Twenty-Five
Parker
A month has gone by. Time seems to be going at a rapid pace. One minute it feels like I just found out she’s pregnant, and the next she’s got a small bump where life grows within her. Every day I stare at her in awe, the love I have for her growing stronger than I ever thought possible.
"The house is empty," I murmur in Tora's ear, as the first light of sun begins to filter into the bedroom.
"Sleeping," she mutters.
"Not anymore."
I skate my hand up her bare hip, to the curve of her waist, and up to her supple breast. With a quick stroke of her nipple, Tora moans and pushes her ass into my already hard dick. We sleep naked. Always naked. This way, I can slip into her slick heat whenever the mood strikes us.
Moving my hand down to the juncture of her thighs, I dip a finger into her, finding her already wet. "So ready for me, sweetheart."
I slide another finger in, pumping them in and out of her a few times before moving them up to her clit to get her wet all over. My fingers glide over her, quickly working her up into a frenzy.
She's been lucky so far this pregnancy and so have I. No morning sickness, only exhaustion, and holy fuck, it's like someone flipped a switch and turned her sex drive from a ten to a fifty. She wants it all the time. Even when she's tired, she perks right up at any mention of us making love. And the new trend is her waking me in the middle of the night, grinding against my dick to make me hard, then riding me until we both come. There is zero objection from me. I've never been happier in my life and it's not just the sex. I have my Tora and she's pregnant. Brant is dead, and Blair is safe. I feel like I'm finally able to relax for the first time in years. I didn't realize how awful I felt until everything became right with the world. It was very eye-opening.
With my chest pressed to her back, I lift her leg to rest on mine, opening her up for me. Taking my cock in my hand, I slip it against her from behind, not inside yet, only getting myself nice and ready for her. With a few pumps of my hand, I'm covered in her wetness. Lining myself up, I drive home.
I moan as her walls clench down on me. She reaches back to grip my hips and keep me pressed to her. Each languid thrust slowly stokes the fire between us until we're close to a mindless frenzy of need.
I roll Tora to her stomach, putting a pillow under her hips, and push her legs apart to reach her deeper. My arms keep my weight off of her as she lifts herself up further to get better contact. Her hands fist the sheets, my dick rubbing her just right.
She pushes her face into the sheets and screams out as her orgasm rocks her.
"No, don't muffle your cries, sweetheart. There's no one here anymore. Only us. I want to hear you scream," I tell her in between pants of breath.
She turns her head and lets out a string of words I've never heard her use before. Very dirty and so fucking sexy words. It's my undoing. I slam into her over and over until a chill races up my spine, and I come so fucking hard that my arms shake at the force of it.
I collapse to her side when I have nothing left, sweat beading on my forehead, heart racing with the speed of a thousand horses.
We spend a few moments catching our breaths, me peppering kisses from one of her shoulders to the other.
"I love you," she tells me.
"I love you, too."
I smack her ass before getting out of bed. "Do you want to go back to sleep or do something today?"
She turns to me, her eyes raking me from head to toe and back again. "Are you going to put some clothes on?"
"Only if we leave the house. Outside of that, I don't think so." I lift my chin. "I think we should be naked all the time."
"I don't know how good my ass would feel bare on the dining chairs.”
"I'll fold a blanket to put on the seat."
"And in the middle of winter when it's freezing?"
"That's what the fireplace is for."
She smiles. "You're really trying to sell me on being naked all the time, aren’t you?"
"You bet your ass I am. It's a fantastic idea."
"What about when my belly is huge and I'm waddling instead of walking? I don't think anyone is going to want to see that."
Staring into her eyes, I try to convey how much love and adoration I have for her. "It doesn't matter how big you are, or how you walk, I will always want to make love to you. Day, night, every hour, your body is a work of art and I'm helpless to do anything but treasure it."
"What book did you get that out of?"
"No book."
"You were reading one of Blair's books, weren't you?" How the hell does this woman know me so well? I need to play this cool.
"I was not."
"Cecily's husband's name is..."
"Christopher."
She jumps up and points her finger at me. "Ha! I knew it!"
I slap my hand over my face. "Fuucckk."
She grips my hands with hers. "Do you know what this means?" I shake my head. "We can talk about book boyfriends!"
"Like hell we can! I'm not discussing these books with you."
"You most certainly are, or I'm going to tell Blair you're a secret stalker of hers."
I smirk. "Who do you think gave me the books?"
She gasps. "You're a closet romance reader! You love the HEA!" I even know that HEA means happily ever after. I’ve been reading too much romance. I can’t help it! I’m hooked!
"I don't just crave the HEA, I need it. Did you read her last book? What the hell kind of ending was that?"
Tora pats me on the head like you would a child. "It's called a cliffhanger and Blair is so evil. She loves torturing her readers with them."
I collapse on the bed, resigned now that my secret is out. I point at Tora. "You can't tell Revere."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"Or anyone else for that matter."
Tora lifts her hand and makes an X over her heart. "I swear." Then she laughs and lies down beside me. "I can't believe you've been reading Blair's books. Where are you hiding them? I would have noticed if paperbacks were lying around."
"App on my tablet."
"Very sneaky. You look like you’re busy working, when in reality, you're reading hot romance books. I think I just fell more in love with you."
I quickly move to lay myself over her, my eyes peering downward. "You can't fall more in love with me. I already have your whole heart."
Reaching up, she brushes her hand over the scruff of my cheek. "You do and have since I first laid eyes on you."
I kiss her sweetly with no tongue. The last thing I want right now is to work her up again. I'm not in the mood for sex after accidentally revealing my fascination of romance novels.
It all started when I read Blair's non-fiction story about herself. After that, I wasn't only beaming with pride for her, but I was pulled into her story and lost in her words. So, I asked her about another one of her books and she sent it. Well, one thing led to another and I have every one of her books on my tablet. I'm just being the supportive best friend. Right? Well, that's what I tell myself. In the back of my mind, the reality is that's not why I'm reading these. I have to know what happens once I start the book.
I pull back from Tora. "I need to do something manly."
"All those romance books getting to you? Too many sex scenes and secret looks of longing making you want to chop down a tree or something?"
"You could tease me less," I state seriously.
"I could, however, I don't think so."
"Wicked woman."
"I need to run home today. I need more clothes. It's like every day I get bigger. My jeans don't close anymore."
"Grab all of your stuff and bring it here." She sleeps in my bed every night and half of her wardrobe is already here.
"That's a lot of stuff," she laughs.
I lie by her side and shrug. "Move in."
Her eyes widen then narrow. "Is that your way of asking me to move in with you?"
"Sure." I smile.
"Well, it was shitty. It wasn't even a question but a statement."
"Fine. Dearest Astoria Livingston, would you please pack all of your belongings and move into my house?"
She rolls her eyes. "I'm here almost every hour of every day."
"That you are. And I don't want you living somewhere else. I want you right here beside me, so I can touch and talk to you whenever I want. And so I can run out all hours of the night to appease any cravings you have, thanks to the little one inside of you."
"How long is it going to take you before you refer to our baby as babies?"
"Shit, I'm sorry. I keep slipping. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that there are two of them in there."
"You and me both. I'm going to be a walking house soon. Parker?"
"Yeah, sweetheart?"
"Would you mind if we find out the sex of the babies? I know I said I didn't want to, but we have a lot of ultrasounds coming up, and I feel like I need to be more prepared now that there will be two of them. There's only so much green, yellow, and other gender neutral colors out there."
I smile wide. "Hallefuckinglujah. I get to see what we have in there so my mom can go shopping. She’s been making me insane. Don’t be surprised if half the baby boutique in town ends up at our door one day."
She chuckles. "Yours and mine."
Tora's mom has warmed up a lot since she found out her daughter could have been killed and is now pregnant with twins. She's not as formal and stiff as she once was. And if I'm not mistaken, her dad likes her much better this way. I catch them every now and then, when we’re over there for dinner, making eyes at each other like they are newly in love. Maybe they are. Maybe her mom wasn't always so strict and formal. Maybe she's finally back to the way she used to be. No way for me to find out for sure. It's not something I’ll ever ask. I need to stay on their good side, not go digging down memory lane trying to find out what they were like before they got married.
I smack Tora’s ass again. "I'm going to make you breakfast." She cocks an eyebrow at me. "Okay, make isn't the right word. I'm going to call the diner in town and have them make you breakfast. I'll go pick it up."
Standing, I reach for my phone. I'm no cook and we order out often. Tora does like to cook but she's growing two lives in there. I don't want her wearing out. If I can help save some of her energy for other things, namely ones that involve both of us in bed, against a wall, or in the shower naked, then I'll do what I need to so she conserves what little energy the babies haven't sucked out of her.
"You’re going to put clothes on when you drive into town, right?" she asks.
"What? You don't think the Arrow Falls morning crowd would appreciate me showing up wearing nothing but a smile?"
"Considering that morning crowd is mostly over seventy years old, no."
"Hey, I've seen those women look at me."
"Like you're crazy and drive too fast?"
"No, like they fantasize about me when they’re with their husbands."
"You’re delusional!"
"I've seen the way Mrs. Walters looks at me. She bit her bottom lip once while raking me over. No lie."
Tora covers her face with her hands. "Yup. You've definitely lost it."
"I blame Blair's books. My damn mind is always in the gutter now."
She laughs. "It was in the gutter long before you read those books."