Now and Forever
By Misha
Disclaimer- I don’t own any of the characters in this story, they belong to Pixelberry. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them unharmed.
Author’s Notes- This is a response to a prompt challenge for Liam and MC (Eleanor) using the lines “it’s three in the morning” and “you make me things I can’t have”.
Rating- Mature
Pairing- Liam/Eleanor (MC)
Summary- Liam is plagued with doubt, Eleanor sets out to reassure him.
Words- 958
I shifted in bed, half-awake, and then moved to fully awake when I encountered an empty space where there should be a warm body.
I sat up and saw that instead of next to me in the bed, Liam was standing by the window, staring out at the moonlight.
I glanced at the clock. “Liam? Why aren’t you in bed, it’s three in the morning.”
“I can’t sleep.” He said without turning to look at me.
I got out of bed and moved over to the window, wrapping my arms around him. “Want to talk?”
“Not really.” He admitted as he gently shifted, so that I was in front of him, and then he leaned down and kissed me. It was a deep, almost desperate kiss. It reminded me of the way he had kissed me before he had chosen me, when he hadn’t been sure he’d be able to keep me.
“Are you really happy with your choice, Eleanor?” He asked once he broke the kiss, his hand still resting on my back. “Do you want to be my wife?”
“Of course I do.” I assured him. “I love you Liam.”
He smiled, but it was tinged with sadness. “I know. What I should have asked was do you want to be Queen?”
That was a harder question, for sure. I wanted to be Liam’s wife more than anything, but queen? When I had first come to Cordonia, the whole thing had seemed like out of a fairytale. Liam and I’d had this instant connection and I wanted to pursue and there was something romantic about pursuing a prince. By the time reality, and the enormous responsibility of being queen, sunk in, I had fallen so desperately in love with Liam that I was willing to do anything to be with him.
“I want to be at your side.” I answered honestly. I wasn’t sure what type of queen I would make, but I would do my best to be a good one because that was what Liam needed.
“You say that now,” he said quietly, “but what if one day you wake up and realize everything you’ve given up to with be with me?”
“I know exactly what I’m giving up.” I told him. “Liam, what brought this on?” We were only a few weeks away from our wedding, why was he having doubts now?
“A conversation with Regina, a pointed comment from Madeleine, an innocent one from Hana and an e-mail from my brother.” He answered, releasing his sold on me. “In their own way, they reach reminded me that this isn’t your world and that I’m not offering you any compromise, I can’t meet you halfway, I just need you to fit in.”
“You never lied to me.” I reminded him. “I always know what I was getting into. I just happen to think you are worth it.” An awful thought occurred to me. “Do you regret choosing me?”
“Never!” He said adamantly, pulling me towards him again. He kissed me and I could feel all of his longing and desire for me. “I love you Eleanor, more than I ever imagined possible. You’ve changed my entire world and I just… I can’t bear the thought that I may one day make you unhappy.”
“You will,” I told him honestly and watched him frown, “and there will be times when I make you unhappy. It’s unavoidable. The goal is simply to make each other happy more often than we make each other unhappy.”
“I just wish I could give you another life,” He admitted, “I’ve never wanted that for myself, until now. Until you. You make me want things I can’t have, Eleanor. A life without rigid expectations and rules, where you are free to come and go as you please, where you can make personal decisions without approval. The kind of life my brother has with Maya, that you could have with anyone else.”
“I could have that life,” I agreed, “I could go back to New York tomorrow and resume my old life. Maybe I’d fall in love again, get married, have a couple kids. But there would be a whole in my heart. Wherever I went, I would miss you. I would remember you.”
I slid my hand between us, trailing my fingers over his hard stomach. “I would remember the way you feel beneath my hands,” I leaned up and gave him a quick, rough kiss, “I would remember the way your mouth feels against mine,” I kissed my way down his neck and shoulders, my fingers still lightly tracing his abs, “the way your skin tastes,” I slipped my hand beneath the waistband of his pajama pants, “and I’d remember the way you say my name whenever I do this.”
“Eleanor!”
“Maybe I’d fall in again, maybe I’d have an easier life, but it wouldn’t be a better one.” I told him as I continued to caress him intimately. “Because you’d haunt me for the rest of my life.”
Liam groaned and tugged at my hair lightly until I released my grip and then pulled me up into a hard kiss.
“I can’t let you go,” he whispered against my lips, “even if it would be the best thing for you.”
“It wouldn’t. You’re the best thing for me,” I told him, “I am yours. Now and forever.”
He swept me off my feet and swung me into his arms, carrying me over to the bed. He placed me down gently and pulled my nightgown over my head. “I will do my best to make sure you never regret that.” He vowed, his hands caressing my bare skin. “Because I can’t give you up. Not now, not ever.”
- Fin
