That was the easiest question I'd been asked in a long time. "I'm sure. You're the man I want. The man I love. It doesn't get any surer than that."
Relief crossed his face, and he lay down on the bed next to me, pressing against my side, holding me. "I love you too, Cassie. So much. I want to give you every opportunity in the world, but I'm not going to wait. I want to be with you now. I love you now. And always."
Grabbing the back of his head, I pulled him toward me, crushing his mouth against mine. He snaked his hands underneath my back as he kissed me, and then he rolled over, taking me with him. Laughing, I straddled him, sitting up a little, shaking my breasts in his face.
"Tease," he said, and then his head reared up, and he captured my nipple in his teeth. Gasping, I stilled, even though blood was thundering through my body, every nerve ending standing at attention.
He gave a sharp little nip that made me squeal, and then he released that nipple, capturing the other without missing a beat. This time, he sucked my sensitive nub deep into his mouth, making me moan.
It felt so amazing that I was gasping for breath by the time he let go. "Are you going to be a good girl tonight?" he growled.
"Yes, Sir," I said, smiling at him.
"That's my girl," he said with a wink. "Show me just how good you can be." His hands slipped under my thighs and he lifted me up, positioning me on his hard cock. I sank down, moaning at the feeling of finally being filled by him again. When he was all the way inside me, I ground against him, feeling him touch me deep inside.
He gave my thigh a little slap, causing me to yelp. "Ride me, good girl."
I giggled. "Isn't that supposed to be ‘Ride me, cowgirl?'"
"Either way, you look fucking gorgeous. Your hair's a mess. Your face is flushed. Your chest is heaving. The only way you could look any hotter would be if you were bouncing up and down."
Laughing, I took the hint and started to move on top of him. It felt so damn good that I closed my eyes and ran my fingers through my hair. If he liked the way I looked, I could give him a little show. Trailing my hand down my neck, I reached the swell of my breast and lightly drew circles with my fingertip.
Bringing up my other hand, I cupped both breasts, enjoying the way they shook as I rose up and down on top of him. Enjoying the way his gorgeous hazel eyes lit up.
Then he rolled over again, taking me with him. "My turn," he growled into my ear as I lay on my back, my legs wrapped around him.
He plunged into me again, and I knew that this was the way I wanted to end every day. In his arms. In his bed. Filled by him. Loved by him.
Nick kissed my neck and my face as he pushed deep inside of me. I ran my hands up and down his back, scratching, rubbing. I grasped his hair and tugged. And I called out his name as I screamed with pleasure, as he pulsed deep inside of me.
"Oh, god," I moaned as he emptied inside me. He collapsed on me then, his chest against mine. He chuckled softly as he felt an aftershock jolt through my body, his lips resting lightly on my neck, his hot breath tickling my skin.
"I love you, Cassie," he whispered.
"I love you, too."
And I truly did. I'd found the man I loved, and it didn't matter that we were at different places in our lives. What mattered was that we wanted each other in our lives.
Forever.
Chapter Fourteen
~~ THREE YEARS LATER ~~
"You're doing great, honey. Just keep breathing. In through your nose. Out through your mouth."
I tried, but this was such an unfamiliar position. Still, I knew I wasn't in this alone. Nick's strong body was behind me, supporting me. Coaxing me and guiding me. I gripped his hands tighter, momentarily distracted by a flash of light coming from my left side. Wiggling my fingers, I let the overhead light hit the diamond ring on my finger.
Even after a year, the sight of my ring made me smile. And the memory of our wedding, with Dad walking me down the aisle, was never far from my mind. Especially since I'd made a special video montage of my big day. Our big day.
"Do you feel a contraction coming on?" Nick's voice was warm in my ear.
"Yes," I said, a groan in my voice. "It's a big one."
"Are you going to push hard for me?"
"Yes. I am."
I tensed my muscles and groaned, letting Nick take my weight, letting him cradle my body. But then I realized I was holding my breath, and I knew that was wrong. I opened my mouth and took a deep breath.
"That's my good girl," Nick said against my ear. "Remember when you helped Ariel do this? Be brave like she was."
I smiled at that. Ariel had graduated from high school last year, the same month I'd graduated from college. She and her mom were jointly raising that sweet little girl, named Nicole after the man who'd delivered her-Nick.
"One more big push," a female voice called out, and I focused at the task at hand.
I strained back against Nick, letting him support me, and he spoke words of encouragement in my ear, praising me, telling me I could do it, telling me what a good mother I was going to be.
"And they had a beautiful baby, and they lived happily ever after. Who's next?" Janet, the instructor of our childbirth class, looked around the room as I pushed up off of Nick and got gingerly to my feet. He popped up right next to me and grinned. "How'd we do?"
"You got a B," she said, directing another couple to take our place at the front of the room.
"We got a B? Doug and Alicia got an A."
I laughed, taking his hand and leading him back to our seats. "We've got four and a half more months to improve our grade."
"It was your fault," Nick whispered. "You kept grinding your ass into me, distracting me."
"Well, what about you?" I whispered back. "Calling me good girl in front of everyone here." His calling me that usually had a Pavlovian effect on me. Nothing got me hot and bothered quicker.
"Well, I was wrong, you were being a bad girl," he said, and he reached behind me and pinched my ass.
I giggled, Janet shushed us, and we then were good students for the rest of the class.
Afterward, Nick took me for ice cream. I got a double scoop, lording it over his single scoop of chocolate.
"You do realize this eating for two thing is a limited time deal, right?"
"Would you rather I ate for three?" I said, making a grab for his cone.
"No, I'd rather strip you down and lick that ice cream off your hard nipples."
"So what's stopping you?" I teased.
He glanced around. "About twelve innocent bystanders and public decency laws."
"We wouldn't have either of those problems at home, would we now?"
"No, we wouldn't," he said, and he handed me his cone and bent down. I shrieked as he picked me up, carrying me toward the car. To get back at him, I looked him right in the eyes while licking his ice cream cone. "You're playing with fire, little one," he warned me.
"Doesn't feel like fire to me," I taunted and took a long lick from his cone again.
"The heat comes after we're home," Nick said as he set me down by his car.
"That works for me," I whispered, and this time, I took a long lick of my cake-batter ice cream. Reaching up to kiss him, I shared a mouthful of sweetness with him. "Take me home."
And he did. To the home that had once been his parents' but was now ours. To the home where one bedroom was already being fashioned into a nursery with a gender-neutral yellow trim.
I was going home with the man I loved and our baby was growing inside me.
Life couldn't get any better than that.