Emma woke up to Kyle softly kissing her neck, his hand cupping her still-flat stomach. Before she even opened her eyes, her lips curled into a smile and she felt herself stretching into his kisses.

"I can't believe we created a life that's inside of you right now," he told her in a gentle murmur. "You're still so tiny."

Emma chuckled. "I'll probably be tiny until four or five months," she said, cracking open her eyes so she could look at him. She had never seen him look awed before, like he was simply amazed by her, by the fact that he was going to be a father. 

He leaned towards her stomach. "Hey, little guy," he said to her stomach. "You gonna be a hockey player like Daddy? Huh?"

"The baby can't hear until I'm well into my second trimester, possibly the beginning of my third," she said with a grin. 

Kyle shrugged. "I don't care," he said. "I'm going to talk to him every day so he gets used to my voice."

Emma felt herself grin. "How do you know the baby is a boy?" she asked him, cocking her head to the side. "My gut feeling say it's a girl and since we know I'm only having one child, we both can't be right."

He shrugged. "Regardless," he said. "The baby will be graceful like Mom and gritty like Dad. And they'll be strong because we both are, in our own ways. Boy or girl, I'm happy. I'm excited. I've started clearing out one of my guest bedrooms to make a nursery."

"Oh, really?" she teased.

He nodded his head and placed a chaste kiss on her lips before trailing downward, caressing her jawline, moving back to the column of her throat. Further down, across her collar bone, towards her breasts. She held her breath, waiting. She loved when he caresses her breasts, took the nipples in his mouth and sucked like they were popsicles on a cold day. Her body twinged, her core dripped with moisture, just thinking about it.

"How did things go with your mother?" he asked her, stopping, just before her nipple. If she arched her back, her nipple would touch his mouth. She was tempted to do it, needed to feel him on her skin, not wanting to talk...

But this wasn't about just her. It was about both of them.

"It went as well as could be expected," she said in a strained voice. "She did tell me what I wanted to know but then she asked..." She sighed, feeling a heap of conflicting feelings swirl around in her chest, squeezing her heart. "She asked if she could be part of my life. Our life." She looked down at Kyle, tucking her chin down so she could lock eyes with him.

He tensed under her touch. "And what did you say?" he asked after a moment of hesitation.

She shrugged. She hated how their intimate moment was ruined by talks of her mother but it wasn't something she could help since Kyle wanted to know.

"I said I'd think about it," she finally replied with a shrug, picking her eyes up to look at Kyle. "As much as I want to blame her for leaving me and my dad - which I do - I'm not going to deny our child a relationship with her grandmother."

His lips quirked up and he cupped her cheek with his large palm and tilted her head black so he could look her in the eye. "That was very mature of you," he told her. That quirked smile slid wider onto his face as his eyes dropped to her stomach. "I can't believe that heartbeat." He shook his head in disbelief, his eyes going back to her stomach. "It was so strong. Like a church bell."

She felt her wrinkle her brow. "That was pretty deep," she said.

He pretended to be offended. "Are you saying I'm not normally deep?" he asked her before placing a kiss just underneath her ear. "I can show you how deep I can go..." He let his voice trail off and placed another kiss on the side of her throat.

She shuddered, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she let herself feel his caresses, his lips on her most sensitive parts of her skin. He always knew how to touch her in just the right way...

"Yes," she replied. "Please do."

She could feel him smile against her skin, which caused her to smile as well.

He trailed kisses down her chest before slipping over her nipple. She let out a garbled moan, arching her back up in order to get more out of him, to get closer to him. Her hand reached up to clutch the back of his head, her fingers losing themselves in his short blond hair. 

God, this felt so good.

How could she have taken him for granted?

When he finished with her right breast, he moved to her left one. More tingles shot up her spine as his left hand trailed down her curves until they reached the apex between her thighs. Without warning, he pushed past her folds and slid a digit into her opening. He grunted through his sucking, feeling how slick and warm and tight she was. She moaned again, tilting her hips up as though she was desperate for more.

And she was.

"Kyle," she gasped out. "Please."

She hated begging. Normally, refused to do it.

But she couldn't help it. Not when he was treating her body like a goddamn canvas and he was painting a picture with his tongue.

"Why are you in such a rush?" he asked her. "We have all the time in the world." He bent his head back down to capture a nipple in his mouth. She gasped, throwing her head back, forgetting whatever it was she was going to tell him.

He slowly slid his digit in and out of her, teasing her. She clenched her muscles around him and he stifled his own groan. She wanted him to think about what it would feel like once his cock was coated with her juices, inside her warmth, snug and suffocating. Judging by his reactions, he was doing just that.

She bit her lip, concealing another groan as he stuck his finger deeper into her.

Jeez, he always knew just how to touch her. She didn't even know how it was possible. All she knew was that he had the best hands in the league - something she could attest to personally. It wasn't long before he had her on bed, writhing, breathing heavily, and begging for release. Kyle did not respond to her pleading; instead, he kept his eyes focused on the task at hand, watching as he slowly inserted his finger inside of her before twisting it and pulling out. He seemed so fascinated by her slickness, by her core, by her body, that she felt as though she was some kind of goddess, a holy thing he worshipped with every ounce of his being. She didn't quite understand it because no one had treated her this way.

'Because you never allowed anyone to treat you this way,' the voice pointed out. 'You always kept your guard up, wary of anyone who wanted to tear it down. Until now, of course.'

Emma pressed her lips together, squeezing her eyes shut. She nearly reached down to take a chunk of Kyle's hair and pull on it just so he would allow her to release the pleasure he had been building up inside of her. It was too much. It was too painful for her to bear any longer.

Almost as though he could read her mind, he pulled out from her. She let out a strangled cry of protest, opening her eyes to glare at him when he was already on top of her, thrusting himself inside of her so quickly Emma barely blinked before she realized what happened.

She let out a groan that was surprised, satisfied, and relieved, all at the same time. Her hands immediately reached for him, her fingers sinking into his flesh. He hissed before nipping at her bottom lip with his teeth, growling at both the pleasure and the pain she was causing him.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered. "I just fucked you yesterday and it still feels like the first goddamn time."

She gripped him tighter, her thighs opening while her ankles locked around his hips, trying to position him deeper. Until -

Oh, yes, that was the spot.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she moaned, loosening her grip on him because she couldn't hold on. Didn't have the strength to release him but she couldn't get a grip - not when it felt so good.

"Kyle," she managed to get out. She couldn't formulate anything beyond that, however. Instead, she found his scalp again.

"That's right, baby," he murmured, his voice filled with longing. She loved when he talked dirty to her. "Fuck, I can feel you getting even wetter. Jesus, if you don't cum, I'm going to, so you better hurry up and take what's yours."

And there it was - her undoing. Her heart echoed through her head - the only sound she could hear - as she felt herself step off the precipice and fall into a world of pleasure.

 He followed shortly after but she barely noticed. She was lost in her world, feeling her body twitch and convulse. Her arms were limp like boiled noodles, her head was high in the sky, among the cloud.

When they finally finished, his head collapsed in her shoulder. He was careful not to place all of his weight on her, especially now that she was carrying his child, but he always liked to be close to her enough to breathe in the scent of her skin, to taste the sweat off her shoulder. 

Emma found it within her to wrap her arms around him, but it was difficult being so exhausted. She could barely keep her eyes open as she felt him nuzzle her neck, coil his arms around her waist and hold onto her possessively.

"I am so in love with you," he murmured into her shoulder.

Her lips curled up into a smile and she began to trace mindless patterns into his skin. She felt him shudder underneath his touch and smiled. It was still amazing to her, the sort of power she had over this strong hockey player. How she could bring him to his knees.

"It feels so good to finally fuck you without a condom on," he continued. "I know it's crass, but coming inside of you feels like home."

Emma snorted. "That was crass," she agreed, "but also romantic."

"Will you be there tonight?" he asked. He sounded so young, so vulnerable, asking her this question. He didn't look at her, keeping his eyes away from hers so she wouldn't be able to read them, so she wouldn't be able to see how much it meant to him that she was there and why it was so important that she was. He couldn't do this without her.

Well, technically he could. She knew he could. But there was something different with her. And Emma had been withholding herself from it, afraid it would disappear as soon as it was here. Like sand slipping through her fingers.

"Of course," she told him, running her fingers gently through his blond hair. "I'm always going to be there. Except when I'm giving birth, obviously."

He chuckled, his hand sliding from her hip to her stomach. "I've wanted to marry you six months into our relationship, you know. I'm pretty sure you weren't pregnant at that point."

Emma felt herself smile. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"Because I'm hoping you'll reconsider my offer and marry me," he replied.

Emma shook her head. "No," she told him. "You do not get to ask me to marry you right after good sex. How am I supposed to know the hormones aren't talking and not you."

"Fine," he said. "I'll ask when I'm not being tempted by sleep due to an amazing fuck. I do owe you another dinner at Dimitri's restaurant. The chicken yoki soup is delicious, you have to try it." 

Emma chuckled and shook her head. "Fine," she said, "but you need to focus on hockey and I need to figure out this whole thing with my mom, dancing, and deciding whether or not to say yes." Kyle's head snapped up and she grinned. "Just kidding." He placed his head back on her shoulder, seemingly placated. "For now, let's just enjoy this moment. There's no where I'd rather be than with you. Both of you."

And she meant it.