I set down my duster on the armrest of the love seat and stared at him. There was something he wasn’t telling me, and I knew the best way to get him to talk was to just wait him out. Stefan was still getting used to sharing all his thoughts with me, and he shifted around a little before I raised an eyebrow. “And?”
“And he wants to get me to come work at his company again, this time as his right hand man, or return to school to resume my sports career.”
Sports career. It was something that had been on my mind too, honestly. “I see.”
Stefan slid over on the sofa, pulling me into his arms with a shake of his head and a smile. “Don't worry, I told him no, of course. I mainly went to let him know in no uncertain terms that I'm going to be with you no matter what.”
“Okay.”
Stefan pulled back and held me at arm’s length. “Is something wrong?”
I shrugged, for the first time in a while feeling like I was the one with something to hide. “No, everything is fine.”
“Come on, Bella,” he growled, obviously frustrated. “Don't give me that. Something is wrong. Now tell me what it is.”
I put a hand on my stomach, trying to find the words. “Stefan, you know I love you, and I know you’ve said that you don’t want to go back to sports if it means leaving me—leaving us—but I feel like I’m denying you your chance at greatness. Dammit, Stefan, you’re not meant to be some working class schlump! You’re Stefan Livingston, goddammit, and that means you’re special!”
Stefan blinked, stunned at the heat in my voice, and when he spoke again, it was almost as if he sounded amused. “Special, huh? If there’s any reason that I’m special, Bella, it’s because of you. Any idiot with good hand-eye coordination and enough dedication can make it to professional lacrosse. It’s not like the fucking NBA. If I’m going to be special, though, I want to be a special man. And that means I take care of you, like a man.”
“I want you to be both,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I want you to have it all.”
I let Stefan gather me into his arms, where he kissed my neck tenderly before whispering in my ear. “With you, Bella, I do have it all. We’ll make it, I promise you.”
“Together?” I asked, and he nodded, his breath tickling my ear and making me hot inside.
“Together. Now, I’ve got an idea. Would you like to go out to eat?" Stefan asked.
"I thought we were supposed to be conserving money until you got a job?" I asked, trying to keep my mind from just asking him to take me right there on the love seat. Sex is good, but I didn’t need to have an orgasm from him every time stress entered my life.
“We are, but you’ve been in a bad mood lately. Today’s been a shitty day with what my dad tried to pull, and I want to do something to lift your spirits. A day out of the house will do you some good.”
It was so tempting. We hadn’t been getting out of the house much, and I know that some of my stress was because I was going stir crazy. Every phone call from my mother made me jump, even if I wasn’t answering. The hypothetical conversations would run around and around in my head for hours afterward instead. And we were getting to the point where I was pinching every penny, checking when we went to the market not for the best tasting foods or the foods that Stefan and I liked, but the foods that we wouldn’t hate and would be the cheapest. Basically, it sucked.
Stefan nuzzled my neck, which was about the only reason I wasn’t jumping up out of his lap. Let him think I needed a little more convincing. His lips and touch felt damn good. “C’mon, Bella, I can’t have you moping around like you have been these past few days. It’s starting to bring me down too.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer, his breath tickling my ear. “Although, if you want to wait on dinner . . .”
Immediately, I was enveloped by his body heat and I melted into his arms. My pulse began to race in my throat as I felt his cock through his jeans pressed up against my ass.
Stefan lowered his lips to my neck, setting my skin ablaze. My lips parted into a sigh in response. I couldn't believe I’d thought we could stop from jumping each other constantly. He practically oozed sex, but I wanted to not be seen as a slut. But with Stefan, who cared if I was? He was my man, I was his woman, and the way his hand felt as he started rubbing my stomach, I didn’t care if I was a slut or not.
“We can even buy a few baby clothes,” Stefan whispered in my ear, using his secret weapon, the tip of his tongue tracing the curve of my earlobe before he nibbled gently. He resumed kissing me all over my neck and shoulders, running his hands all over my body, and I felt myself moisten between my legs.