Talia

“Do you think Cass will forgive me for keeping this a secret?” I say as we step into our bedroom. I’m not surprised Sebastian didn’t want to stay at the reception partying all night long, but I am a little surprised he brought us home to our apartment instead of the lush hotel Cass had booked for us. “It’s just that I did spend all last night with Cass having fun girl talk about all kinds of things. And she did help plan my wedding as well as help me get dressed for the wedding and—”

“The question you should be asking is: ‘Would Sebastian forgive me if I told Cass about my pregnancy before him?’” He shrugs out of his tux jacket and pulls his bowtie, unhooking his top collar button before sitting down on our bed. “And the answer is most definitely ‘no’. Your husband wouldn’t have forgiven you if you had told Cass before him.”

“But you’re okay that you learned at the same time as everyone else?” I ask, my voice a quiet hush. I know I took a big gamble, but I wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for much longer. My breasts were already getting bigger. “I mean, I know how much you hate the anticipation of surprises—”

“Talia…” Sebastian pulls me onto his lap, resting his hand on my thigh. “I’m not angry or upset. The reason I brought you here instead of to the hotel before we fly out tomorrow on our honeymoon is sheer selfishness. I want to spend a night with you all to myself and in our own bed as the newly minted, family-approved Mr. and Mrs. Blake.”

I touch his ring, running my fingers over it. “But you wished I had told you alone?”

He lifts my chin and makes me meet his gaze. “You made this day a memory I’ll never forget. And for that, I love you…” He lowers his hand to my belly. “And our baby. I’m thrilled, proud, and so fucking happy right now. Your aunt and father seemed very excited about the baby at the reception, probably more so than the wedding.”

“Yes, they were happy,” she says, nodding. “And how about him bringing Simone as his plus one.”

“Who is she?”

“She’s the new girl he hired to help out with his ads and with other stuff in the bookstore.”

“Well more power to him,” he says chuckling.

I shrug. “It was just surprising for sure.”

He flexes his hand on my stomach. “Speaking of surprises…how far along are you?”

“Almost eight weeks.”

When his brow shadows, I press my lips to it and whisper, “I waited for an appointment with the doctor I really wanted.”

He scowls. “No OB/GYN should make you wait that long to be seen.”

“It wasn’t his fault. The home pregnancy tests were wonky so I waited until they seemed consistent. You don’t want to know how many I went through.”

“Is everything okay?”

“Everything is perfect. My levels are right where they should be.”

“All the little things…You falling asleep early, eating extra pieces of pizza—” His eyes light up with clarity. “—you getting me to drink your wine…now it’s all suddenly falling into place.”

“I don’t even want to talk about the bouts of queasy stomach,” I say wryly. “As for the wine, you do know that was more about getting you to relax, right?”

“I definitely got the relaxing part,” he says, flashing a grin. “About your doctor appointments, you’re not going to any more without me. I want to see the little noodle.”

Laughing, I rest my hand over his. “Noodle? What is it with you and food nicknames?”

“It’s Noodle until I see for myself and inspiration strikes.”

When I smile at the idea of him seeing our baby for the first time, his gaze drops to his hand on my stomach. I lift his hand and turn his ring until we can see the sunset. “Do you like your ring?”

“To say that I don’t think you’ll ever be able to top everything you did to make today extra special is an understatement, sweetheart.”

His broad smile makes all the trouble I went through getting his ring made, having the sash added to my dress and waiting to announce my pregnancy all worth it. “I wanted your ring to be in the best metal, so I chose platinum, but I also wanted it to be black. I did some research and found a college that’s using cutting edge technology with a tabletop laser to change the color of metals.”

He stares at my ring, intrigued. “So that’s not painted?”

“No, all those colors are part of your ring. A breathtaking sunrise is forever etched in your band, Mister Black—”

His lips cut me off, but I don’t mind his sudden kiss one bit. Instead, I lean into his hard chest and welcome the enticing taste of his lips and tongue sliding along mine in a slow, deep exploration.

“I love kissing you,” he murmurs against my mouth, his hand sliding into my pinned up hair to pull me closer.

“We can just do this all night if you want,” I tease against the corner of his mouth.

His hand fists in my hair and he nips at my bottom lip. “Hell no, I’m just getting started.”

I cup his jaw and bite his bottom lip back, loving my husband so much my heart feels it might burst right out of my form-fitted dress.

My skin prickles when he tugs my dress’s zipper down. He pauses when he reaches the zipper’s end, his voice a rough rumble. “Unless you want your wedding dress in tatters, I suggest you step out of it and hang it up, Little Red.”

As Sebastian walks into our closet, unbuttoning his shirt, I kick off my heels and wiggle out of my dress, laying it across the back of a side chair.

Wearing nothing but a G-string and garters, I walk over to the Two Lias picture on the tall dresser and stare at it as I take off my necklace. “I hope I’m a good mom.” My lip crooks in a half smile. “At least Sebastian isn’t afraid to change a diaper. There’s always that.” But the fact my husband is so good with Josi settles my worries. Sebastian will be there for me. He’ll help me get through any baby blues I might have after our child is born. I can only hope I’m not affected that way, but with my mom’s history, it’s still in the back of my mind. “You’ll watch over us, right, Amelia?” I whisper as I start to drape the necklace along the corner of the picture.

“You don’t have to take it off,” my husband says from right behind me. I immediately tense.

“How do you manage to get so close without me noticing?”

“Trade secret.” He chuckles as he leans close, the heat of his bare chest warming my back. “This version is waterproof, so you can wear it in the shower if you like.”

I open the locket and smile at the picture of Josi and me and then the Two Lias drawing. Closing the locket, I run my finger over the red diamond heart and then the black one. I pull it closer when I realize one heart slightly overlaps the other and where they overlap…the stones are a mixture of red and black. God, this man just melts my heart. “Aww, the blending of the two hearts is just perfect! This is truly gorgeous and so incredibly thoughtful, Sebastian. Thank you.”

He rests his chin on my shoulder, his arms encircling my waist. “There’s one more change I made to the original necklace. Do you see it?”

I flip the locket over and don’t see anything on the back, but when I start to turn it back, I see another lip on the edge of the locket and press my fingernail inside it.

When the back pops open to reveal two empty picture slots, I whisper, “Did you know?” and blink to keep from tearing up. These pregnancy hormones are really kicking my emotions into high gear.

Sebastian kisses my neck, his hands sliding along my waist. “No. I had the back panel added in the hopes that one day we would fill it with our own children’s pictures too.”

Taking it from my shaking hands, he hooks the necklace around my neck once more, then slides his hands slowly along my shoulders and down across my breasts. Moving one hand below my breast, he flattens the other on my belly. “I love you, Talia. Thank you for sharing your life with me and trusting me with your heart. I promise to always protect it.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath. I know part of my extreme emotions are hormonal, but I love this man so much. That will never change. Lifting my arms over my head, I drape them around his neck and pull him even closer. “Right now my heart doesn’t need protecting…it needs revving. Do you know anyone who can help me with that?”

With a low rumble, he slides a warm hand along my thigh until he reaches my ass and gives it a firm slap. “How hot do you want it, Little Red?”

As he rubs my ass cheek, then grips it with a possessive hold, my sex tightens and throbs, soaking through my G-string. I spear my fingers in his hair and grab on tight, pulling to get his full attention. “I’d like fire engine red, please.”

I gasp when he dips his fingers into my body, sliding them along and around the G-string. “You’re sopping and so fucking warm,” he growls, pressing his erection against me as he delivers an even harder smack.

I don’t miss that each time he lights my body on fire with the sensual sting of his palm, his other hand flattens protectively on my belly. I’m both touched and aroused by the realization, but I also want him to let go, so I put one hand on the dresser for support and arch my back, wantonly pressing my ass against him. “Then do something about it. This fire isn’t going out without your help.”

Sebastian hooks his thumb on my G-string and shreds the flimsy lace with a flick of his wrist. His breathing ramps and just when I think he’s going to slide inside me from behind, he quickly turns me around and lifts me up. The moment the tip of his cock touches my pussy, he shakes his head and his is voice a desperate rasp, “Can’t wait, Talia.”

The moment my back hits the dresser, I hook my legs around his body and yank him close.

“Is a raw, rough fuck what you want, Little Red?” he says, his warm breath bathing my shoulder while he stays just outside of my body, teasing me.

Panting, I claw at his muscular shoulders to let him know what I want.

He dips just inside me and exhales a harsh groan. “I want to hear the words.”

“Raw, Rough. Hard. Soft. Just fuck me, Sebastian!”

A primal grunt of male satisfaction rumbles from his chest as he slams into me. I gasp my pleasure and clasp him close, rolling my hips and seeking release from the pent-up arousal building between us.

Pulling back, he jerks his hips forward and stays buried deep, applying pressure against my clit. My heart stutters as an orgasm spirals through my body in bone-melting pulses of erotic pleasure.

I clench against him and whisper in his ear, “This is just round one,” right before I bite down on his shoulder.

Sebastian lets out a feral groan and captures my lips in a dominant kiss as he thrusts once more, pulsing deep inside me.

Clasping my ass in a firm hold, he carries us to the bed and chuckles when I lay my head on his shoulder and murmur, “Did I mention the rounds would be between naps?”

“That’s a promise I’m holding you to, Little Red.”