Chapter 3
Finally, Hanson was done being away from his wife. He didn’t need more space. He needed to be with Lacey.
No matter what they went through in life, they could get through it together. Ever since their fight, things between them had felt very bleak. It was time to work with Lacey to make things better.
Sure, they had their problems, and weren’t always the best communicators. But he was exactly where he wanted to be. He loved Lacey and their son more than life itself, and no matter what, they could make it work. He was sure of it.
Besides, sleeping in a hotel without Lacey had been terrible. All the money in the world couldn’t buy the luxury that Hanson experienced waking up next to his wife. No place could ever feel like home without her there, and being apart from her just made him feel lost and adrift.
He decided to go back home and talk to her. But when Hanson got back to the house, it was empty.
“Hello?” he called out, but there was no answer.
The house was too quiet. With a toddler, there was never a moment of peace, so the silence scared him. What if Lacey had left? What if he had pushed it too far, staying away so long, and now, it was too late for him to make things right?
Hanson took out his phone and dialed Lacey’s number. She wouldn’t leave him, he told himself, but there was still a knot in the pit of his stomach.
“Where are you?” he asked when Lacey answered.
“Are you at home?” she asked without answering his question.
“Yes, baby, I am.”
“Oh, my God,” she said, and she sounded like she wanted to cry again. “I’m on my way to my yoga class. I dropped Liam off with my parents. I wasn’t sure when you’d want to come home and I just felt like I needed to get out of there myself, and turn all my bad energy into something productive, or at least try to. I’m turning around right now.”
Hanson wanted to tell her not to worry, to go to her class, but the truth was, he wanted to see her. She could go to yoga some other time.
He was anxious. He couldn’t relax, even though he knew that she was on her way home. He paced the rooms, walking through the huge house, eager for her to come back.
No matter what they went through, he would always fight for her. He would never give up, never leave. He had regretted the moments that he even considered it.
When he heard her car in the driveway, Hanson rushed to the front door. She was in just as much of a hurry to see him, and they nearly collided in the living room. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. He would never tire of having this body against him, the smell of her shampoo in his nose. God, he loved her.
“I missed you so much,” Lacey said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.
Hanson pulled her tighter against him. “I missed you, too,” he said. “You have no idea.”
Finally, he let her go, and she looked at him with her ice blue eyes. There were so many questions in them. Hanson took her hand and led her to the couch.
“Come on, let’s talk,” he said, pulling her down onto the couch with him. They sat together, knee to knee, as if even that small little touch was enough to know that the other wasn’t really gone.
“I’m sorry,” Lacey said right away. “I should have said something to you about how I felt.”
Hanson shook his head. “There are a lot of things we should have talked about,” he said. “I think we skipped out on a lot of things because you were already pregnant and because we got married so quickly.”
“Do… do you regret it?” Lacey asked, not making eye contact. She stared fixedly at her hands.
Hanson reached for her chin, taking it between his thumb and forefinger and tipping her head up so that she looked at him. “Never,” he said. “I am exactly where I want to be and with who I want to be with. I love you more than you will ever know.”
Lacey nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “The last two nights without you have been hell,” she whispered.
“I know,” Hanson said. He had hated it, too. “Talk to me, baby. What’s going on?”
Lacey cleared her throat. This was going to be hard. When Hanson had been gone, she’d vowed to tell him anything and everything he wanted to know the moment he came back. Now that they were face to face again, she was nervous to tell him how she felt. But losing him would be worse.
She took a deep breath. “You knew I hadn’t even thought I’d wanted children,” she started. “Although I did want Liam.”
Hanson nodded, and Lacey continued.
“In the end, it’s turned out great. Sure, I had some hormonal issues. But being Liam’s mom has been great. In fact, it’s one of the best things that ever happened to me, aside from meeting you. But I’m still scared of doing it again. Sometimes, I feel like I’m barely handling being a mother of one. How on earth am I going to handle two?”
“That’s what you’re worried about?” Hanson asked.
Lacey nodded. “For the most part,” she said. “I didn’t speak to you about it because I was scared that you would think you were stuck in a life you had no choice over. I was scared that if I took that away from you, too, you wouldn’t be happy here anymore.”
Hanson frowned. “What do you mean?”
Lacey sighed. “When I met you, you were the epitome of free. You drank a lot, you slept around, and you did everything a single man should do. I was only there to make sure the rest of the world didn’t punish you for it. My intentions were never to make you stop living your life. I feel like that was what happened when I got pregnant. I was worried that if I took away your dream of having more children, it would be complete. You would officially be trapped in the life you didn’t want.”
Hanson shook his head back and forth while Lacey spoke. He couldn’t believe that she thought, even for a moment, that this wasn’t exactly where he wanted to be. Hanson placed her hands in his and kissed her knuckles.
“I would choose you,” he said. “Every time. I don’t think you realize how much I love you, since that very first day you walked into Coach’s office for our first meeting. I didn’t know anything about you then, and I still wanted to get to know you. And not just in a sexual way. Everything about you intrigues me. I’m not going to give you up for anything, not for a misunderstanding, not for children, not for anything.”
By the time Hanson stopped talking, Lacey was crying. He wiped her tears with his thumb and leaned forward to kiss her. He loved the taste of her. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, tasting her, exploring her. Her mouth was hot, her tongue soft and swelling around his, the taste of her tears on her lips.
The atmosphere charged around them, and he wanted her. He wanted to be inside of her, to be with his wife. Hanson leaned forward, guiding Lacey onto the couch so that she lay on her back.
He pressed the line of his body against hers, his hand sliding onto her breast. He squeezed her, massaged her, his hands slipping back and forth over the nipple that was already hardening under the material of the shirt.
“Have I told you how fucking hot you look in yoga pants?” Hanson mumbled against her lips.
He didn’t give her a chance to respond. He kissed her again, moving his hand to the bottom of her shirt and tugging it up. He wanted her naked and writhing beneath him.
Lacey lifted a little, helping him get rid of the shirt. In the process, she pulled his shirt off as well. Hanson unclasped the bra and pulled it off her shoulders, dropping it on the floor. He stared at her breasts. He would never get enough of seeing her naked. Lacey was fit and trim, always exercising and keeping in good shape. Even after having a child, her body was magnificent.
They fumbled a little more, and then they were both naked. Hanson worshipped her body with his hands, closing his mouth over her nipple. He sucked on her, flicking his tongue over her nipple and listening to her moan. It was his favorite sound.
Hanson trailed his hand down her body, pushing it between her legs. He found her wet and ready. He pushed his fingers into her slit, finding her clit, and she gasped and squirmed. God, he loved her like this, at the mercy of his fingertips.
Hanson kept his face close to hers, watching her eyes close and her breathing change as he rubbed her. She was spectacular. He worked her out, pushing her closer and closer to her first orgasm. It didn’t take long before she toppled over the edge. She cried out, her body jerking, and it was delicious. Hanson kissed her when she orgasmed, and she cried out into his mouth, her body convulsing against his hand.
Hanson couldn’t take it anymore. He had to be inside of her. He positioned himself over her, and her thighs opened for him. When he positioned himself at her entrance, Lacey drew in her breath in anticipation, and she let it out in a groan when he slid into her.
God, being inside of her was bliss. Lacey and Hanson were both breathing hard. Her body was on fire, and this was exactly what she’d wanted, what she’d needed. They weren’t using protection. She could already be pregnant. But she didn’t care. Right at that moment, the only thing that mattered was Hanson.
He pumped into her, and she cried out and moaned every time his dick slid home. No matter how many times they did it, she would never get used to this. Hanson was fucking good in bed. He’d had a lot of practice before he’d met her, but he’d always told her that she was his final climax. It was a little joke they shared.
Lacey switched off her mind and focused on the sex. She was reaching another orgasm.
Hanson pushed her closer and closer to the edge, his cock stroking her in all the right places. He hovered over her, his muscular body a sight to behold. Because he was a pro football player, his body was always in great shape. Add that to the fantastic guy that he was, and you got the perfect man. Sexy and sweet. Protective and loving. And God, he was loving her just right at the moment.
Hanson kissed Lacey again. He loved kissing her while they were having sex. There was something so sexy about how slack her mouth was, and the little whimpering sounds that came from the back of her throat as he pounded into her. He was getting close to the edge. Usually, he held out much longer, but he hadn’t seen her in two days, their relationship had been a question mark, and being with her again was as much a relief as it was hot.
Lacey orgasmed first, her walls clamping down around Hanson, drawing him in deeper. She cried out and gasped, her breath taken away for a moment as the orgasm shook through her body. It pushed Hanson over the edge, and he came inside of her, emptying himself into her body as she fell apart beneath him.
When they were done, they lay gasping and heaving on the couch, their skins slick with sweat where they touched.
“I love you, Lace,” Hanson said in a breathy voice.
Lacey lifted her head and kissed him. “I love you, too,” she said. “And I want to keep trying for a second child.”
Hanson blinked at her. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you have to do it so you don’t lose me.”
Lacey shook her head. “I’m going to be terrified. I know that. I can’t make that go away. But I want to try.”
Hanson smiled and kissed her. They could figure this out, Lacey thought. Yes, she was terrified of having a child. Yes, she didn’t know if she would be able to pull it off. But being without Hanson these past two days had showed her what it was like to live without him. It had been different than the weeks that he was away on the road when he had games in other cities. Somehow, it had been a hundred times worse.
Lacey understood what Hanson needed, and she wanted to give it to him. This was what love was about; making sacrifices for each other.
Just then, Lacey’s phone rang. She looked down to see that it was her mom’s number and a video call, so she answered.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Sorry, Liam missed you and wanted to say hi.”
“Hi Mommy!”
Liam’s happy voice boomed over the phone, making both Hanson and Lacey smile like the proud parents there were. As soon as Lacey’s mom’s face had appeared, it was quickly replaced by Liam’s dimpled smiley one.
“Hey little guy!” Lacey called out, at the same time that Brian said, “Hi buddy.”
“I’m havin’ fun with Grandma!” Liam said.
“That’s good,” Lacey said. “We miss you though. We’re going to come pick you up soon and take you to get ice cream.”
“Yum!” Liam said. “Can Grandma come?”
“If she wants to,” Hanson said, laughing.
“How would you like to be a big brother?” Lacey asked Liam.
Hanson smiled at her and reached over to hold her hand, as Liam answered, “Okay!”
The smile on his own face matched his father’s. It was clear that all three of the members of their little family were now ready for a fourth.