with practice, I can get around that."

I smiled at him when he glanced over. He only took his eyes off the road for a moment, but seeing them focus on me instead of somewhere around me ...

"I'm so happy for you, Merrick. Really."

He reached over and grasped my hand, lifting it to his lips. All the while, his eyes stayed on the road. Not taking any chances.

"I've got a job at the base. The same one they were considering for me before. I start next week."

"And?"

"And I can't wait," he said, grinning with excitement.

We pulled into the apartments and he followed me to my door. Another possibility I hadn't considered. He no longer needed anyone to lead the way for him.

I couldn't stop the beaming smile that covered my face.

"What's that for?" he asked, curiously, maybe even a little breathlessly.

I lifted my shoulder in a half shrug.

We stepped into my apartment and I shut the door while he got a brief glimpse of the living room. I dropped my purse on the table by the door. When I turned around, I smacked right into his chest. My hands came up to stop the collision, but it was no use.

When I stepped back, he pulled me right into him again.

"What's that beautiful smile for, Grace? And if you don't mind, show it to me again," he requested, his voice gruff.

Smiling was difficult when the only thing I could focus on were his hands around my waist. I wanted him to kiss me again. To push me against the wall like he enjoyed so much and take me back to where we were before.

"Don't look at me like that unless you want me to do something about it," he muttered, his gaze gliding back and forth over my face.

He zeroed in on my lips, making me lose my breath for a moment.

A low rumble rose up his chest and that's when I saw it. His right eye dilated, completely covering the blue of his iris. I remembered the time that happened before and my mouth fell open in surprise.

"What?" His eyes darted back and forth between mine, the left one not as active as the right, but still strong.

"It was meant to be all along," I whispered.

He lifted an eyebrow, the scar slashed through his left eye standing out. "If you're talking about us, then I already knew that."

I smiled, bigger than before. He drew in a sharp breath while those arms tightened around me, drawing me closer.

"Make love to me," I demanded, not even caring how desperate I sounded.

He squared those massive shoulders and took a good, long look at me. Making sure I really wanted it.

Oh, I wanted it. I had always wanted it.

I just couldn't see past everything else, but I was getting there.

I was lucky that Merrick actually loved me enough to join me on that journey. That he was strong enough and devoted enough to fight those insecurities right along with me.

What was in front of me no longer mattered because of who wanted to stand behind me. Merrick was worth any risk.

Loving him was worth everything.

Something in my eyes must have satisfied him because in the next breath, he had me lifted in his arms and was wandering through the apartment in search of my bedroom.

I pointed the way then took his face in my hands and pulled his head down for a kiss. He paused, tangling his tongue with mine before picking up the pace and finally finding the bedroom.

He tossed me onto the bed, a squeal leaving my throat as I flew through the air.

"I've always wanted to do that. Now I finally can," he growled, crawling over me.

He pinned me to the bed and kissed me madly. My legs and arms automatically came around him as he shifted us both up the bed into the pillows. Those hands tore at my clothes until they slid under to find the skin beneath. His lips tore away from mine and he sat back on his knees, staring down at me with an intensity I'd never seen before.

"What's wrong, Mer?"

He shook his head and looked down at his hands resting on my hips. They constricted and started to slowly, gently, push my shirt up. The skin beneath was revealed and his fingers slid over my stomach, leaving goose bumps behind.

He stopped suddenly, closing his eyes.

I reached up, smoothing my fingers over the lines on his forehead. "Babe, what is it?"

He blew out a long, slow breath. His eyes stayed closed.

"Are you afraid to see me, Merrick?" I asked, knowing the answer before I even asked, but needing to say something to get him to open those eyes.

He didn't disappoint.

They popped open, a deep frown transforming his entire face. "No. I'm not afraid," he insisted, emphasizing it with a firm shake of his head.

I let my fingers drop to his chest, resting my hand over his heart. "Then what is it?"

His eyes blazed with desire, the blue more vivid than ever, and his hands started to move again. "It just doesn't seem real to me. Being here, seeing you for the first time. I've dreamed of this moment, prayed for it. Now that it's finally here, I don't want it to end."

"It doesn't have to."

He bent forward, planted his hands on either side of my head, then kissed me.

"I still have a lot to work on, Grace. I'm not worthy of you. Not yet. But I'm going to be. I'll do my best to fight the monsters we face and I'll stop being afraid of the dark. Because with you, there's always light. I know that now." He kissed me again, then shifted so we were both on our sides, looking at each other. "I'll be the kind of man you can be proud of."

"Oh, Merrick." I ran my fingers over his face, tracing the scar from his eyebrow, down to his jaw. "I'm already proud of you and I love you."

He smiled. "I know, baby. But a man should never stop making his wife proud."

I froze.

What did he just say?

Merrick chuckled, his eyes darting down as his cheeks filled with color. "Not the smoothest proposal, but we haven't really had the smoothest road, have we?"

"Merrick. Are you ..."

"Yes, Grace. I'm asking you to marry me."

I was in shock.

It wasn't what I was expecting at all. I thought we would have wild and crazy sex for a good week, then make a plan for ourselves and take it one day at a time. But marriage?

Warmth spread through my chest at the idea of marrying Merrick.

We're stronger together than we ever were apart.

"It doesn't have to be today. Hell, it doesn't even have to be this year. I'll take any day you choose. I just want you to know that I'm in this, all the way."

I took a deep breath and exhaled with a smile. "Okay."

"Okay?"

I nodded. "Whenever I give you my answer, it'll be yes. So, okay."

He slowly rolled back over me, settling in the cradle of my thighs. The whole time, his eyes were on me, a brighter light in them, now.

"Okay," he sighed. "Now, lie back and relax, baby. Because I have a lot to see, all day to see it, and you know I like to take my time."

An anxious moan left me as he lifted my arms above my head and slid my shirt off.

"Christ, that's a sight," he whispered.

My bra was nothing special, but to him, it was fascinating. He fingered the straps, gliding down to the cups. Those fingers slid over the material, around it, beneath it. Until I couldn't take anymore.

He took his time, just like he promised. Rediscovering every inch of me.

At one point, he turned me onto my stomach, a low groan on his lips when his hands landed on my ass. There was a sharp slap and before I had time to flinch, he covered me with his body and started kissing my shoulder, my spine, my hips.

Then, he flipped me back over, starting it all over again.

It was sweet, blissful torture. I didn't want it to end either.

"Open up for me, love. I've got some fantasies to play out."

I giggled as his hands spread my thighs open, only to gasp when his fingers found my core.

I closed my eyes.

"Let me watch you, Grace. Open those beautiful eyes for me."

They fluttered open and he pressed a finger inside of me, watching my face closely as he brought me higher and higher.

"Exactly the color I imagined," he said.

I didn't have a chance to ask what he meant, because I was already there and he wasn't about to stop and chat.

"Show me that light, baby. Blind me with it," he commanded.

I watched his head drop and his shoulders pushed my thighs opened wider. It only took that first touch of his mouth to send me over. All the while, Merrick watched.

He spent the rest of the day and well into the night, making love to me, worshipping me the way I worshipped him.

 It was when neither one of us could keep our eyes open that I realized, being broken doesn't mean it's the end. Cracks can be filled with new paths, new friends, new love, and a lot of sweat and blood.

If anything, being broken is kind of a beginning.

And ours would last a lifetime.