I slam it shut with one quick flip of my wrist. "I'm never too busy for you."
"You're charming." She smiles at me from the doorway.
I smile back relishing in how beautiful she looks wearing tattered sweat pants and one of my football jerseys. Her hair is pulled into a high ponytail on her head. "Tell me what I can do for you."
She cocks a brow. "I wouldn't even know where to start with that."
I run my tongue over my bottom lip. I haven't made love with her for days. The last time was when I ate her out before she confessed everything to me. I want her so badly. I ache for her touch but I want her to heal. I want her to feel strong enough to share herself with me in every way. "You know I'll do whatever you want me to do to your body."
"That hasn't changed?"
I can't digest the question. "What do you mean?"
"You don't want me any less now that you know?" Her gaze falls to her bare feet.
"That I know that you're a mother?"
"Yes," she whispers under her breath. "You haven't tried to fuck me since that night."
"Jessica." Her name escapes me in a breathless whisper as I rise from my chair. "My body aches for your body every minute of the day. That will never change."
Her brow furrows slightly at my response. "I felt like everything was different."
"Why?" I take a few strong strides across the room until I'm standing directly in front of her. "Why would you feel that?"
"You've been so quiet." Her hands reach for the collar of my shirt. "You've come into your office every night to work."
"It's been an adjustment for us both." My hands circle her waist. "My feelings haven't changed at all. I think I love you more actually."
"More?" She dips her head to catch my gaze. "How can you love me more?"
"I don't think I can explain it."
"You c
an try," she counters. "Please try."
I can sense how important this is to her. She needs to find comfort in my love for her. She tore herself open emotionally for me a few days ago. I have to show her that it was worth it. I need her to see that I cherish and love her even more now.
I reach up to tap her on the tip of her nose. "The Jessica I fell in love with has a beautiful heart."
"I like that you think that."
"I don't think it, Jessica. It's the truth," I say, my eyes focused on hers. "You never gave up on me."
"I would never give up on you." Her hand drops to my chest. "I can't, Nathan."
I pull her hand into mine. "I saw something in you that I've never seen in anyone before." The inference is any other woman. We both know it. I don't have to tell her. She understands that in my eyes, there isn't another woman walking this planet that compares to her.
"You still see that now?"
I reach forward and graze my lips over hers. "When you told me about your baby… I mean your daughter," I stammer. "When you told me about her I saw a part of you that I didn't even know was there."
"What part?" Her hands grip tightly to the front of my shirt.
"You're so fucking strong." I smile. "You're the strongest person I've ever met."
"I'm not strong." She slaps her hands across my chest. "I'm not strong at all."