On Top of a Shell

                                    

                                          
Maysie eventually got over her rage in the shower. This limbo wasn't Ethan's fault, but it certainly was hers. She never defined what she wanted from him and he told her from the beginning that he willingly gave up his rights for the woman in question. 
That meant a lot of changes need to be made. The first of which was being willing to dress in front of him. Some nights, especially when she felt too warm, she'd wake up without a thing on and she'd steal blankets and hide herself away until she could get everything back on--it was a mental barrier. He'd caught glimpses of her naked for going on two years and never ran away. 
So she began by towel drying in front of him, daring Ethan to come to help her.
"Do you need help?"
"In due time."
He had to smile because she was so open to him, even without this mental declaration, he knew she came out of her shower a determined woman. "What are we doing today?"
"We are going down to the old beach to sit on the sand and have a real talk, for once."
"Why not here?"
"If we stay, I'm going to order your reluctant ass to fuck me until I can't walk."
"I don't believe you would." He said it with his usual smirk in place at the thought of her doing anything of the sort.
She saw red. Never in her life did she think that rage could come with an aura of wrath. "Mobo Ethan Abimbola get over here and put that damn dick of yours to use until I faint from exhaustion."
He stared at her shrewdly. "I can do that, but I think you want that talk more."
She titched in frustration. "Man, get up and do something. One will curb my rage and the other will give you some of that more you want."
Ethan got out of bed and kissed her forehead, then dressed in front of her with the same shamelessness that she had displayed to him. He shook his head because she still didn't seem to understand what he wanted with such an ultimatum, to think that the only thing he was after was her writhing in mindless abandon underneath him--although it was high on his list of priorities and had been for a long time.
Then he offered his arm to her, as he draped a sheet over his shoulder, "You said the beach, right? Out towards the spur?"
~~~
They walked along the shelf of the island to a place right before a massive drop-off into what should have been the sea. Ethan spread the sheet out and sat down, then patted the same between his legs. Maysie gladly sat down and he pulled her against him. 
They stayed quiet for a moment.  Maysie didn't know where to start. "Ethan, what do you want from me?"
"Everything." He said it simply, like it answered a damn thing for her. 
"I don't know..."
"I know you don't--and it would be unfair to make you understand when you weren't interested." Ethan sighed before trying anyway. "You had your heart set on a man you can't even be with before you met me. It drove you to put everything that you are into your work. Some of that was because you wanted to prove to yourself that you weren't crazy. And now, you know he's real but not available, turning to me for soothing."
Maysie traced her fingers over his arms, "I don't need to prove that you are real. You've been here this whole time."
"And I will be for years to come unless you run me off." 
"Why would I? You're my anchor." Maysie shook her head, as something she had talked to with Cleo years ago resurfaced.  "I remember telling Cleo that guys weren't interested in me because they spent so little time invested in me...and she said that people can't invest everything unless they have nothing else."
"You're getting close."
"I've thrown my spare time at you the whole way. I haven't been invested enough to be anything more to you."
"I told you that you weren't ready because you aren't into anything less than full commitment, like your father."
"But I couldn't because of Talon."  
"Life is more complex, the older you get. You could resolve things between you the next time you enter suspended animation, and I'm not asking you to quit loving him."
Did she love Talon? Was it just the idea of him?  "I'm not sure that I do."
"The idea of him, then. It doesn't change a thing because you're currently the only one connected to our galaxy. If it stays the same while we wait then it's like the boss' marriage contract. You cannot quit and he's forever in my way."
She sighed. "So what do we do? Go out on dates, spend time finding interests that aren't our jobs?"
"Some of that." Ethan. "Investing in me, building a future together--which doesn't mean giving up on work, not even this Talon--preparing eventually for children."
"Holy hell, you want to live a life with me." Maysie could remember sitting at her father's side at maybe the age of 13, contemplating deep concepts like more-than-love. Ethan--in his quiet way--said something similar in a museum. "You're talking more than the sacrifice you give to any woman you protect in the name of Édouard, don't you?"
"Yes."
"How long have you loved me? You didn't say anything!"  She turned around and settled on her knees, hands against his chest for balance. In the dim light, she needed to see the truth in his eyes. 
For once, his mouth didn't tighten--she half expected it to, but he was far more eagerly taking in the sight of her face like he hungered for this moment and was scared to lose its magic. It was overwhelming, begged for a sacrifice to make it stay for an eternity. How can a simple look from a man who meant the world to her hurt so much and soothe her at the same time? That need to answer his longing in kind almost made her miss the words that tumbled past such perfect lips. "I confessed years ago, olufẹ mi--my beloved. I also confessed how long you've been the one woman who pleased me greatly by being herself. It was forged in the strength it took for a young woman to risk her life on the neck of our destruction.  You put everything into a gamble for the future--and still do that. Why wouldn't I want a woman who is all in--and why would I settle for anything less than that from her?"
Unlike Maysie, Ethan didn't need her confession of love. He knew she'd have difficulty pointing to a point where she had fallen for him, and needed him to show he was as willing to risk everything--because he had not the whole time. He pulled her against him to claim those delicate lips, begging her to open up with little nips. That little sigh as she gave in was all it took for him to drink her in greedily, to give and take alike, to taste the sin that was her mouth--to feel her touch as an all-consuming awareness.
He began taking off her shirt, forcing them to break contact as she fell free from it. 
"Wait, here and now?"
No toughness, nothing hidden, he'd confess to anything in this moment. "I want the woman who was sacrificed to me, my full-grown Venus, right here on this shore in the same twilight that I found her in--with all that she's fulfilled in herself."
She flushed. "Damn. Is this why you fight to stay silent?"
He shrugged. "All it would have done is pushed you into something you weren't ready for."
She leaned into his chest and shivered slightly. "But it's a bit cold outside."
"I'll keep you warm enough...just let me have this one dream, olufẹ mi."
She nodded and his warmth consumed her.