The Way Back Home

Chapter Forty Three: Uninvited

"Awaken then." She told him sleepily, fighting back a yawn as she closed her eyes, leaning her head against his pectoral, listening to the reassuring bass of his heartbeat, the rumbling of his lungs within his chest.

Will kissed the top of her head, his nose burying into her knotted hair as he inhaled the floral fragrance of her soapy shampoo. His arms enfolded around her waist as she looked up at him with her trusting green eyes of gorgeous jeweled brilliance.

"'Did my heart love 'til now? Forswear it, sight. For I ne'er saw true beauty 'til this night.'" William recited the iconic line of Shakespearean prose as though each word was scribed to be spoken in the cadence in which he crooned them to her, truthful and sensual with each syllable a declaration of his unbreakable love for her.

His fingers ran through her voluminous hair as she smiled up at him with her trademark endearing blush, tempting him to kiss both of her cheeks with adoration as he smiled down at his beloved Emmanuelle. She pressed the tip of her finger to his own lips as his eyes wordlessly admired her reaction to his quoting one of the most romantic lines in English literature.

"That's the best you could come up with, Corporal? You're making me wanna fall asleep standing here." She was unable to with-hold a genuine yawn as her mouth widened for an intake of extra oxygen as her eyelids blinked open. She wobbled against him as a wave of tiredness made her legs buckle.

Will raised his eyebrows in that British way where she couldn't read his sudden stoic expression, yet she saw his lips turn into a subtly teasing grin as he chuckled at his Emmy. He bent down and swept her up off her feet, one of his arms cradling her knees and the other underneath her back as she instinctively enfolded her own around his neck and shoulders.

"Let me take you to your bed, darling. You must rest." Will's voice gently told her more as a concerned request rather than a domineering command.

She was too wiped out to protest being carried as she leaned her head on his shoulder, pressing her lips against his chiseled jaw and she nuzzled his warm neck. Listening to the heavy steps of his boots against the hardwood floor of her apartment, she closed her eyes, reveling in the familiar safety of William Schofield's arms as he took his time walking through her modest apartment. With his lither and sculpted musculature of his athletic body, she always marveled at how easily he could carry her and not make her feel like a burden.

Emmy's safe haven and shelter was in the strength of Will's arms, protecting and hiding her from all her fears and insecurities...

His lips brushed her forehead as Will made his way to the bedroom, cradling her to his chest, his arms holding her like they never wanted to release her from their hold again. He whispered in her ear as he stepped through the doorway of her bedroom. "I believe that quote Shakespeare wrote it for you, my Emmanuelle. Juliet holds not a candle to your beauty; for there is no comparison."

She blushed a cherry bright red at his words, already missing the feel of his arms as he carefully placed her on the bed, making sure she was leaning against the pillows. Emmy kept ahold of his hand as he leaned over her, his fingers lovingly swiping away stray strands of brunette hair from her face.

"Sleep without worries, my angel. I'll remain by your side to watch over you and guard you whilst you dream." Will stroked her blooming pink cheek with the back of his fingers, his softening gaze locked on her face as she fluttered her butterfly wing eyelashes, her body rising from the pillows as she reached up with her own small hand to Will's parade hat, removing it from his head and setting it onto the bedpost.

He stared in silent adoration down at Emmy as she leaned up and pressed her lips to his in a most passionate kiss, heated and all consuming in their reunion. Will's larger body began to gently set Emmy down against the pillows as he drew back, hovering over her, allowing for their eyes to meet again as her fingers reached to unbutton the collar of his uniform... then unfastening the buttons of his jacket, one by one.