Cherry puts down the box and then crawls in my lap. She rains kisses on my face and I feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
“I love you so much, Carter. Thank you.”
“I love you too, Cherry.”
One day, when she isn’t busy loving my body, I’ll tell her the letters I wrote her are in there too.
GLIMPSES INTO THE FUTURE
Approximately 18 months later
“Put me down, you brute,” I snap while the world turns upside down as I’m thrown over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. It’s the first day I actually get to use Carter’s new gym. It opened about four months ago but between my being heavily knocked up at the time and then waiting for the all clear from the doctor, I’m finally ready to start trying to drop some of this baby weight. I could use the one at home, but I wanted to come see my man at work and this is as good of an excuse as any. Carter says he loves my body and it’s pointless because he’ll be planting another baby in me soon. This is probably true as, since the doctor gave him the okay, there hasn’t been a night I haven’t fallen asleep with him still inside me, and many mornings I wake up the same way. I don’t know where he finds the energy because he gets up with the baby during the night just as much as I do.
Draped over his shoulder, I wiggle to get free. I can hear chuckles coming from some of the guys who are training for an upcoming fight. I flip my hair out of my face and I can see them openly staring at us while Carter’s muscular legs eat up the distance across the gym as heads in the direction of his office.
I feel my face heat and I’m sure it’s as bright as my red hair.
“What the fuck are you guys looking at?” I hear Carter growl, causing everyone to turn as if they magically don’t see us anymore. I don’t blame them. Most of the men here are big from all their training but Carter is in a league of his own.
“Still,” he utters through gritted teeth and smacks my ass to stop my wiggling, causing goosebumps to break out across my body. One would think I’d be used to all of Carter’s growling by now but I know what’s coming. I’m just a little shocked he would do it so openly. He always likes people to know I belong to him but he normally does it in a way that isn’t so sexual. He doesn’t like anyone thinking of me in a sexual way. Ever.
The door to his office slams shut when he kicks it closed with his foot. Sitting me down on his desk next to the door I hear him click the lock into place. His office isn’t huge – just a small desk where Carter works at, a mini fridge stocked with nasty protein drinks, and a sofa for people to lounge on when they’re in here with him. Mainly me. I napped a lot on that thing when I was knocked up and Carter would drag me to work with him. Thank God for my e-reader or I might have died of boredom. He said I had to come with him because if I didn’t he’d just rush to get back home. He needed to be here when they first opened to make sure things were getting done how he wanted them done. If I tried to talk to some of the guys he would pop up out of freaking nowhere and push me back into his office. He would even growl at them if they made me laugh, saying it wasn’t safe for my belly to bounce like that with the baby in it.
“Jeanette have Little C?” he asks, sliding between my legs. I look up at him and nod my response. Jeanette is the only one who has watched the baby since he was born. I call it training because she is due any second now.
“Don’t get me wrong, Cherry, I love seeing you here, but what in the ever loving fuck are you wearing right now?”
Looking down at my outfit, I have no clue what he is talking about. I have on black yoga pants, a sports bra with a pink baby tee on over it and sneakers. I still have a few pounds I would like to drop since the baby got here, so it’s not like I’m running around in skimpy workout clothes or something. I feel like this I’m a lot more covered than what I’ve seen other women work out in. Not that other women work out here. This is mainly an all-male gym because Carter says women distract the men, which is clearly true for him with me.
“Yoga pants?” I say, more as a question than an answer, not understanding what could possibly be wrong with my clothes.
“That what you call these things? It’s like a second skin.” He pushes me back so I fall flat against his desk. He reaches under my ass and pulls them off, taking my underwear and shoes with them.
“Yeah, naked is clearly better,” I say, wanting it to come out snappy but it comes out all breathy. My legs fall even farther apart, giving Carter an even better view of my pussy.
“You don’t show off my shit to other men, Cherry. Now I gotta remind you who you belong to…or is that what you wanted? To come to the gym and get a rise out of me so I would give you a good fucking? Am I not giving you enough, Cherry? You need more cock, baby?” he asks. He grabs my thighs and pulls me to the edge of the desk.