“Don’t you think you’re moving a little fast?” Dane questions, his hip leaned against the glass case in the jewelry store.
I drag my gaze from the glitzy diamond and frown. “It feels right.”
My best friend presses his lips together and regards me with a frown. I know he likes having Dorian interning for him. She’s been there for nearly a month now. I don’t know what his fucking problem is.
“Out with it,” I grumble as bring the ring up closer so I can inspect the diamond closely. “You’re not on board with me wanting to marry her. Tell me why.”
He scrubs at his jaw. “You haven’t dated in over a decade. The first chick you stick your dick into you’re ready to marry. Seems impulsive and not at all like you, Max.”
I scowl and pass him the ring to inspect. “I have always made good decisions, man. She’s the best damn decision I’ve ever made. I love her. She loves me. Who cares if it’s fast? It’s happening.”
He inspects the ring and gives me a nod before handing it back. “I just worry she’ll screw you over or some shit.”
I lift a brow. “Does Dorian really seem the type to screw anyone over? Hell, she’s the only person these days that can make Sophia smile. She’s perfect, Dane.”
“What about her ex, Carson?” His features darken. “He still fucking stalks her.”
I grit my teeth at the mention of that motherfucker. He’s yet to put his hands on her again but he does seem to show up wherever she goes. I’ve called Sheriff McMahon out several times because he’s violating his restraining order. The hits keep stacking up on the guy. It’s only a matter of time before we nail his ass and he leaves her alone for good.
“I’ll keep her safe,” I vow, my voice deadly.
He sighs. “Well, since you’ve obviously thought all of this out thoroughly, I guess your mind is made up. Will we be having a big wedding? What’s on the agenda?”
I’d sent Soph on a recon mission to determine if Dorian was the storybook wedding type. She’d said one day when she gets married, she wants something simple since her dad is no longer here to walk her down the aisle. She told my daughter it doesn’t matter when it comes to the wedding as long as the love is there.
The love is so damn there.
“Simple. Just us. My daughters. A few friends.”
He then smirks at me. “What happens if she says no?”
“She won’t say no.”
“So confident I see.”
I flash him a smug grin. “All she says is yes around me.”
He laughs loudly and earns us an annoyed glare from the salesclerk. I’m about to drop fifteen grand on a ring. She can at least look happy about it.
“I want this one,” I tell her, wiggling the ring at her. “Wrap it up.”
“Where’s Soph?” Dorian asks, frowning.
I hug her to me and kiss the top of her head. We’re sitting on the back patio next to the fire pit after a nice grilled fish dinner. She sips on some lemon water and I nurse a beer. Together, we lounge on the outdoor sofa with her sitting between my spread legs leaned back against me with the blanket covering us.
“Staying with her sister and her husband tonight.” I’m glad those two seem to be connecting again.
“Just us. All alone. I wonder what sort of trouble we’ll get into,” she teases.
I reach into my pocket. “I imagine the good kind of trouble. Let me see your hand.”
She sets down the glass and absently holds her hand back to me. I slide the ring down her finger before releasing her hand. A small gasp escapes her. I chuckle when she scrambles to sit up and then straddles me. The brisk air chills her so I grab the blanket to pull up over her shoulders.
“Max…”
I take her hand wearing my ring and bring it to my lips. With a kiss to her knuckle, I smile. “Please be my wife. I love you so much. We were two people who desperately needed one another. Circumstance had us at the right place at exactly the right time. I can’t let you go, Dorian. I don’t want to let you go. You make me so damn happy. And I want to keep making you happy until the day I die.”
Tears well in her eyes. When she leans forward to kiss me, they roll out and splash my face. Our mouths meet for a needy kiss and she nods the whole time.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I say with a laugh before she attacks my mouth again.
“Yes.” Her palms cup my cheeks. “So many yeses. All the yeses.”
We set to tearing each other’s clothes off. My shirt gets tossed away and her dress is a thing of the past. It’s chilly outside but we’re making fire. She squeals when I savagely rip the fabric of her panties and toss them into the fire pit.
“I can’t believe you set my panties on fire!” she squeals, laughing.
“I’ve heard that one a time or two from you,” I tease back.
She laughs but the moment I lift her by the hips and then push her down on my hard throbbing length, her laughter dies away. Her fingers claw at me as she kisses me wildly. I fuck her hard and without apology. Our slapping bodies will no doubt give the neighbors something to talk about. Her screams will make them jealous.
As she rides me, she fumbles with her bra and tosses it away. “Suck them.”
Obeying my sweet girl, I lean forward and suck her nipple hard enough to make her squeal. Her pussy clenches around me which tells me she loves the fuck out of it. Our lovemaking is harsh and rushed as we each fight to devour the other. When she comes with my name bursting from her lips, I let out my own release with a groan. My hot seed shoots deep inside her.
We haven’t been careful.
I don’t even care.
I want her.
All of her.
Everything we can be together.
“I’m pretty sure we just made a baby right now,” I say with a laugh.
She stiffens in my arms. It’s then I realize maybe she doesn’t want kids. I have two but I always wanted to have more. We never really discussed having a family. I just thought it was a given.
“Max…” Her voice is wobbly. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Looking up at her, I stroke her cheek. “It’s okay, beautiful. Talk to me.”
“We didn’t just make a baby. I wanted to tell you sooner.” A sob catches in her throat.
She can’t have kids. That’s the only explanation for her behavior. “It’s okay. You not being able to get pregnant isn’t a deal breaker for me, sweetheart. I love you no matter what. I’ve got the girls. And if you want to adopt one day, I’m all for it.”
Tears roll down her eyes and she presses a kiss to my forehead. “How did I somehow catch the perfect man?”
I kiss her throat. “I caught you, baby. I’m the lucky one here.”
She places her hands on my shoulders and pulls away. Her pink cheeks are streaked with tears and her lips are swollen from our kissing. With the shadows from the fire pit dancing around us, her tits seem fuller and are begging for more attention. I lean forward to suck on her nipple again, but she pushes me away.
“I’m pregnant, Max.”
I freeze and jerk my head up. “W-What?”
Her lip wobbles again. The words come out barely as a whisper. “I found out but was afraid it would ruin what we had. I didn’t tell you. I’ve been holding onto this secret for a while.”
My thumb brushes across her stomach that I now realize seems pudgier than usual. Here I thought I just fed her better than she was used to. “How long?”
“A little over two months. I’m so sorry.”
I grip her jaw and pull her to my mouth. The kiss I give her is possessive. “This is the best present ever, Dorian. You’ve made me happier than I could have ever dreamed.”
“You’re not mad?”
I laugh. “I’m fucking over the moon with excitement. Are you happy?”
She bites on her bottom lip and nods. “So happy.”
“We made a baby,” I say in awe.
“We sure did.”
We still haven’t told my girls but we’re dying to. Dorian manages to hide her pregnancy with flowing shirts to mask her swell despite her being well into her fifth month. But when we’re alone, I like when she shows her belly off to me. I get so turned on seeing her rounded stomach.
“Your son wants chocolate pudding,” she tells me as she looks up from her laptop.
“Daddy is hungry for something sweet too.”
She laughs. “You’re impossible.”
“How are your classes this semester? Need any help?”
A yawn escapes her and she stretches. Her fitted tank lifts and reveals her cute stomach to me. She’s just wearing the shirt and a pair of pink panties that are making my mouth water.
“Hard but still fun. Dane likes to quiz me at work. Sometimes he drives me crazy,” she pouts.
I chuckle. “He’s reliving the past through you. That guy was a major over-achiever in college. Looks like he’s trying to teach his little apprentice how to be the best too.”
She sets her computer down on the floor and lies back on the chaise lounge. I love how relaxed she is in my presence. Like a lazy cat just waiting to be pet. I willingly volunteer for that job every goddamned day.
I peel off my shirt, pride thrumming through me when I get her attention, and strut over to her. Her eyes rake over my hard chest down to something else that is hard. I’m still sweaty from working out in my home gym but Dorian always seems more turned on after I’ve been to the gym. I think she likes looking at me all sweaty, veins still bulging from exertion.
“See something you like?” I tease, rubbing my palm across my solid abs.
“I see something I love. I see something delicious.” Her blue eyes are hooded with desire.
“Better than chocolate pudding?”
“Close.”
We both laugh.
“Touch yourself over your panties,” I order, my demand husky.
She parts her thighs and reaches down between her legs. The pink is darker where her sex is because she’s wet there. I want to rip her panties off and lick her juices from them.
“How does it feel?”
A moan escapes her. “Not as good as when you touch me.”
I kneel down at the end of the chaise lounge and ignore my raging boner that’s tenting my basketball shorts. Grabbing her by the hips, I pull her to the end. She cries out when I move her hand away and replace it with my mouth. I nip at her clit through the fabric. My tongue teases along the sides of her panties, tickling her thighs. And to drive her crazier, I explore her sensitive areas with my fingers. I slip one finger in the side of her soaked underwear and seek her entrance. Another moan rips from her when I push it inside her tight body.
I fuck her with my finger from an odd angle while I continue to bite at her clit and the lips of her pussy. She squirms and thrashes and soon screams my name. Her entire body shudders from her release. I waste no time jerking her panties down her thighs, pushing my shorts down, and then entering her with one hard thrust. Her fingernails claw at me so she can draw me closer to her. Our teeth bump against each other as I kiss her roughly. My cock is in fucking heaven having her wrapped so tight around me.
“Max!” she cries out as I slam into her hard.
Together, we fuck like wild animals until she’s shuddering again.
This is my life now.
Dorian and I—a perfect pair.
Nothing can ever change this.
Fucking nothing.