My eyes began to burn as I closed them tighter to fight off the tears.
“I won’t let you push me away.” His voice was so demanding, so direct. “Nothing and no one is gonna change my feelings for you. I love you now, I’ll love you next week, and I’ll still fucking love you ten years from now.”
“Will you love me when I’m fat with swollen ankles?”
Rhett leaned back, looking at me with wide eyes before he pressed his lips to the corner of my mouth in a sweet kiss. “I’ll love you no matter what.”
“Even when I’m screaming at you through the pain of each contraction?” Suddenly his arms were holding me securely as he rocked me from side to side. “Yes, because even though you’ll feel like you hate me then, I’ll know you actually love me.”
“I’m sorry I left last night.” I buried my face in his chest and breathed in his cologne I loved so much. “I should have stayed so we could talk it out.”
“Yes, you should have.” I lifted my head and looked up at him to find him smiling down at me. “But I understand. You need to understand that she was my past, and you and our baby are my future. Even if that test was negative, you would still be the woman I chose. I adore you, AJ. You’re the one I see myself building a life with. Please understand that.”
***
I lay sprawled out on Rhett’s bed as I watched him walk toward me. Reaching over his head, he began to gather his shirt at the back of his neck, and slowly it began to lift, exposing his stomach and then chest.
Evidence of years of helping his grandfather and even Reed couldn’t be missed. His stomach was taut and defined, arms that when I was wrapped in them I felt so safe and adored. He was my perfection, everything I’d imagined and more.
He dropped his shirt to the floor and reached for the buckle of his jeans, unfastening them, but leaving his jeans in place. Call me crazy, but seeing the waistband of his boxers peeking out of the now unzipped jeans, his defined abs, and that mouthwatering little dip on each side near his hips, never failed to make my head feel hazy.
I remained in place, allowing him to crawl over me and lower his body to mine. The way he positioned his body weight to the side, careful not to put too much pressure on my stomach, made my heart flutter. He’d always been so careful with me, so alert of what I was feeling at the time, or what I needed. He was a dirty, and sexy, and demanding man, but I handle each one of those needs in a way that made them perfect.
“I’m not scared,” he whispered as he kissed along my jaw. “Becoming a father, it should terrify me, but it doesn’t.” I closed my eyes when his lips pressed to my own in a sweet, gentle kiss. “I know it’s because of you. Because I feel like with you next to me I can do anything.”
I cupped his face with my hands, and for a few silent seconds, we just stared at one another.
“I can assure you that you’re gonna be an amazing father. Our little one is the luckiest baby in the world, because not only is he or she getting you, they’re getting your family and even mine. They’ll be drowning in love.”
“Yeah.” He nodded, his eyes scanning my face. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Allison Jo.” My vision clouded with unshed tears, and my throat bobbed as I attempted to gain some control. “Thank you for loving me.”
“It’s impossible not to,” I confessed.
I was so in love with him that I think it was a borderline obsession. The man was everything I’d ever wanted and more.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Rhett
Waking with AJ in my arms after the fear of losing her was the best feeling. It was like I was complete again, I was whole. Her naked ass pressed against me, my arms snaked around her front, feeling her bare chest against my hand. It may sound lame, but my heart was full.
Careful not to wake her, I moved my hand lower, resting my palm on her stomach. In the silence of the room, only the sounds of her soft breathing echoing throughout, I was amazed by what lay beneath my hand. We’d made a baby together, and though it wasn’t something we tried for, I felt it happened for a reason. Like it was the confirmation of the fact that she and I belonged together. The connection I’d already felt to her was now cemented and unbreakable.
I kissed her shoulder and nuzzled her hair, her body moving back, trying to seek comfort. “You’re so cozy,” she added in a sleepy tone, and I smiled against her shoulder.
“Cozy?” I whispered, nipping at her earlobe playfully. “I was hoping for something a little more masculine. Sexy, hot, or even godly.” Instantly I felt her body shake against mine. “Are you laughing at me?”
“Never.” Her word oozed sarcasm. “You are the god, Rhett Jackson, not just godly.”
“I detect a little smartass tone.” I rose up on my elbow and looked over to get a view of her face just in time to catch her roll her eyes. Before she got the chance to give me any more shit, I climbed over her and wiggled my way in between her thighs. The second she felt me hard against her, she gasped. “What was that you were saying?” I asked while shifting my hips
