“They’re going to love you,” Thomas ensures as we stand from our seats.

I’ve never flown so much in all of my life, and this time I’m headed toward the complete unknown. The past two weeks have been busy, but exciting. We’ve been packing up Thomas’ house in preparations to move into our new place. Both escrows are supposed to close on the same day, and I cannot wait.

I’m so excited for the future. Once we’re all moved in, then it will be time for Christmas, then our small courthouse wedding, then Thomas’ new job. Everything is so new and exciting around every corner.

“You say that, but I know what my family was like and I just can’t imagine yours will welcome me with open arms. Especially so soon after separating with Danielle,” I say as we walk toward baggage claim.

Thomas laughs, and I’m surprised by his reaction. Granted I don’t think his family loved Danielle, but still, she was part of their lives for almost twenty years. There has to be some kind of love there. “Sweetheart, seriously, they know all about you. They’re excited to meet you,” he states.

I watch as he takes our luggage off of the belt, and then he slings his arm around my shoulder. “Carter is waiting for us. You need to relax, Ines. I promise they will love you, for no other reason than because I love you. Once they get to know you though, they’ll love you because you’re amazing,” he says, dipping his chin and placing a kiss on the top of my head.

His words should ease my mind, and yet, they don’t. I don’t think that I will be remotely calm until after I meet them, and then probably not even then, either. I’m eighteen, his ex-student, and pregnant with his baby—I pretty much assume they’re going to think I’m some stupid-ass little girl.

“There he is,” a voice booms.

I jump slightly and turn to see the exact replica of Thomas walking toward us with open arms. Well, exact replica of what I think Thomas probably looked like twenty years ago. Carter Jacobson, Thomas’ younger brother.

“Carter,” Thomas chuckles, releasing his hold on me to embrace his brother. “I want you to meet, my Ines.”

Thomas releases his hold on Carter and takes a few steps back toward me. Carter reaches out his hand and I slip mine inside his, giving him a shake. “Nice to meet you, Carter. Thomas has told me about you,” I smile, my cheeks flaming hot from nervousness.

“He told me about you, too,” he winks, releasing my hand. “C’mon, Mom and Dad are dying to meet her.”

We follow behind him and Thomas takes my hand giving it a gentle squeeze. We make our way to Carter’s black SUV and pile into the back seat. There’s a petite blonde sitting up front and she turns around with her big bright blue eyes and her blinding smile. “Hey, I’m Sharee, Carter’s girlfriend,” she announces with a wave. We both say hello and Carter jumps inside and away we go toward the Jacobson’s house.

I really wish we were staying in a hotel, but Thomas assures me that it will be better at his parents’. That he has his own space, and that everything will be okay. I don’t know if I believe him, my anxiety is at an all-time high. Thomas presses his palm to my stomach, calming me down almost immediately.

Carter and Sharee talk all the way there, and Thomas interjects here and there but I stay silent, happy to just feel Thomas’ warmth against my belly.

I close my eyes and think back to when we went to my first doctor’s appointment. When we both saw our baby blob for the first time on the screen. Thomas immediately pressed his hand to my belly as we watched it move around. The heartbeat filled the room, and tears filled my eyes. It was amazing, and I thought I even saw Thomas’ eyes mist as well. I know that when the doctor handed him a photo he immediately stuck it in his wallet and I don’t think he’s taken it out.

“So, how long have you been together?” Sharee asks when there is a lull in conversation.

I sink my teeth into my lower lip and inhale a deep breath. “Just a few months,” I admit. She nods and explains that she and Carter have been seeing each other for a year, but this is the first holiday she’s been invited to join us.

Carter glances over at her and narrows his eyes slightly. “We were casual at first, you know that,” he grunts.

Sharee looks back at me and rolls her eyes. “He was casual at first. I never was,” she admits, and I’m surprised she’s saying it in front of him, but I can’t hold back my giggle from escaping.

“Aren’t they always?” I ask.

Thomas’ head turns quickly to look at me, lifting his brows. “Don’t look at me like that,” I scold with a wink. He grunts, but otherwise stays quiet. He knows that we were very much the same.

The drive to his parents’ doesn’t take much longer, and I feel much less anxious. I’m glad that Carter and Sharee came and picked us up, I now feel like I have an ally in Sharee when I meet Thomas’ father and the woman he considers his mother.

The SUV pulls up to a home, the street is lined with large trees and it seems so calm and serene, it’s in the city, and yet it feels as though it’s not. I’m so busy staring at the sidewalks, at the brick covered house, and at the trees that I don’t even realize when Thomas has the door open and his hand held out for me.

“Ines, come on, sweetheart.”

Slipping my hand in his, I allow him to help me out. I tug my sweater dress down, wondering if I should have worn something a bit looser. My cream-color dress is tight, and low cut, showcasing my breasts and my small baby bump. The leggings I have on are the best part of my outfit, they’re cranberry in color but they’re cable knit and so warm. My short booties are dark brown and Sherpa lined.

Thomas did not mess around when he said he was going to outfit me for the winter, I’ve never been so warm in all of my life. I tuck my camel color peacoat against my chest and grip Thomas’ hand as hard as I can.

“Calm down, angel eyes,” Thomas smiles.

I don’t even attempt to loosen my grip on his hand. I’m nervous as hell, and the calmness I felt before, it’s all but vanished. When the door swings open, I suck in a breath. It’s an older version of Thomas. It’s as though I’m standing next to Thomas twenty years ago on one side, current Thomas on the other, and in front of me is future Thomas.

I would have thought that that fact would scare me, but older Thomas is not a bad sight to see. His hair is still dark, only a bit of salt on the sides, there are a few more wrinkles at the sides of his eyes as well, but he’s still a very good-looking man.

“You must be Ines,” he grins, and he sounds exactly like my Thomas too, only there’s a bit more gruff to his voice. “I’m Gregory, but you beautiful, you can call me Greg,” he winks.

“Stop flirting with my woman,” Thomas barks, with a smile.

“Son,” Gregory says, I watch as he takes a step forward, and gives him a hug.

I soak it all in, a relationship between father and son, something I’ve never really seen before. I can’t help but hope that this is what Thomas and our baby will be like. Gregory releases Thomas, and then turns to me, embracing me as well.

I’m stiff at first, unsure of how I should react, but then I wrap my arms around him and just accept the hug. It’s warm and he smells spicy and I immediately relax. Every bit of nerves I had, completely disappear.

Gregory takes a step back, clearing his throat. “Okay, let’s get the girls inside,” he announces before he turns around and walks into the house. Thomas slides his arm around my shoulder and we follow behind Gregory together.

The house smells like pumpkin and cinnamon, my stomach growls at the scent and I’m inexplicably starving. Whatever Thomas’ mother is making, I want all of it, and now. “Jade’s in the kitchen, and normally on Thanksgiving, she sticks to her post, but I know she’s been dying to meet both of you girls,” Gregory explains and a few seconds later, she appears.

She’s gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Her dark hair is up in a perfect thick bun on top of her head. Her makeup is light, but precisely applied, her outfit looks comfortable, yet expensive. She’s wearing a pair of dark washed jeans, and a silky cream blouse that is tucked in with a sparkly belt around her narrow waist. On her feet, a pair of wedge booties. She definitely does not look like she’s spent or is about to spend the entire evening in the kitchen. No, she looks like she’s ready to go out to a nice dinner.

“Ines,” she breathes.

She makes a beeline for me and wraps me in her arms. I don’t stiffen, Gregory already having broken down a bit of my hesitancy and nervousness. I embrace her back, just as tightly as she has me. “You are absolutely gorgeous,” she whispers. “I’m Jade.”

Jade releases me and turns to Sharee, greeting her in similar fashion. Then, she turns to her boys. I can tell that she’s around the same age as Thomas, but just looking at their hug, and the way they smile at one another, it’s distinctly obvious that their relationship is mother-son.

“Well, now that I’ve met these gorgeous girls, I say it’s time you boys let them freshen up. We’re going out to dinner in two hours,” she announces.

“Wait,” Carter calls out. Jade turns her head to him and arches a brow. “You’re not making beef stroganoff?” he practically whines.

Jade shakes her head slowly, but it’s Gregory who speaks next. “Mom has been cooking all afternoon, she and the girls are going to make more food tonight, and then tomorrow it’s all day long. I thought tonight since the girls were here, we would have a nice dinner out.”

“But, you always make beef stroganoff the night before Thanksgiving,” he practically whimpers.

Thomas chuckles behind me and shakes his head. “How about as a compromise I give Sharee the recipe,” Jade offers.

Sharee sucks in an audible breath and Carter grunts. “Yeah, whatever, I guess.”

Jade smiles, reaching up to cup Carter’s cheek and shakes her head. “You’re spoiled, son. Take your woman upstairs, get her settled and let her get refreshed. We’re going out for a lovely dinner and we’re all going to get to know one another,” she winks.

Fifteen minutes later, Thomas and I are alone in his bedroom. “You know if my dad hadn’t sold our last house, this would have been a fantasy come true,” he murmurs as I open my suitcase.

I look up and see him leaning against a pretty dark stained dresser. “Your fantasy?” I ask, standing from my crouched position. I slowly make my way over to him and place my hands on his hard stomach, looking up into his blue eyes.

Thomas slides one of his hands up the center of my back, and tangles it in my hair, tugging my neck back. His blue eyes glitter, they almost blaze, looking down at me and I can feel his length harden against my belly. My own body responds, my thighs tremble and my pussy clenches.

“Yeah, sweetheart. I never had a girl up in my room, my dad was always pretty strict about that shit, even though he was a single parent. Then, Danielle refused to stay here when we came for holidays. So, yeah, my beautiful woman, naked in my teenage boy bedroom, would be hot as shit.”

I’m not able to respond to his words, his lips crash against mine and his tongue fills my mouth on a groan. My nipples tighten and my breasts ache with need, not to mention the sensation between my legs has me whimpering.

Thomas spins us around so that my ass is pressed against the dresser. Then he wraps his hands around my waist and pulls his lips away from mine, turning me around so that I’m facing the larger dresser mirror.

Ines is a mess, a gorgeous fucking mess. Her caramel eyes meet mine in the mirror and they’re wild—pure unadulterated untamed beauty—and she’s all mine. I lift up her sweater, exposing her legging covered ass, and then I yank her leggings down her thighs stopping when the material is gathered at her knees.

I quickly unfasten my jeans, shoving them and my boxers down my thighs. Sliding my hand up her back I tangle my fingers in her soft as fuck hair. I love touching her hair, feeling it against any part of my skin, but when I hold her like this, when I have all of the control, it’s empowering.

“Pull your top down. I want to see your tits in the mirror, sweetheart,” I demand.

I feel her body shiver against me and I let out a groan. I want to be inside of her, I want to fuck her and feel her warm tight pussy squeeze me until it almost hurts. I don’t move, instead, I watch as she quickly yanks her sweater and the cups of her bra down, exposing her tits for me, her tits that seem to grow larger every fucking day.

“Hold on,” I grunt, wrapping my fingers around her hips and pulling them back against the head of my dick.

Ines’ eyes never leave mine, they stay glued, connected to my own, as I bury myself all the way to the root in one quick motion.

“Thomas,” she whimpers.

I don’t fuck her, knowing that she’s not ready for me yet. I allow her body to stretch, to accept and accommodate me. When she moans and pushes against my hips, I know that she’s ready for more.

Tightening my grasp in her hair, I tug her neck back, watching it arch beautifully. Then, I pull out and slam back inside of her. I watch the dresser shake, uncaring if it’s damaged in some way. I’ll buy them a new one if I need to.

Ines’ tits sway with each pump of my hips, and I bite back the loud groan that almost escapes from my throat. Her pussy clenches and I know that she’s close, but she won’t fall over the edge, not until someone touches that pretty little clit of hers. I’m not ready to come yet, I’m enjoying her tits and the way her pussy feels wrapped around me far too much to end it quite yet.

“Thomas, I need more,” she begs.

My eyes lift from her chest to her face. She looks like she’s almost in pain, but I know it’s just that she’s close to toppling over the edge. “Not yet,” I grunt, my thrusts coming faster and harder. She grunts pushing against me and letting out a long low, moan.

“I’m so close, it hurts.”

I shake my head. I don’t want this to end, it feels too fucking good. She’s so on edge, I know that when she does come, that it’s going to be magnificent. “Hold out, angel eyes, you can do it.”

Her head jerks in a nod and she sucks in a deep breath, sweat beginning to drip down her face. I slip my hand from her hip and glide it over to her pussy, allowing it to hover above her clit. “Please, please Thomas. Please, Papi,” she cries.

I give in to her, I will always give in to my Ines. My fingers press against her clit and I fuck her hard, fast, and the dresser rattles until I still, filling her with my own cum and her thighs shake as her pussy clenches and pulses as she holds her head between her arms.

“Are you feeling relaxed now, sweetheart?” I ask, pressing my lips to the side of her neck.

She chuckles slightly, turning her head to brush her mouth against my own. “So relaxed, Papi. I just want to sleep, I want to curl in that bed, eat some pumpkin, anything, and sleep,” she smiles against my mouth.

“Pumpkin?” I ask, laughing into her mouth.

“Whatever Jade is making smells so freaking good, I want to eat all the pumpkin, everything.”

“Cookies, bread, and pie, that’s what she’s making with pumpkin,” I whisper.

“Oh fuck, I hope she made double. I think this baby is going to be pumpkin obsessed.”

Lifting my head, I let out a bark of laughter as I release my hold on her hair. “Let’s go take a shower and get dressed for dinner,” I suggest.

Ines nods, her eyes looking extremely satisfied, sated, and I feel like pounding my chest with pride because I put that look in her gorgeous caramel eyes.