CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Three Months Later
“You’re what?” Something clenches deep in my chest. Before I met Skye, I never felt this way—protective, worried, concerned. And that one word—it changes everything.
“Pregnant,” she whispers. She’s lying next to me in bed and holding one of those little white tests, the ones with the digital displays. I take it out of her hand, gingerly, like it might break into a million pieces or vanish into a cloud of dust.
Pregnant. 2-3 weeks.
“Shit. Look at that.” We’re in our bed, in the safety and quiet of this house we share together. I let the tears come to my eyes and wipe them away, unashamed. “You know, I never had this with Tabitha. It was like—an emergency. She was four months pregnant when we found out, and we were real lucky she was mostly clean during that time. We got married real quick at the courthouse, and we were all walking on eggshells until Brie was born. She was perfect. But we never had this moment.”
“When it was just exciting? Not anything else?” She looks at me with wide eyes, still naked from the night before, her leg slung over mine. She must have creeped out of be and taken a test before I woke up. I didn’t even know, but I was here, waiting for her, mere seconds after she took it. After she saw that word.
“Yeah. Something like that,” I say. Skye’s the one who has a way with words, but all of that memory poured out all at once. It floods over me right now—the mixed happiness and terror that comes when you have a kid too early with a woman you barely know. This—this thing right here with Skye—this is different. Entirely different.
“It’s still early,” she says. “I’m fucking nervous too. It’s not the same as with Brie, I know. But I don’t know. I’ve never done this before, and I have no idea what I’m doing. How to be a mom—”
“You already are one, my librarian. Brie hasn’t had one. Not one she remembers, anyway. She has this idea of her mom, but nothing else. You’re the one who’s been getting up with her for months when she wakes up at six in the morning. Packing lunches for camp and holding her hand when she crosses the street. I’d be fine on my own—”
“Sure,” she says, laughing. “I guess. I mean—you’d have to figure that shit out.”
“No, no. What I mean is—yeah, I’d be fine. But I wouldn’t be so goddamn happy all the time. I’d be surviving, making sure Brie got from place to place. You’re the one who’s mom.”
“I guess. I just haven’t had a baby before. And I don’t know what to do about work.”
I shrug, pulling her close into me. Her hair has a that light, tropical scent I noticed the first time I took her in. Her body, as always, feels small in my arms. Soon, she will be growing larger, carrying a life from both of us inside of her.
“I was thinking of selling the bar,” I say. “It’s in a prime location. Bunch of fucking hipsters are moving into that neighborhood anyway, and we’d get a big-ass pay out. You take the year off. Write your first book. Grow that baby. Go back when you’re ready. Or who knows—you could make it big and we’ll never have to worry about money again.”
She laughs and puts her lips to my cheek. “That’s why you married me, isn’t it? So I could write romance novels and make millions of dollars?”
“That’s the only reason,” I say, laughing. “It was purely a business decision. Nothing else.”
“Then I think your business sense sucks. You’re betting on an unknown.”
“Nah,” I say. I pull her body into mine. The sun will be rising soon, and with that, Brie will wake up. She always does. A morning person, totally unlike me. Everything has been changing though, and I find myself waking up just to be with Skye before Brie wakes. “It was a very good decision. For business and otherwise.”
I pull Skye on top of me, and she yelps, trying to pull the sheet with her. “No—oh my gosh—I already feel all weird and bloated and fat.”
I pull the cover away from her and hold her by the hips. I’m growing hard just looking at her. She’s fucking beautiful in the gray predawn light of the bedroom. “You’re more perfect now than ever, Skye. I always had this dream,” I start. But then I pause because it’s a little bit embarrassing, and that dream never really made much sense.
“What was that dream?” She puts her hands on my shoulders and bends down to kiss me. The warmth and silky softness of her body brings mine to life, and I pause, just feeling her against me for a moment.
“Just you,” I say simply. “It was about you, I think. I just didn’t know it.”
I let my hands roam over her trim waist and down her back to the curve of her ass. She’s utterly perfect. Her breasts even seem fuller than other were before. I bring my hands to cup them and pinch her nipples, rolling them between my fingers. She moans softly. Acting automatically, almost on instinct, she positions her body over mind and takes my cock in her hand. I sigh, bucking my hips up toward hers. At first, Skye never wanted to be on top—not beyond that first time we were together. But now, she takes that position by instinct. Now, she slides my cock inside of her, breath catching in her throat like it always does. I thrust upward to meet her, watching her as she sighs and starts riding me, her body falling into a steady, sweet rhythm.
She grinds her body against mine, and I watch as the flush rises over her chest. When she looks down at me, I see the lust in her gaze. Her eyes are hooded and hazy with it, her teeth biting one plump red lip. Her speed and rhythm increase, and I watch, patiently, as she begins to tip over that edge into the most beautiful oblivion.
Our wedding may have been fake, our relationship built on an impossibly shaky foundation, but the desperate, aching sound that comes from her is deeply, intensely real. She says my name, over and over, eyelids fluttering open and closed, her lips parted. I thrust inside her from below, filling her with each movement, riding her through her orgasm until she’s spent and falling against me. I roll over on top of her and pin her down, my hand on the nape of her neck. Her pussy is tight and hot, clenching me with each wave of her pleasure.
“I love you, Skye,” I whisper, tangling my fingers through her hair. Her locks are messy, fanning out on the white pillowcase like a halo. A surge of emotion rushes through me, fire rising in my core. I thrust hard inside of her, balls growing tight, and release, the flood of sensation filling every cell in my body for a moment before receding like a wave from shore.
Skye groans subtly, a soft sound from deep in her throat. She bucks against me again as I fill her, my body tired and spent. It’s quick—not complicated. We’re both quiet, hoping the noise won’t travel through the wall.
But this is the missing piece. It’s what I wanted but didn’t know I could have.
It wasn’t the women coming to my apartment, night after night. Nameless, forgettable. It was this—the contentment of waking up next to someone I love, a woman who keeps my family together, who puts me first. The woman strong enough to care for my child and carry my baby, fierce enough to keep me in line—and vulnerable enough to let me protect her and care for her as much as she needs.
“I love you too,” she mumbles, yawning. Her eyes close, and we lie in bed together. The air conditioning clicks on in the room, a low hum filling the room. I close my eyes and listen to it. In her room, Brie is stirring and starting to sing to herself, like she does every morning. There are footsteps in the apartment above us, the sounds of breakfast being made and served.
These are the sounds I might have thought boring before I ever met Skye. But here, with her, I realize these are the sound of a real marriage, of a life lived, a bond shared.
That echo of a dream comes back to me. It’s not all exactly the same, but the feelings are.
I lie beside Skye and close my eyes, buying a small slice of time before the day truly begins.
When we both wake, it will be the dream I’ve been waiting for, and I only hope that I’m part of hers as well.
This love will carry us far, for all the days of our lives.
Flip past Royal Beast to the very back of the book for a steamy deleted scene and a few details about Skye and Liam’s future together!