Sweet Torment(37)

I'm still inside her when I lean forward, far enough for my sweaty chest to touch her back. "I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get enough of fucking you."

"We have the rest of our lives to find out."

I kiss the space between her shoulder blades. "It's late, love. Let's go to bed so we can get some sleep; we have a big day tomorrow."

The biggest day of our lives so far. Because it's the first day of the rest of our lives.





13





Bram Windsor





Doesn't matter if you are half a foot taller. Doesn't matter if you have significantly more muscle mass. Doesn't matter if you've thought of the man as a second father to you your entire life.

Talking to him about marrying his eighteen-year-old daughter was scary as fuck. And telling him you proposed and put a ring on her finger without first asking his permission was even worse.

Damn.

I love Staci and Shane Bliss but things didn't happen the way I expected. They seriously fucked up our life plans.

Claudia's parents are educators. Education is important to them. They believe it's crucial for her to succeed in life. I get it. I, too, value the importance of higher education. Hell, it's why I have a master's degree in accounting.

But Claud doesn't want to go to college. She never did. Neither an engagement ring on her finger or our plans to be married motivated that decision.

Options were debated. Alternatives were discussed. Concessions were made.

We're still engaged, but we've postponed our wedding plans, and Claud is scheduled to leave for UT at the end of the month.

Option one: wait two years and her parents will give us their blessing if we still wish to be married before she graduates college.

Option two: go against their wishes and …  I don't know. Maybe burn in hell for eternity? Because that's what they made it sound like would happen if Claudia didn't go to college.

We chose option one. And I've not been happy about any fucking part of it.

That was seven weeks ago and now we're standing in my bathroom, hovering over a plastic stick on the counter, waiting for it to reveal our fate.

"There's not a second line."

"I just peed on it, Duke. Be patient. It hasn't had time to work."

A pregnancy will negate the deal we made with her parents. She'll no longer leave for college at the end of August. We'll no longer wait two years to get married. She'll stay here and be my wife and mother to our child.

Fuck, Staci and Shane are going to be pissed off at me. And Owen …  I don't even want to think about how bad he's going to flip out if she's pregnant. And there's not a chance in hell they'll ever believe that I didn't knock her up on purpose.

We stand over the test, watching and waiting for a pale pink line to appear. Or not. Her eyes shift to look at me. "What result do you want?"

I've been asking myself that same question since Claud told me she didn't get her period. "Getting pregnant right now isn't ideal, but I want to marry you. If this test being positive makes that happen now rather than in two years, I will not be upset about it."



       
         
       
        

Her face relaxes. "You aren't mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you, baby?"

"I was the one in charge of birth control, and now I could be pregnant."

"Birth control occasionally fails even when taken perfectly. It happens. It's not your fault if it didn't work."

"I want to marry you." Claudia looks up at me. "Is it wrong to hope this is positive if it means I can be your wife sooner?"

"I don't think so. We've already talked about babies and agreed that we want them. Maybe the first one comes a little sooner than planned."

Claudia picks up the pregnancy test and turns it around for me to see. "You mean sooner as in nine months from now?"

Two pink lines. There's no mistaking it. Our fate has been sealed. Our special bond is stronger than it's ever been and can never be broken. We are forever connected through our love for one another. And now through this child.

Claudia Laine Bliss. My little dove. It's her face I see every time I close my eyes. It's her lips I long to kiss. It's her touch I crave. She is the tangible beat of my heart and air in my lungs.

She is my love. My best friend. Almost my wife. And now my unborn child's mother.

Forever mine.





Epilogue





Claudia Bliss Windsor





Bram and I move toward the bed, kissing en route. God, my husband has been insatiable this week.

He peels my jacket from my shoulders and tosses it to the bench at the foot of our bed before pulling my shirt over my head. I'm wearing a white lace bra, not my sexiest, but my boobs are really jacked in it since they've gotten bigger the last couple of weeks.