Loud barks woke her up out of her slumber – incessant and demanding – causing her to groan.
She didn't feel very well rested, moving to shove her face into the opposite pillow. "Otto, not right now, Mama needs to sleep."
The fur ball didn't get the hint and barked louder, she could only whine in annoyance. Forcing her eyes open, she gave the hopeful dog a narrowed stare, he was waiting at the foot of the bed for her.
"Is he tryna steal you away from me already?" The familiar voice entered the room as she snapped her head over to the door. "Cheeky little bastard never did like to share your attention."
After her breakdown, he had gotten her situated for bed and they went to sleep together. He held her close to him the whole night, letting her lay on top of him.
If he was being honest, he had gotten no sleep, feeling rougher than she did. However, her mental state mattered more to him than sleep and he was happy to be uncomfortable for her sake.
Coming in the room from the balcony door, she gave him a heavy regard. Then her eyes were flickering onto the bedside alarm clock and she was certain they almost bulged out.
"Oh my gosh, it's four in the morning," Mona said in horror, she snapped her attention back onto his. "No wonder I feel like acid had been poured into my eyes, I'm exhausted. Why are you awake, habibi?"
Habibi.
He sat down on the edge of the bed as the sentiment washed over him, it had been so long since she called him that.
"Couldn't sleep." With a pause, he decided to let Otto onto the bed and watched the sleepy dog curl up into the very middle. He then got into the bed, under the covers and reached for her. "I went for a smoke outside."
She frowned at that, not liking his casual reply. She didn't like knowing he smoked, it always worried her.
He placed her onto his lap, putting the blanket over them as he rested against the headboard. Since he was so much taller, he rested her head on her shoulder and came a little closer, feeling her soft belly with one of his large hands.
Cuddling into his arms, she put her head back on his chest, reaching in to find one of his hands. The sleepy man closed his eyes above her, relishing in her touch as she grazed over his skin.
Her fingers seemed to be on his ring finger, deliberately stroking the area where he had ink.
The room was dark, void of any light.
"Are we just going to pretend that you didn't get more tattoos? I thought your hands and neck were a big no-zone. What about work?"
"I realised I don't give a shit." He replied, still eyes clamped shut and his controlled breathing following through. "Why – you don't like them?"
She pursed her lips in heavy thought. "One of them is my name and the other is my date of birth." She pointed out, ever so bluntly.
They hadn't even been in contact and he was getting her tatted on him. It was truly insane.
He hummed, agreeing. "Ah, so you can read. Congrats, baby, I'm proud of you."
Mona bit back her smile, nudging his stomach with her elbow as she moved her head to the side to catch his face. His face was a lot less tense when he was tired, she found herself staring at his lashes, nose, and lastly, his lips. She looked at those for the longest time before she bravely leaned up, bringing her lips over his.
She left a soft peck there, speaking into them. "I like them. I think it's really sweet of you."
"Every time you use the word sweet to describe me, I swear my dick loses an inch." He murmured into her hair.
She smiled softly. "But you are sweet though. Really, really sweet. What kind of guy would drive three hours down for my missing dog, and search on foot for six if he wasn't sweet? We hadn't had one real conversation in over five months at that point."
"Yeah, well, Otto going missing is serious. Dalia runs away every other week but that dog is loyal, he's always by your side so I figured it was deep enough."
At the mention of their loveable rogue, she looked away from him to find the German shepherd curled in the middle of the bed. He was close enough for them to touch, his sleepy self snoring away.
She couldn't help but stare at him, a flood of wholesome memories seeping in.
This time, Heath was the one to break the silence. His chest rumbled low as a thick, raspy tone circled in her ears.
"There's actually one last present I forgot to give you, and it's in the left pocket of my trousers," He didn't make a move to get up, snorting. "But I won't lie, I don't remember where that is right now."
She arched a brow. Now she was curious.
What else had he gotten her?
Her eyes wandered around that dark room before she found a pile of messy clothes on the side she slept on, "It's on the floor, I can see it."
Heath grumbled in response, not moving. She could tell he was drifting off into unconsciousness, and with an eye roll, she managed to lift herself.
She didn't pull the covers off her, rather inclining toward the lazy way. Crawling to the edge so that she balanced herself, she reached down.
With a lot of careful precision, she eventually grabbed a leg of the trouser and slid it towards her. A breathy noise escaped her lips and she was finally tugging it up.
She fell back into his warmth and pressed firmly against his naked chest. Wordless, she patted the material, searching for the left pocket and when she found it, she dug her fingers inside.
She felt a small box, taking it out and the velvet material seemed to be a square shape and thin.
She frowned, opening the lid and gold is what filled her vision first. Bringing it up to her eyes, she took the gold chain in. There was cursive writing and she didn't have to read it to know what it said.
It was in Arabic after all.
She lifted up the chain, watching the light reflect off the necklace from the very little moonlight that seeped in through the crack left by balcony doors.
Her eyes started to flutter in rich emotion as she snapped her head over towards the half-asleep man again. "Really?"
"Hm."
Her sweet, questioning tone was one he recognised, he knew then that she had opened the gift.
Mona's face broke out into a wide smile and she was pulling it out of the box. "Put it on." She told him, forcing him to finally open his eyes.
He guessed she liked it.
A grunt escaped his mouth as she came flush against him, sitting upright. He shuffled further up, moving his hands in front of her to take the chain.
"You can't go into the toilet with it, or at least it needs to be covered. I think that's what I was told."
He was positive she knew that already but he was making sure he wasn't gifting her something that made it harder for her to keep her faith.
Heath brought it over her head and clasped it together. When the necklace sat on top of her sleep shirt, her hand instinctively shot up to graze the letters. A sentiment so small and yet it meant everything to her.
It was her connection to her God, glory and praise all went to the very word written across her neck.
He leaned over her shoulder from behind and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. It made her stomach erupt in nerves and something more, she leaned further into him, allowing his strong arms to wrap around her.
Unable to get the words out, her head tilted again and she was capturing his lips in a loving embrace.
He reacted to the abrupt kiss in time, his hand snaking up to hold her face.
When she pulled away, her heavy breaths were still on his tongue. "This is what I mean when I say you're sweet." She mumbled.
He chuckled darkly, sinking back again. He brought her with him, playing with her hair. His hands were lost in her curls, eyes staying on her face.
"Another inch gone, baby." He warned in a teasing way. "And they're your inches too, trust me, you don't want me to lose any more."
Her laugh was light and in the air. She shuffled around so that she was on her front, her hands on his chest whilst her face rested on her crossed-over forearms.
They both knew he had no fear about losing his 'inches', he was more than well-hung and that was very evident.
Heck, she could still feel the effects of his huge length and it had been a few hours now.
"You know, now that I'm wide awake, we should probably talk about what happened."
Her statement was cryptic and oh-so vague.
Heath rose a brow. "We should?"
"Mhm. You came inside of me."
Feeling that guilt return, he cleared his throat. "You, uh, you told me to." She noticed his apprehension and her bottom lip was pulled into her mouth.
"I know and that's not what the issue is." She assured, her calm nature making him relax a little. "I'm not on the pill."
He gave her an odd look, his brows furrowing together. "What do mean you're not on the pill?"
"Heath, I haven't been on the pill in years." She told him, giving him an empty look. "I stopped taking it because we weren't having sex, why on earth would I need to take something that makes me overly hormonal for no good reason."
"Alright. Okay, it's fine. I'll go get you Plan B as soon as I wake up a bit more. I'm still half asleep, hayati."
"That isn't what I'm worried about."
"What is it then? I mean we've never used protection before, did you want me to use a condom? Baby, is that what's bothering you?"
The clueless man was getting nowhere and she held back her groan. "I don't even know if you're clean or anything and I let you come inside of me."
Her words seemed to strike him hard, his jaw becoming tight. "Wait. You really think I'd be that sleazy to fuck you raw while having something?"
She fell silent as her own words registered with her, her eyes found his. "Well, when was the last time you had sex?" She questioned, wanting to know. "Because I want to be sure I'm fine."
"Mona. I used protection, I wouldn't have fucked without a condom. You're fine."
"How long ago was it?"
When he realised she wasn't going to budge, his eyes clenched shut and he let out a throaty murmur. "You know I'm working on it. I wouldn't have touched anyone if I was able to touch my own dick. Hayati, come on."
"I'm being serious, Heath. I'm not mad or anything, I just want to know when the last time for you was."
Weighing out the options, he was at a loss when he knew there was only one thing left to do. He needed to be honest and open with her.
"I don't know." He swallowed hard, a bitter taste marking his tongue. "Probably a little over three weeks."
Three weeks.
That burned in her skull and he felt her stiffen in his arms. And just like that, her understanding nature was slipping.
She bobbed her head in a small nod before she raised herself off him and she was turning to her side. His eyes shot open to find her moving under the covers, her back to him.
"Mooni, don't be sad about that. I'm sorting it out in therapy, I told you it's more fucked up than it should be. I'm sorry. I promise you I'm clean, I wouldn't let anything like that happen to you."
She shook her head, not wanting him to see her face.
"It's fine. I just, uh, I just need a moment."
Not wanting to be triggered since he was trying to get help for it, she couldn't help but feel upset. It came in waves but it was enough to overwhelm her.
Shuffling down, he didn't wait long to engulf her body in his arms again. He pulled her into them as they both laid there on their side.
Spooning her from behind, his presence seemed to calm her racing heart down just barely.
They managed to sleep like that, both of them exhausted out of their minds to do anything else.
〆
The poor cows deserved some much-needed TLC.
She let out a loud squeal as the hose lowered in her hand, it appeared the wash was appreciated as she was splashed in the face. "Betsy!"
His chuckle was loud, mocking behind her. "I told you to do her last, she makes it her mission to return the shower."
Mona rolled her eyes whilst the entertained man turned the hose off for her and she faced him.
It was morning now and the chores had begun. He had taken the role of making them breakfast while she got ready for the day and after eating breakfast together, he was helping her on the farm.
It was a really nice day, the summer sun beaming down on them. She opted to wear some denim shorts and a tank top that went into a bodysuit so she could work without having to fuss about it. Her trainers were rather practical and dirty.
"I just showered and now my hair is already ruined." She huffed, her hands flying up to brush her frizzy turning curls down.
His brown eyes took in the sight of her drenched in water and his lips curled upwards.
"Still beautiful to me."
Her eyes narrowed, hands falling to her side. She shook her head. "Of course, you'd say that. You would think that even if I was covered in cow shit."
He winced, pretending to imagine that and then said, "nah, I'd prefer it be horse shit. You'd look way hotter."
"Weirdo." Mona's laugh was hearty, closing in on him. "You're done with the coop already?"
He nodded.
She was more than relieved to hear that, they were basically all done. She just needed to pasteurise the milk from the morning and with that in mind, she moved out of the cattle shed.
He followed her out, wearing a casual cotton t-shirt and straight-leg cargo pants. She was happy he was big on his style, finding it amusing that he most likely had clothes in his car.
Mona gave him a look behind her shoulder and said, "Did you pack clothes knowing you would be staying here for your three weeks off, Heath?"
His face went hard, a tint of red rising up his neck. "Uh, no."
"Liar. I didn't even notice you showered and changed into a fresh set of clothes." She snorted, and they came outside, looking out at the cut grass and the empty washing line she had put out. "I'm beginning to think you think I'm easy."
They had a drier but she sometimes chose to dry her delicates on the washing line.
Heath stood next to her, and they both looked on ahead, overlooking the entire place.
"I would've slept in my car and visited you every day, baby. I didn't expect you to let me sleep in the bed, it wasn't like I planned it."
She glanced at him, hearing no sense of deceit in his tone. "So you would sleep in your car if I told you that you can't stay over?" She wondered, judging his entire demeanour.
"Yeah." He paused, flickering his attention onto her. "Why? You want me to? I'll do that. Shit. Fuck. I should've asked if it was okay with you anyway."
Tugging on her bottom lip between her teeth, she released it and grinned wide. "I just wanted to know but it's fine with me. You can stay. Although maybe you should sleep in the guest room."
He didn't think twice, replying. "That's cool. I mean I'm good with that, I can do that."
He was stupidly sweet, she thought again, figuring his awkward replies were unplanned.
"Although, I hope that doesn't mean those letters you were leaving me are over now. I kinda enjoyed reading one every morning with my breakfast."
More awkward tension radiated off the usually composed man, he looked down at her. She liked the letters, he noted.
He had been worried that it would put her off him, that maybe she'd think his soppy notes were too much.
But no, she liked them.
However before he could tell her he wouldn't stop if she truly liked them, they heard a faint sound coming from the distance.
Both of their heads turned, and the image of the leggy brunette in a tight sundress was running over from the other end.
"Oh, howdy there neighbours! Who knew I'd get to catch the two of you together!" For fuck sake, he thought. "You two aren't busy, are you? I was hoping we could all talk."
His face fell as Mona's blunt voice shot back over to the young woman.
She wondered how she spotted Heath but then she realised she probably saw his car parked on her driveway and a feigned smile decorated her face.
"Hey, Dove. Why don't you come in for some tea?"
He tried to shoot the woman next to him a look that said 'what the fuck are you doing' but she was too busy to notice it.
She had already done the damage and invited the very woman he had been avoiding inside.