Making out with my woman hasn’t been enough. I know she’sbeen wanting more too. I was the one holding off. I was the one afraid.
“I want you, Avery,” I growl against her lips.
The feel of her delicate fingers playing with the short hairs at the back of my neck makes me shudder. When her lips tip up in a smile against my own, my heart goes into overdrive.
This woman does things to me. Things I don’t understand. Things I want to feel for the rest of my life.
I grip the backside of her thighs with my hands and lift. The yelp of surprise she lets out is adorable as hell. Her arms wrap around me as she holds on like I’m going to drop her.
“I’ve got you, Sweetheart,” I vow. “You and little heart.”
She melts against me, her belly preventing her from molding herself against me fully. She lets out a cute as fuck huff of annoyance. But I don’t pay it any mind as I turn and stride toward our room.
“What’s going on Bridger?”
“I’m claiming my woman,” I grit the words out through my teeth. The feel of her in my arms, finally, is almost too much for me.
I might not be able to feel her tits against my chest right now, which is a fucking shame, but I can feel the heat from her pussy through her panties and leggings. There’s no doubt in my mind that she wants me.
“Wh-what?” Her stuttered question comes out breathy and husky.
“Yup,” I pop the p.
She squirms in my arms, and I groan with how fucking good she feels. “I thought we were taking things slow?”
After kicking our door closed behind me, I look down into her gorgeous eyes and know I need to be honest. “We have been taking things slow. We lasted longer than 20 minutes before hopping into bed together this time,” I point out. “Two weeks is like a glacial pace compared to the night we met.”
Her cheeks heat and she bites her lip, but I just shake my head and gently put her down, not letting go until I know she can stand on her own. With her bump growing, her center of gravity has been all over the place. It’s adorable, but I’m tempted to wrap her in bubble wrap. Just in case.
“Comparatively, sure,” she concedes.
“Part of me wanting to take things slow was wanting something real to grow between us,” I whisper. Her eyes go soft with affection. It’s the same look I’ve seen on her face countless times these last two weeks. I fucking live for it.
“What aren’t you saying?”
I can’t help but grin because I love it when she calls me on my shit. Add in the way she cocks her hip and rests her hand there as she asks? Yeah, I’m a fucking goner for this woman.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve dealt with my feelings of not being worthy because I’ve put effort into being there for Avery. Not just for her, but for our baby too. What I thought would feel forced has felt natural. What I thought would be difficult has been the easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
When it comes to loving Avery and our little peanut, I’m all in. I’m incapable of anything less.
“Even though the books said sex was okay, I didn’t want to hurt you or the baby. It would kill me if I were the reason something went wrong. I needed to be able to look your doctor in the face and get an answer I could trust,” I admit.
“Even when you thought about kicking his ass because he’s a man?” She arches an eyebrow, the challenge written all over her face.
I hook one arm around her waist and draw her closer to me. “You got me,” I murmur softly, “but I held myself back.”
She throws her head back and laughs, the sound falling around me like confetti. “Probably because he’s at least twice my age and has a receding hairline that could win awards?”
“That helped,” I grumble and look away.
Her hands cup my jaw and my eyes snap down to take her in. My woman is glowing today. Hell, for the last two weeks I’ve noticed her light growing as she’s settled in here. But today she might as well be the damn sun.
“I think it’s sweet you were worried about me and our little peanut.”
“We’re having a girl,” I blurt, and her smile kicks up a notch.
“We are,” she confirms with a nod. “You’re going to be a great dad, Bridger.”
